Sand or soda blasting

[tsdeese]

Which one does a better job sand or soda?

 

[digger]

Which one does a better job sand or soda?

I can't think of anything on a Cub that would be so fine as to need soda blasting, unless it would be the dash tin if you were to try and repaint it.

 

[jlord]

This all depends on what you're trying to clean-up. Soda blasting works great for cleaning oxidation off aluminum as does ground walnut shell.

I've forgotten what the trade name is, but I've also used a product that is like very fine beads of pencil eraser like material that worked very well on more heavily oxidized / corroded aluminum and would remove light paint without eroding the underlying metal.

"Sand" , you must be careful to use only abrasives meant for blasting due to silicosis issues, is a more aggressive media for rust and paint removal. There are more aggressive ( harder ) media that can be used that are safer for you ( ie - garnet, aluminum oxide, and silicon carbide ) Be careful with these however because you can blow right through thin metals quickly.

What I've used mostly for resto projects is glass bead. Moderately aggressive, less likely to "blow through" or erode thinner metals, removes paint pretty fast, will remove light rusting as well and leaves a good finish for prime / paint.

Check out Abrasive Blasting Media Guide: Which Blasting Media Is Best? for more details.

 

[Dan Page]

Jford is correct. The other concern with sand is it will cut away some metal. It makes a very coarse service that will require either sanding or a heavy primer. You can also get what is called slag. It is a heavy black material that works well on rust and corrosion. Glass beads are a good for most projects as long as the corrosion is only on the surface. If there is any pitting it can take a lot of time and material to remove.

Sand is also a very dusty messy product that requires a lot of dry air pressure. Any water will cause the sand to stick together and block the equipment.

 

[jstorma]

I had a local place do soda blasting for an engine block, cylinder head, and some other engine parts. The soda did a great job at removing the carbon from the head. The air cleaner cover did not clean up very well and still had rust around the curled over edge. To clean the parts just use dawn dish soap and water. Was also told it will not embed into the metal. The guy told me that yellow paint was baked on and hard to get off the block.

They also do dustless blasting. I had them do a few parts including the air cleaner. They said it's not aggressive, but was a little shocked to see how porous the metal was after. They said they use sand paper and sand it by hand to lay it back down. They restore cars using this dustless process.

I would advise to stay away from sand blasting your engine block, other engine components,and transmission parts. The sand can get embedded into the parts. Washing and scrubbing won't remove it. Friend did this to his engine and found after a few hours of running it he had a nice layer of sand blasting media in the oil pan.

My experience is to use the soda for the delicate engine and transmission parts. Sand blasting can be used for the frame and other sheet metal parts and castings. This is just my experience with having soda blasting, dustless blasting, and sand blasting done. There are a wide range of different materials available each with there pro's and con's.

 

[knolte]

Just my opinion but I would avoid sand blasting on everything but the most rusted and heavy duty parts. It takes away too much of the metal if kept on a spot for a moment too long. I would use that type of media on a hitch or something similar but not on any tin work. Soda blasting is the way to go if you have access to it.

 

[gary noblit]

I used to run media tests with 180 psi air.From ss to walnut shells.We Americans always seem to be in a hurry. The issue is twofold if you use very aggressive media to do it quick the metal surface will have tiny pits that you then have to sand out to get a really good finish paint job. personal opinion:glass beads are the best low range media and they don't impinge anything into the surface.Soda takes even longer but again no impingement....

 

[Dan Page]

You can get different grits of sand as well. I used O and OO, pronounced ought and double ought. O is very agressive and leaves the metal raised. If you take a feather edger or sander with some 180 automotive sand paper to it you can prime over it. The OO doesn't take nearly as much sanding but requires a small amount. When you use a two part primer high build primer it takes very little to cover either.

 

[pdorow]

Jford is correct. The other concern with sand is it will cut away some metal. It makes a very coarse service that will require either sanding or a heavy primer. You can also get what is called slag. It is a heavy black material that works well on rust and corrosion. Glass beads are a good for most projects as long as the corrosion is only on the surface. If there is any pitting it can take a lot of time and material to remove.

Sand is also a very dusty messy product that requires a lot of dry air pressure. Any water will cause the sand to stick together and block the equipment.

Slag worked great for me, used it on my 68 firebird. When finishing from bare metal always use a DTM (direct to metal) primer, best would be a epoxy primer, just make sure it can be sanded. Another option would be etch primer then 2k primer, then sand with 240, 320, 400, and so on depending how nice of painted finish you want.

FYI, slag worked great in my blast cabinet as well.

 

[mjame]

Soda blast then powder coat.
Thats what I did. It turned very well.

 

[eweiss]

Looks nice, How did you cure the coating?

 

[mjame]

Looks nice, How did you cure the coating?

powder coating is cured once it comes out of the oven.

 

[eweiss]

Ok, I guess I knew that, just wasn't thinking. How bid of an oven do you have to take a frame?

 

[mjame]

The place I get my powder coating done have walk in ovens.

 

[slufkin]

Soda blast then powder coat.
Thats what I did. It turned very well.

Where did you get the powder and what color is a match for Cub Cadet yellow?
Forgive me if this has been asked before.

 

[mjame]

Yes.
The yellow a white are perfect match’s.
my powder coat rep got the correct matching colors.

 

[Stevenovick1]

Amazon sells crushed fine Walnut shells. I’m gonna fill my sand blaster and shoot away. Has anyone used Walnuts. I think i’m gonna hit my Kohler 321. with them. Then Paint with engine enamel. Let me know if good idea

 

[Dan Page]

I have never used walnuts but I hear they are good. They should be easy on soft materials but I don't know for sure. The only thing you need to find out is what nozzle you use with them. Most materials require different size nozzles.

 

[gary noblit]

If you have never used them before it's best to test a small area.They are a lot harder than one thinks.They will change a finish on soft materials. They will actually eat through wood..The biggest questions are how much pressure you're using and how close is the nozzle.They are fine on hard metal and will remove paint .Like most media it does leave a dust film....Most of us start out blasting around 120 # but continous blasting the pressure is usually less(unless you have a very large compressor) And they don't impinge material into most metals...

 

[jstich]

I use Walnut shells in my blast cabinet and it works very slowly, but does not remove any metal, and is not very effective with heavy paint or rust. It works very well for cleaning soft metals.