Soda Blasting Aluminum Bodied ’73 Land Rover!

1973 Aluminum Bodied Series 3 Land Rover prior to soda blasting with the ACE Model 2-PS Heavy Duty Portable Soda Blaster – (Photos courtesy of Paul Spangler – Drummond Corporation- Middlefield, Ohio)

Hi Everybody! Happy 2016! Welcome to my blog about soda blasting, the environmentally friendly cleaning method that uses a form of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in place of other non-environmentally friendly, and health hazardous blasting medias like sand.

It’s a new year and I have a number of very cool and interesting projects to tell you about. I also owe some of you a response to questions you have asked. Please forgive me for not answering sooner, the last part of 2015 was extremely busy.

In my earlier postings, I explained what soda blasting is, what makes soda blasting such a unique cleaning process, some basic information on air compressors, on soda blasting equipment, and on a few popular applications. Once you understand how soda blasting works, it is much easier to appreciate why it is such an effective, safe, and eco-friendly cleaning method for many different types of jobs.

As I mentioned before, soda blasting has become a worldwide phenomenon! As I think back over the last several years, I am amazed at all of the different types of projects that I’ve been involved with, from helping do-it-yourself home owners, to assisting all kinds of businesses, large and small. I enjoy hearing from people, who have used soda blasting on their projects based on my recommendations. It is very satisfying to know that I’ve helped someone achieve completion of an important job.

Last year I posted a blog entitled “Soda Blasting A 60’s Muscle Car Classic!” That posting should tell you just about anything you need to know about soda blasting a steel bodied vehicle. Today, I want to tell you about an exciting project: the restoration of an aluminum bodied 1973 Land Rover Series 3! Yes, an aluminum body!

Last July, I was contacted by Paul Spangler of the Drummond Corporation about restoring the Land Rover, which he had recently purchased. Paul wanted to know if soda blasting would be able to strip his Rover without harming the aluminum body. I explained that I have been involved in a number of projects stripping aluminum aircraft and light gauge aluminum aircraft parts with no problems, and that I believed soda blasting would do a great job on his Land Rover. After our discussion, Paul decided to purchase an ACE Model 2-PS Heavy Duty Portable Soda Blaster to soda blast his prized aluminum Land Rover.

As you can see, the Land Rover had seen its share of adventures over the years! Since there were no major mechanical issues, Paul decided to drive and enjoy it over the summer before launching into the restoration.

Paul recently contacted me. His excitement and enthusiasm were very apparent. “I love the soda blaster! It has exceeded my expectations! Flawless unit! It is ridiculous how little media it used. The media usage is so well metered. Amazing!!!”

Paul used 6 – 50 lbs bags of Armex Flow XL soda blast media to completely strip the aluminum body. The job took around 5 hours. He used the standard 1/8” ID nozzle (requires a minimum of 18 CFM) and media restrictor, and blasted at 80 psi.

These pictures show just how beautiful the soda blasted aluminum looks.

Paul is now removing the body parts from the frame and will be soda blasting the bottom side of all body panels and the frame.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress of this interesting project as I get updates.

Hundreds of cars, trucks, boats, and other vehicles have been restored using soda blasting. Several years ago, Hot Rod magazine did a series of articles entitled “Paint & Bodywork, The Most Complete Step-By-Step Series Ever!” In the series, the Editor of Hot Rod had his personal 1969 Camaro stripped and refinished. They had the choice of any paint stripping method available. What method did they use on his personal car? Soda Blasting!

I hope this helps you out. In future postings, I’ll write about some of the other interesting projects that I’ve been involved with, using soda blasting. Soda blasting really is one of the most exciting, environmentally friendly cleaning processes available today. We are all put here on this planet for a short time, so let’s make the best of it and help preserve it for future generations.

Thanks for reading my blog! – The Soda Blasting Guy

Soda Blasting Swimming Pool Tile

Soda blasting swimming pool tile on Maui using the ACE Model 2-PS Heavy Duty Portable Soda Blaster – (Photos and video courtesy of Maui SodaBlast, LLC – Paia, Hawaii – owners John & Rina Andrade)

Hi Everybody! Happy Summer!  Welcome to my blog about soda blasting, the environmentally friendly cleaning method that uses a form of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in place of other non-environmentally friendly, and health hazardous blasting medias like sand.

