Soda Blasting

[ChargerHead]

First off, I'd like to say "hello" as a new member of the forum.  I am a future charger owner (as are a few others I've noticed from reading the posts).  I hope to land a '69 and power it with a nice 440.  Anyway, glad to be a part of this forum, and I'm sure I will be getting very useful information from alot of you as I get my Charger and begin my resto process.

My question is, has anyone used soda blasting on their sheet metal and frame?  I have heard good things about using baking soda, because it doesn't pose a risk of warping the metal like sand does.  As for the frame, I'm not worried about damage, but am curious about the effectiveness.

[Drop Top]

First off Chargers don't have a "frame" persay. They are a unibody car. This means that the frame is welded to the body and doesn't go all the way from front to rear. Soda Blasting is a great way of removing paint. There are other (Better) ways of removing paint, just my opinion. However, if you have a rust problem Baking Soda will not be of any help.

[4402tuff4u]

Welcome aboard ChargerHead! I had mine media plastic bead blasted. My car had no rust and it removed the paint to the bare metal. The guy here in NY charged me $ 800 to to the whole car and inside the engine compartment. The undercarriage I did myself with a sandblaster at work and a 4" grinder with a welders rigid wire brush wheel. It came out very good. Never heard anything negative about baking soda, just that it gets into everything. Same with the plastic media blast stuff. I started restoring the A/C heater box the other day and it was full of plastic media inside the heater box - and it was covered during the blasting work!!

[dodgeboy67]

do you really need special blasting equipment to use soda???or is this a sales gimmick??

[Blown70]

We have a place that will blast with what you want that even have some that is similar to fiberglass, and also plastic media.

Personally I have worked at a body shop, that CRAP no matter what you use will GET EVERYWHERE....Trust me I know I spend 4 hours cleaning up a POS pontiac one day.

[4402tuff4u]

I think with any media type of abrasives you will need special nozzles and tips. Tips will depend on the material you are using as the blasting agent. You might want to do some internet search to get yourself familiar with the different types of media blast. I believe baking soda is a mild abrasive media that does produce heat, however I think it "cakes" up on the hopper. You might need a agitator or something else to keep it flowing. Not sure, may be Drop Top can comment.

[4402tuff4u]

I meant it does not produce heat...

[69hemi]

I have said this often but any form of blasting will not get at the hidden rust in the frame rails and lurking behind panels.  I have been having cars dipped and e-coated for many years and if done properly, there is no substitute.  If done poorly it can also be a nightmare.  Once the car is dipped clean to the bone and then sealed with the e-coat you are finished with any rust issues forever.  It is not cheap, you have to totally disassemble the car, you must replace all the seam sealer as it willl be gone, but you wil have the knowledge that you did it right.  Check out the process at my website www.69hemi.com

[73rallye440magnum]

69 hemi. you are right, but you are reffering to a full blown restoration. What are your plans for your car once you are finished? I'm sure you will drive it but i think you will win A LOT of BIG shows with a car like that. For those of us making nice drivers that can be taken to shows and appreciated, spending 10k for acid dip and e-coat is almost out of the question. I'm kind of rambling here, also keep in mind that you have an EXTREMELY rare car that makes acid dip and e-coat well worth it. I'm sure media blasting will give most people a very nice paint job and should take car of most rust. No, in the very long run it will show its age and maybe bubble after 15-20 years if its properly prepped and taken care of, but i think it is indeed very effective as charger head was asking. no offense intended 69 hemi, your car is a perfect example of how a car like yours should be done. correctly with no shortcuts, i hope someday to do a car like you are doing yours. Hope i didnt piss anyone off or blow any fuses here. just my two cents.

