Soda blasting?

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mizike77
860 GT / GTS
Posts: 272
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:37 am

Soda blasting?

Post by mizike77 »

Anyone have any experiance with it? I heard its the most gentle way to blast something. I was thinking of trying it on my corroded darmah engine. Im sure it would work wonders on the cast parts but im not sure what it will do to the polished covers? Pro soda blast people tell me the baking soda just about shines the aluminum to a like new finish?
Charlie withanS
Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
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Post by Charlie withanS »

On cast parts I like a mix between Soda or plastic media and Phosphoric acid wash for cleaning the surface. Each part will call for a bit different approach.
Polished parts I tend to shy away from blasting unless starting with a seriously neglected, damaged surface. If polished parts need blasting then the soft medias cut in the least reducing the smoothing, blending work later.
I expect Steve will chime in with more experience than I have on this.
Cheers Charlie
If it ain't broke, Modify it.
1974 750 Sport and a dozen other less intriguing bikes.
www.ffmsd.com
Lumpy
SD900 Darmah
Posts: 329
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2007 5:49 am

Dry ice

Post by Lumpy »

I work in the oil industry and someone the other day was talking about dry ice blasting. They had seen this proceedure performed and said the results were nothing short of spectacular. It leaves no residue because the dry ice just melts away and therefor was highly regarded when used on machinery. I Googled dry ice blasting and several web sites came up, one of them being www.icetech-usa.com
I have no experience with the method, just when I was told about it I could`nt help but wonder about the beloved Duc`s. This fellow had worked for a mob in Oz that did it for a period and said they were continually snowed under (pardon the pun) with work as the results were that impressive.
Just a thought.............
Charlie withanS
Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
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Post by Charlie withanS »

Dry ice is interesting, it was introduced about the time I was getting ut of aircraft restoration. An interesting aspect it the controllability of the media, it is sharp and since it is ground/ pulverized the mass is controlled for each job. Unfortunately it requires special equipment so it is not something a small shop will have. That is unless there are cost effective systems I am not aware of.
I do have to say that having a system that at the end of a job you just sweep up the debris removed during blasting and not have a pile of media is a nice thought.
I need to study the link you have and see where the industry is with the Dry Ice blasting.
Cheers Charlie
If it ain't broke, Modify it.
1974 750 Sport and a dozen other less intriguing bikes.
www.ffmsd.com
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DesmoDog
750 GT
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Post by DesmoDog »

I looked into it when I was doing the rebuild on my '74 750 GT. Sounded like a big use for it was cleaning printing presses.

I found a "local" place that did it, but couldn't get them to return my phone calls. I ended up cleaning my cases the old fashioned way - aluminum wheel cleaner and a hand held wire brush.
Charlie withanS
Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
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Post by Charlie withanS »

I hope you were a good boy and used a brass or stainless brush rather than steel?
Cheers Charlie
If it ain't broke, Modify it.
1974 750 Sport and a dozen other less intriguing bikes.
www.ffmsd.com
cafe*racer
SSD900 Darmah
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Location: Castro Valley, CA

Post by cafe*racer »

Soda blasting requires its own special equipment. Most firms specialize in environmental or industrial applications, so good luck finding a company willing to mess with a small job. I believe The Eastwood Co. sells a hobbyist soda blasting outfit and I know others do as well. The smallest unit I have found starts at around US$500. Make sure you can source the soda media as it comes in 50lb bags. There is an outfit in Sacramento, CA (local to me, sort of) that will sell individual bags. Let us know how it comes out. Jordan
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DesmoDog
750 GT
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Post by DesmoDog »

Charlie withanS wrote:I hope you were a good boy and used a brass or stainless brush rather than steel?
It, actually THEY, were stainless.
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