In my earlier postings, I explained what soda blasting is, what makes soda blasting such a unique cleaning process, some basic information on air compressors, on soda blasting equipment, and on a few popular applications. Once you understand how soda blasting works, it is much easier to appreciate why it is such an effective, safe, and eco-friendly cleaning method for many different types of jobs.

As I mentioned before, soda blasting has become a worldwide phenomenon! As I think back over the last several years, I am amazed at all of the different types of projects that I’ve been involved with, from helping do-it-yourself home owners, to assisting all kinds of businesses, large and small. I enjoy hearing from people, who have used soda blasting on their projects based on my recommendations. It is very satisfying to know that I’ve helped someone achieve completion of an important job.

Summertime! Yea! Yesterday was the first day of summer and there is no better way to enjoy those hot summer days than by taking a refreshing dip in your swimming pool, or lounging around in your spa. One of the down sides of having your own pool or spa is cleaning the calcium build up that accumulates around the waterline. This unsightly build up tarnishes the beauty of the tile work around many pools and spas. Fortunately, there is an effective, environmentally friendly way to take care of the problem without harming the beauty of the tile. You guessed it….soda blasting!

Today, I want to tell you about a pool maintenance and repair business, which called me a while back, wanting to know if soda blasting could help them expand their business and help their profitability. John & Rina Andrade operate Maui SodaBlast in beautiful Paia, Hawaii. Hawaii is probably the most environmentally aware state in the USA. John & Rina insisted that they only wanted to use an eco-friendly, green cleaning process in their business. After discussing the benefits of soda blasting for their business, they decided to purchase the ACE Model 2-PS Heavy Duty Portable Soda Blaster.

As John wrote to me recently, “We own a Pool Maintenance & Repair business and I thought it would be good to offer a calcium (hard water line on the tile) removal service to our clients. It ended up being a great idea! Soda blasting has added about 20% to our bottom line, but that is a conservative number because we do not advertise, just recurring clients and a hand full of referrals.  Clients are very happy with the restoration of their pool tile and also love the idea the media is eco-friendly. Maui is a small island and word has gotten around quickly.”

As you can see, the transformations are striking! No more calcium buildup and beautifully clean tile and stone, with no damage.

BEFORE SODA BLASTING

AFTER SODA BLASTING

John soda blasts with a media specifically designed for pool cleaning and has “never had any problems with pitting or damaging glass or ceramic tile. The operator has to adjust the PSI depending how stubborn the water line (calcium).” John says that “keeping the nozzle at an angle works best. Also, I recommend keeping the nozzle moving, do not keep it in place too long. Reason being the grout line can be blown out if not careful and adjusting PSI as you go. Some calcium build ups are harder to remove than others, which is why the operator may have to increase the PSI.”

Click on the link below to see a short video of the actual process in action:

Soda blasting swimming pool tile – ACE Model 2-PS

Using the ACE Model 2-PS Heavy Duty Soda Blaster makes the job quick and efficient. John states that, “The actual time in the water soda blasting all depends on the size of the pool, multiple bodies of water, spill over and/or negative edge and trough. But for a basic pool at 15-20k gallons, I might use a bag and a half to two bags, but no more than three. I might be in the water max 2 hours; the hardest part of the job is setting up, breaking down, and cleaning up the media off of the pool deck.”

BEFORE SODA BLASTING

AFTER SODA BLASTING

If you have unsightly calcium build-up around your pool or spa, consider cleaning it the way it is being done in the environmentally conscious state of Hawaii. Whether you have a swimming pool cleaning business, a property management business, or a home pool, soda blasting is the way to restore the beauty of your pool, spa, fountain, or water feature.