[Drop Top]

Most Baking Soda Blasting is used with water. So yes, you need the correct type of equipment to do any kind of media blasting, other then an ordinary sand blaster from Harbor Freight. Most of these types of media are designed for high volume low pressure. So everthing from the hoses to the nozzles are bigger to allow more media to flow with less pressure. I had a media blasting business for over12 years. I used to use only plastic. The pressure was at the most only at 28 lbs. Try that with a regular sand blaster. I ran it up to 60 once just to see what it would do. All it did was discolor the metal a little. I sold it last year to a guy that now has two differant blasters and will blast many differant types of media. Plastic, garnet, glass and sand. He also has started to Powder Coat. He keeps the plastic separate from the other types of media so it will not be contaminated by the more harsh medias.

I agree dipping is the most affective, but also the most expensive for the reasons stated. It also depends on what is available within your area. The reason the soda blasting is available in so many areas. Is the cost of the equipment is much cheaper. One of the biggest drawbacks of soda blasting. Is you MUST wash all of it off with vinegar before you do anything else. With plastic you can use it on fiberglass and plastic parts. It also doesn't hurt the glass or chrome. So for the average job I prefer Plastic over anything else. If you have your body parts dipped. Make absolutely sure that you have it E-Coated or you WILL have troubles down the road. Some of the dippers don't have the E-Coat available.

[dodgeboy67]

once again....an abundance of info .....thanx guys

[71 RT]

Just one more opinion here.  I soda blasted my entire car, and was very pleased.  Everyone is correct, it does get everywhere, but for me, that was OK, I was planning on a complete restoration.  One other thing that I liked about soda blasing, is that it kind of has a natural preservative, the car will not rust (unless you get it wet) after you bast it for a good long while.  My car sat in my garage,in humid Oklahoma. with almost no surface rust for months.  Maybe it was just lucky, but the thing was fine for about 4 months till my body guy got ready for the thing.  Just my opinion!
71 RT

[69hemi]

69 hemi. you are right, but you are reffering to a full blown restoration. What are your plans for your car once you are finished? I'm sure you will drive it but i think you will win A LOT of BIG shows with a car like that. For those of us making nice drivers that can be taken to shows and appreciated, spending 10k for acid dip and e-coat is almost out of the question. I'm kind of rambling here, also keep in mind that you have an EXTREMELY rare car that makes acid dip and e-coat well worth it. I'm sure media blasting will give most people a very nice paint job and should take car of most rust. No, in the very long run it will show its age and maybe bubble after 15-20 years if its properly prepped and taken care of, but i think it is indeed very effective as charger head was asking. no offense intended 69 hemi, your car is a perfect example of how a car like yours should be done. correctly with no shortcuts, i hope someday to do a car like you are doing yours. Hope i didnt piss anyone off or blow any fuses here. just my two cents.

The bad part of my resto is we were planning on diving it.  We were going to take a few weeks and do Route 66 in it but since the prices of Hemi cars are ging through the roof I am afraid it will become college money for my girls when I am done.  No fuses blow no harm no foul.  It all depends on how far you are willing or can afford to go.

[ChargerHead]

I want to say thanks to all of you- I now know tons more about the process than I did when I posted the question.  The info will surely come in handy.  Once I get my car and finish the work, I do plan on driving it, but not as a daily driver.  I never even thought about how the media would get into everything.  Sounds like dipping is the way to go, but from the sounds of the price of it, I probably won't be able to afford it.  Hopefully I'll get lucky and find a deal.

69Hemi, thanks for the link to your site....that was a good read.

[73rallye440magnum]

we are all always very glad to help. 69 hemis site is a goldmine of awesome information and if its not on the site just ask him he probably knows. 69 hemi- you have to atleast go for a few rides in your car, i cant see putting that much into something and not enjoying it atleast a few times. make sure the posi works. be sure the other 4 barrels get wet. see if the brakes still work at 120. my parents make a very nice living and my brother is paying for college... good for you if you want to pay for them though. Odds are against you on ever getting a car like that again though. mr norm... hemi... 4 speed... r/t... i think you should enjoy it for a year if you plan on selling it.