soda blasting is a process in which an environmentally safe product of sodium bicarbonate or ground corn cob is used as a specially formulated blast media to clean and strip most surfaces using a high volume but low pressure blasting machine. The soda serves as a mild abrasive that will remove or etch paint. Or baking soda will work as the lone, active cleaning agent for all varieties of surfaces and equipment.

The soda is dispensed from a machine (blast pot) that is specifically designed to perform the low-pressure, high volume soda or corn cob blasting operation. The K200 is the blast pot generator that propels the blasting media onto the surfaces that require depainting, rust removal, paint etching, or other surface preparation. This process removes paint and contaminate without harming the substrate surface. The baking soda is applied to the surface to be cleaned through a specially designed, pressurized hose and nozzle . It obtains its air pressure and air volume from a conventional shop air compressor or a mobile construction air compressor. Another variation is to use it to Wet Blast using the soda in conjunction with water. This method is used in areas where the dust generated by the blasting soda is controlled by the water. Soda blasting has many applications for removing paint, coatings, contaminants, odors and other types of cleaning on most all materials. Soda blasting can be used to clean and deodorize fire and smoke damage in buildings.

Another method of dry blasting and controlling dust is by using the magnesium sulphate. Your individual job circumstances will dictate which media is best for which job.

What are the Benefits of Soda Blasting?

• Soda Blasting with Sodium Bicarbonate is a nondestructive operation that can remove or prepare old paint or other materials. It will not damage most base materials or surrounding components which comprise that items body structure, i.e. steel, aluminum, fiberglass, moldings, window glass, etc.
• Sodium Bicarbonate is a non-hazardous food grade material that is 100% water soluble and environmentally safe.
• Soda and Corn Cob Blasting will eliminate the need for using toxic cleaning chemicals.
• Soda Blasting can remove or clean multi-layered surfaces down to the level of any layer desired.
• Soda and Corn Cob Blasting may be used to clean or decoat machines, while the machine is still in operation.

Corn Cob Blasting

• The use of biodegradable corncob and doing corn cob blasting blasting will allow the operator to strip softer surfaces with minimal damage. This type of media is used to strip log homes, houses, wood fences, decks and any other surface requiring a milder abrasive.

Although the K200 blasting pot has been specifically designed to work economically with our ecologically friendly blasting media; as shown below, most other abrasive media's can also be used in our machine.

• Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda)
• Magnesium Sulphate (Kieserite)
• Potassium Sulphate (K-2)
• Corncob and Corn Cob Blastings
• Walnut
• Garnett
• And more

For most metalworking shops parts cleaning is, well, a pain. It's a non-value added step in the manufacturing process that while, often necessary, gets metalworking businesses into areas in which they have little or no expertise.

If a shop must clean parts, what's the best method? Of course there is no easy answer. It used to be possible to soak parts in a vapor degreaser and accomplish most soil removal requirements. That's no longer feasible because of environmental regulations covering atmospheric discharges and toxic waste disposal.

Options include parts aqueous and semi-aqueous washing units with agitation sometimes generated by ultrasonics. These methods work well for specific materials and soils but lack the kind of general purpose effectiveness that vapor degreas-ing provides. And, there is usually a waste disposal consideration with these wet processes. Then there are dry cleaning processes. These usually employ a grit which is accelerated to high speed to blast off dirt or other soils attached to workpieces. Glass beads, metal or plastic shot--even peanut shells--are versions of this process.

It's into this category of parts cleaning that SoffStrip falls. They have successfully used this baking soda blast on applications in aerospace, paint removal for rebuilding and remanufacturing operations and in plant maintenance departments.

Baking soda as a grit blast medium offers several advantages over other solid mediums, according to the company. As each crystal of sodium-bicarbonate strikes the surface of a workpiece it crushes against the surface. When the crystal strikes a workpiece surface, the crystal is destroyed but in the process takes a bit of the soil with it.

Crystals can be sized to provide the necessary cleaning aggressiveness for an application. In part, because the baking soda crystal collapses on contact, removal problems involving getting the media from internal passages or small bores is eliminated. In addition, baking soda is water soluble therefore getting the media out of highly intricate parts is also simplified. They can be rinsed free out of the workpiece if necessary.

As a medium, baking soda is relatively soft. This makes it an effective blast medium for delicate substrates such as aluminum and thin wall sections like cylinder fins or aerospace structures. There is little or no peening action with baking soda blast. Baking soda is inert making its use and disposal less problematic than some other materials.

Cob-Blasting.Com offers a full line of blast application equipment to accompany their baking soda media. For job shops with a variety of applications, there is a stand-alone blast cabinet available with interior dimensions up to height by width by length of 60 by 24 by 42 inches. There are systems available for higher volume/lower mix applications as well.

Cleaning workpieces and equipment is a necessity for many shops. Unfortunately there is no universal method effective for all cases. However, baking soda grit blast offers several advantages over other methods, particularly with regard to environmental and disposal considerations. That may make checking into a system for your application a good idea.—