Making your own soda blaster - ali cleaner

[Freakshow]

Not sure if this has been posted before, but i found this a very well layout out "how too" for making your own low cost low tech aluminiumn scale cleaner.

I have a blast cabinet but its a pain in the arse when you wan tot change media between glass and granite and so on, never mind trying to find all the glass bits in the objct like a carb.  So i reckon next carby im going to try this little idea.

Cheers if you guys can use it or if at least its a rehash for you.

http://www.aircooledtech.com/tools-on-the-cheap/soda_blaster/

Actually have a look at his other ideas, wonder if we can buy them Airsoft beads here ? that makes a lot of sence to me.

[POM]

Thats pretty cool.....im gona have a go at that tonight...........where do i get baking powder from?

[Freakshow]

Baking soda ?? um........ try you wife's pantry cuboard............

or failing that just about any supermarket shelf.

[firko]

That's gold! I'm going to have a go over the weekend and see how it works!

[LWC82PE]

Ive seen that site, i tryed bi-carb soda. It kinda works, it does something but still doesnt give a nice silvery/shiny finish like clean glass beads does.

[vandy010]

so simple.
good one Freaky

[DR]

okay I have a question, I've been blasting bits and pieces (steel, cast iron and alloy) in my little cabinet for ages using good ol' white sand I stole from the kids sandpit ( I refill it for them anyway so technically it's my sand ) anyway, it alway works really well and I get great results, what am I doing wrong? 

[Freakshow]

okay I have a question, I've been blasting bits and pieces (steel, cast iron and alloy) in my little cabinet for ages using good ol' white sand I stole from the kids sandpit ( I refill it for them anyway so technically it's my sand ) anyway, it alway works really well and I get great results, what am I doing wrong? 

Nothing if it works...  I do know that glass beads being round give a better finish as they kind polish the surface as they slide past the surface, were as sand has jagged edges and they tend to hit and  chip away at the surface.

I just like this idea as it takes for ever to get glass beads out of barrels and fuel areas like a carby and your never sure you have got them all, im just thinking for cleaning of scale from Ali areas like that it would be good as it will push the dirt off, but can be washed away, or if missed its not too ebrasive enough thats its going to scroe barrels or block or open up Jets etc.

Just seemed like a good other option to try, specially for the guys who dont have blast cabinets.

[trailietrash]

I tried this with a air gun that came with hose from supacheep. replaced the hose with clear tubing and the bi-carb does clog up in it sometimes but I had white powder everywhere, had used 5 boxes of bi-carb and had only half the job done 
Next attempt with bi-carb will be in a blast cabinet. 

[vmxrider]

I've tried it as well on an old cylinder on the front lawn, used a heap of soda and turned the grass brown for a few weeks, but gave a nice result. Then made up a temporary cabinet but couldn't see what i was blasting because of the white dust.

[Rossvickicampbell]

didn't read it all but there is a comment on the VintageMX website currently - something about ensure you only use bi-carb - otherwise there is an explosion possibility?  Don't know what somebody was using but anyway?

[firko]

Here's the post Rossco mentions. It was on Marks Swapmeet a couple of days ago.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ad # 3160987   October 21, 2010
Hi Guys, DANGER ALERT!! If you have made a mini soda blaster DO NOT use anything other than Baking soda. If you use cornstarch, flour or any other substitute you may find at the end of your blasting you get a big BANG. Never use any flammable media in your blaster. When you blast for a while you may find that there is a small spark or you get jolted from the piece you were blasting. There is a chance of electrostatic discharge. If you are using anything other than baking soda (which is non-flammable) you may hurt yourself or someone in the dust cloud. Baking soda= nontoxic and non-flammable. Please head my warning. Safety first!

[Bikeaholic]

I reckon I'm probably qualified to add my 2 cents on this subject. I have a soda blasting business. I use food grade bicarbonate soda which is run through a purpose built machine which is worth a small fortune. The soda is slightly alkaline so yes it will kill off your grass if left on it. It also very dusty although is not harmfull. However you wouldn't want to breathe in too much so a mask and eye protection should always be worn. I do a lot of automotive paint removal on steel, fibreglass and aluminum which would be about 80% of my business. This ranges from car, truck and trailer restorations. The rest is stripping paint from antique furniture both wood and steel as well as motorbike frames, engine parts etc etc. The process is much softer than garnet & sand  as it doesn't harm the base stucture or cause flash rusting or damage rubber, glass, chrome, seals etc. As mentioned it needs a substantial amount of the soda to do the job sucessfully as well as a good aircompressor supplying a large constant air supply. Moisture is your worst enemy as clogging in the line causes all sorts of headaches. Using one of these small suction type systems may be fine for a small job ocassionally but they certainly won't be up to the bigger tasks. To put it in prespective my unit is a 4.5l John Deere deisel engine running a 210cfm compressor with air tank, filters, condensor and a soda pot with a blast hose attached. I use a 25kg bag of soda per 1/2 hr at 90psi for say on a motorbike frame. It takes approx 40 minutes to completely strip a MX frame back to bare metal. Once used the soda is reduced to a talcum like powder with very little abrasive properties so re-use for the same purpose isn't usually viable. There are no issues with sparks using bicarbonate soda however it is recommended that the machine be grounded to prevent electrostatic discharge near anything flammable as a precaution
Prior to re-painting or powder coating the blasted item will require a thorough wash to remove the residual soda. If you don't you will be in a world of trouble with adhesion issues. The Vaqua (vapour) blasting process of using glass bead suspended in water at high pressure gives excellent results on alloy parts of cars and motobikes. It gives a semi polished finish. I have one of these units on order which will hopefully compliment the business. This process has already been covered elsewhere on this site by Firko and worth a read. Hopefully this info has been of some value. Cheers Dave

[Bikeaholic]

Sorry all. The vapour blasting info was covered by maciomc49t. Must be getting too late to be on the computer

[oldyzman]

Thats a great idea, will try!
Cheers Brett