soda blasting--anybody worked with it before?

[cprince]

I want to eventually repaint my bmw 325e, and I've been looking at paint removal process. Soda blasting sounds very promising, but I heard something about it doesn't remove rust. There are a lot of info on the web, but I want to know if anybody here have any real experiences working with soda blasting. If you do, please share your knowledge.

 

[trauschu]

Soda is much easier on thinner sheet metal and won't warp from the heat that larger grit media can give (sand, aluminum oxide). But, the heavier grit particles are far superior for taking off rust. My '54 Chevy pickup truck I am working on needed to get blasted due to the rust and old paint, but soda would not have been abrasive enough, so I got it sand blasted. And I knew that the steel from the trucks in the 50's was more than strong enough to handle the sand without major warping.

You haven't told us much about the current condition of your ride. How much rust do you have, how bad etc?

If the paint is in fairly good shape, and you just want to repaint, you can always sand, primer and topcoat.

 

[cprince]

Soda is much easier on thinner sheet metal and won't warp from the heat that larger grit media can give (sand, aluminum oxide). But, the heavier grit particles are far superior for taking off rust. My '54 Chevy pickup truck I am working on needed to get blasted due to the rust and old paint, but soda would not have been abrasive enough, so I got it sand blasted. And I knew that the steel from the trucks in the 50's was more than strong enough to handle the sand without major warping.

You haven't told us much about the current condition of your ride. How much rust do you have, how bad etc?

If the paint is in fairly good shape, and you just want to repaint, you can always sand, primer and topcoat.

The paint is still in relatively good condition. There are a few faded spots, but no rusts. I was asking about rust because, if I buy the system, I want to do more things with it too than just my bmw--like removing rusts and old paint from my iron gate.

 

[trauschu]

Your better off sanding, priming and painting your ride if the paint is still good. If your existing primer or basecoat is cracking, that would be another story.

Then buy an inexpensive syphon or pressure blaster and using that on the gate. You probably want something with some tooth to take off the rust from that thing, and soda might do it, but it would take longer. Plus since you probably won't be able to reclaim the media, the sand route will be cheaper. Keep in mind to use a good respirator with sand.

 

[cprince]

Your better off sanding, priming and painting your ride if the paint is still good. If your existing primer or basecoat is cracking, that would be another story.

Then buy an inexpensive syphon or pressure blaster and using that on the gate. You probably want something with some tooth to take off the rust from that thing, and soda might do it, but it would take longer. Plus since you probably won't be able to reclaim the media, the sand route will be cheaper. Keep in mind to use a good respirator with sand.

Well...in some areas, there is no base coat or primer left, but the metal is shiny and not rusted.

 

[herm0016]

blasting a car nearly requires that you remove everything. are you restoring it? if you blast it with the engine and interior, door seals etc... it will all be destroyed or at very least full of the media. we use a sand blast cabnet with glass beads for soft or new metals or with some pretty aggressive media for rust removal.

 

[trauschu]

Well...in some areas, there is no base coat or primer left, but the metal is shiny and not rusted.

Sand the entire car down with 120 grit DA sander. Not necessary to go down to bare metal everywhere, just achieve a good even surface with good bite on it. Costs maybe $20 for the sanding pads.

Spray 2 coats of epoxy primer to seal the old paint and any bare metal. Then, if necessarry, 2 coats of 2k build primer, block sand, then 1 coat of epoxy for final seal. Base. Clear.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Well...in some areas, there is no base coat or primer left, but the metal is shiny and not rusted.

Then it's not bare metal. Bare metal will at least surface rust almost immediately. Gotta be something still on it.

Sand blasting is still the best. A GOOD operator doesn't have issues with warping panels. It leaves a GREAT surface for epoxy primer to adhere to.

I'd also agree that you do not need to take it down to bare metal unless you have some issues with the base coat cracking or issues with the prep work under the paint that's causing problems.

It's perfectly acceptable to paint over paint, if you prep the painted surface properly.