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Soda blasting
Soda Blasting is the latest entry in the Abrasive Blasting
arena. Not much has changed in the abrasive blaster world
lately. Back in the day, abrasive blasting was used
primarily for removing paint or rust scale from steel. For
those of us that have grown up in the rust belt of this
country, we have many applications and practical uses for an
Abrasive Blaster.
As the different “soft” abrasives like walnut shells, corn
cob, plastic media were introduced it expanded the
usefulness and applications of an Abrasive Blaster. Then
when Bicarbonate of Soda was introduced to refurbish of the
Statue of Liberty a few years back, it again added to the
expanding applications of abrasive blasting. Using these
“soft” abrasives reduces the heat build up on the substrate
and reduces warping and pitting. Now you add in the fact
that bicarbonate of soda is environmentally friendly you
have a winner. If you are cleaning graffiti off the side of
a brick or sandstone building and you get some soda on and
around the landscaping plants you may find the leaves may
yellow slightly do to the PH changes in the soil. Not to
worry, a few days of watering and everything is back to
normal. This also goes for the guy that uses bicarbonate of
soda to strip the paint of his project car in the back yard.
If the wife or the neighbors complain about the yellowing of
their plants, hit them (the plants that is) with some water
and in a few days everybody should be happy. Now you need to
use your head when you’re blasting with soda or any other
abrasive. Beside the proper safety gear, like a respirator,
blast hood and gloves you need to properly dispose of
material you are removing. I.e. lead based paint or other
nasty things like that. Also keep in mind the Soda blasting
media is specially formulated for blasting. It’s not the
same stuff you buy at the grocery store.
Although the process of soda blasting is slower then other
abrasives, keep in mind the preparation time that is spent
in protecting the surface you do not want to blast. Remember
the guy with the project car? He did not have to worry about
removing the chrome, glass or rubber items from the car
before he blasted with soda. That saved a ton of labor time!
Soda Blasting will not hurt these things. Now let’s talk
about price. Most commercial grade of Soda blasters sell for
about $2,500. That’s a little steep for the guy restoring a
car or the home owner cleaning the face brick off the front
of his home. We here at ALC have found a cost effective
solution. We offer a conversion kit that takes just about
any make or model of abrasive blaster and converts it to a
Soda Blaster. The 3/8” or the ½” fitting sizes kits can be
installed in 15 minutes or less. This conversion kit can be
purchased for about $200.
If you do not have an abrasive blaster and want to invest in
one that can do double duty with Soda and all the other
abrasives we have an economical solution for that also.
Check out the “What’s New” section of our web site and
you’ll find both the conversion kits and a combination Soda
and Abrasive Blaster units.
Have a blast!
ALC Abrasive Blasters
Cleveland, Ohio |
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