Can this be used for soda blasting?

[Rack]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=34202





I saw the one at Eastwoodco.com and it was for $379. Then I found this one...

http://www.ace-sandblasting.com/soda-blasting.html

... it costs $249.


What's the difference between the three? Obviously the first one is A LOT cheaper.


If the first one can be used for soda blasting I'll be getting that one. I think eastwood's main company goal is to rip off as many people as possible. Their prices are ridiculous.

[Silver R/T]

Ive got one just like in picture from ebay and it was like $90 or so

[Rack]

Ive got one just like in picture from ebay and it was like $90 or so

And it worked fine for soda blasting?


The one in the pic is $79 (on special at harbor freight). I'm finally gonna get some paperwork tomorrow so I can get my title so I'll be dismantling the car soon. I want to have the blaster here before so I can practice a little bit.

If you can tell me that the one from harbor freight will work with soda then I'll order it now. 


Thanks, Silver.

[Silver R/T]

I dont see why not...
http://www.surfacetekinc.com/pot.htm
But it would be nice if you could get that air cooler (according to those guys) everything else it just what you can get at harbor freight etc. you need water/oil separator of course for your air

[Rack]

I dont see why not...
http://www.surfacetekinc.com/pot.htm
But it would be nice if you could get that air cooler (according to those guys) everything else it just what you can get at harbor freight etc. you need water/oil separator of course for your air

Yeah I'm in the process of getting my hookups for my air compressor. That stuff is a lot more expensive then I expected.

Thanks for the link. There's some great info there. 


Looks like I'm gonna go ahead and get the blaster from harbor freight.

[Telvis]

I have one of those blaster too. Where would you get the soda? Anyone know? Is it something I could find locally? I need to blast a few small pieces.

[Rack]

I have one of those blaster too. Where would you get the soda? Anyone know? Is it something I could find locally? I need to blast a few small pieces.

Eastwoodco sells soda. Arm&Hammer probably sells the blasting type soda too. Not sure.

[Troy]

I thought soda blasting was done with water??? Any way, the one from Ace has a small article with it and it seems that the nozzle will be much smaller. I have the blaster from Harbor Freight and I've used several others with sand and glass beads. None of those are incredibly accurate in my opinion but the Ace stuff says it can be used up to a sharp line. If you're using it for a car, why not use walnut shells or glass beads and a regular blaster? Another problem with the Harbor Freight model (or any pressurized blaster) is the amount of air it requires. We ran one with a Craftsman 60 gallon 5.5 HP compressor and it would last almost 15 minutes before the sand would get soaked and clog up everything. Soda would be worse.  I now have a much, much better compressor but now I've got $1,700 in tools to do blasting (as a hobby!). I can have an entire car soda blasted locally for $500 and I don't have to mess with a huge compressor or even the clean up. Just my thoughts...

Troy

[253862656971]

When I bought my blaster I asked about using Soda in it.  The guy selling it said that pretty much any blaster will shoot soda but the problem is that soda is very expensive and you only need a little bit to do the job.  He said if you're going to do a fair bit of blasting you should upgrade the blaster to one that has a much finer control for dispensing the media.  Most blasters use a simple ball valve and this just is not a fine enough of adjusment.  I didn't buy one of those harbor freight cheapos.  I spent the extra $100 and got a cyclone and believe me it's money well spent.  The quality of the media tank and the overall build quality is far superior to the harbor freight models.   

[TylerCharger69]

From experience....be careful  what you buy from Harbor Freight.    The reason they are cheap is because...well....you get what you pay for.   I have had  countless air tools from there just crap out on me....some after only one or two uses  such as drills, body files, and a DA.   I had a bead blast cabinet  that lasted about a month from there.   The only thing  that I see that they sell is decent is Campbell Hausfield products...the rest just sucks, so....be careful!!!

[BlueSS454]

I just want to add in here that soda blasting WILL NOT REMOVE RUST.  It is perfect for taking paint off, that's about it.

[grizzlygiff]

Is the soda you guys are talking about just regular old bicarbonate soda? If so, I believe it isn't that expensive if you buy it at a feed mill that makes cattle feed. It is used as a buffer. I think less than $10 for 50 pound bag of Arm & Hammer. I can check if anyone wants. Telvis, this is in Danville, if your interested,not too far away.