[Spridgets] Soda Blasting

[Mike Rambour]

 I don't remember who asked about Soda Blasting 2 weeks ago and I got 
one for Xmas and said I would report before the 1st of the year.

 Well sometimes life throws you for a loop and you lose the guys e-mail 
who asked and you also don't get to try it.  Father-in-law is going to 
be fine at least as fine as a 87 year old can be.

 I set it up today and used it, its an amazing little tool, I had some 
rust coming through in the form of a bubble where I wrecked the car back 
in the mid-1970's so I knew there was bondo in that area and the rust 
was pushing the bondo up.  I hit it with the soda blaster and just like 
sand blasting, it ripped right through the bondo and all the loose flaky 
rust.  Unfortunately, once the flaky rust was off  it stopped working, 
soda definitively does not work on rust very well.  To remove rust I had 
to stay on the spot for quite a long while.  But the surrounding areas 
were perfectly cleaned and I did not care about removing the stubborn 
rust, I cut it out and welding in a patch panel.

  I then went to area of the car where there is no bondo because I 
didn't wreck that part (this time in the late 1970's) where there was 
rust from leaking taillight housings that leaked into the trunk over the 
decades and I did not care since I never thought I would keep the car 
that long.  The soda went right through the paint with no effort and 
again knocked off all the flaky rust with no problem, it was more work 
to remove the rust but nothing a plasma cutter could not handle.

 Overall, like everyone has said, soda does very little to nothing on 
rust but it tears right through bondo and paint and leaves a perfectly 
clean weldable surface area, I was very pleased.

 It also went right through oilly and greasy areas and cleaned that 
right up.

 And then just like the instructions said, I hosed it down and was 
done.  Sand blasting would have done better on the rust but it is a 
major pain to 1) create a blasting area to contain the mess and 2) clean 
up.  This was easy.

    mike