I hope this helps you out. In future postings, I’ll write about some of the other interesting projects that I’ve been involved with, using soda blasting. Soda blasting really is one of the most exciting, environmentally friendly cleaning processes available today. We are all put here on this planet for a short time, so let’s make the best of it and help preserve it for future generations.

Thanks for reading my blog! – The Soda Blasting Guy

Eco-Friendly Furniture Refinishing!

Hi Everybody! Welcome to my blog about soda blasting, the environmentally friendly cleaning method that uses a form of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in place of other non-environmentally friendly, and health hazardous blasting medias like sand.

In my earlier postings, I explained what soda blasting is, what makes soda blasting such a unique cleaning process, some basic information on air compressors, on soda blasting equipment, and on a few popular applications. Once you understand how soda blasting works, it is much easier to appreciate why it is such an effective, safe, and eco-friendly cleaning method for many different types of jobs.

As I mentioned before, soda blasting has become a worldwide phenomenon! As I think back over the last several years, I am amazed at all of the different types of projects that I’ve been involved with, from helping do-it-yourself home owners, to assisting all kinds of businesses, large and small. I enjoy hearing from people, who have used soda blasting on their projects based on my recommendations. It is very satisfying to know that I’ve helped someone achieve completion of an important job.

As many of you know, one of the nastiest jobs around is using a toxic chemical stripper to remove the finish off of wooden furniture and architectural items such as doors and windows. Not only is it messy, but it can be bad for you and bad for the environment. Not something that I would want to use or be around.

So what alternative do you have? Well, it just so happens that soda blasting is a safe, effective, and eco-friendly way to strip all kinds of paint, varnish, and other common coatings used on wood! That’s right, soda blasting. In one of my earlier blogs, entitled “Soda Blasting and Paint Stripping”, I gave a brief overview on some of the types of jobs that you can do with soda blasting. Today, I want to tell you about a specific job that I had the pleasure of being involved with. And what a job it was!

Last summer, I received a phone call from Flink’s Painting in Kaysville, Utah. Ed told me that he had a job, which involved stripping the finish off of wooden church pews. We talked for a while as I answered his questions about soda blasting and how it works. As the discussion proceeded, I asked him how many of the pews needed stripping. “Over 200 of them” he replied. “That’s a pretty big job”, I said and we both laughed. “It sure is!” he said.

The church consisted of a main level and an upper balcony with additional seating for the congregation. Ed wanted to remove the pews from the lower level, and move them to a large warehouse area to soda blast them offsite. However, due to logistical reasons, he would soda blast the balcony pews in place at the church.

I recommended that he use the ACE Model 2-PS Heavy Duty Portable Soda Blaster for the job. In addition to the round nozzles, I also recommended that he try a fan tip blast nozzle, since he had a sufficient amount of cfm available from his air compressor. He told me that his work crews would be working long hours on a daily basis for a number of weeks to complete the work on time. “I’m going to run the heck out of this machine. Is that soda blaster you recommend up to the task?” he asked. “Absolutely” I told him.

Ed said that it was acceptable if he experienced some raising of the wood grain, as he intended to finish sand all of the pews anyway. He was primarily interested in speed and wanted no part of chemical strippers. With that in mind, I recommended Armex Flow XL soda blast media designed for paint and coatings removal. He could also blast at a slightly higher blasting pressure, since speed was his main concern.

Several weeks passed, and one day I received a call from Ed with some questions about the soda blast media. I asked him how the job was going. He told me that he was just about done, and that the ACE Model 2-PS soda blaster had worked great, just like I knew it would. He was pleased and so was I.

The photo at the top of this blog posting shows the balcony pews. The pews nearest the camera have already been soda blasted. If you look towards the upper middle of the picture, you can see the work crew and the ACE Model 2-PS, stripping one of the final rows of pews.

This was a very large scale project. Soda blasting can just as easily be used by a homeowner or do-it-yourself hobbyist for many different kinds of applications.

I’ll write about some of the other interesting projects that I’ve been involved with, using soda blasting, in future postings. Soda blasting really is one of the most exciting, environmentally friendly cleaning processes available today. We are all put here on this planet for a short time, so let’s make the best of it and help preserve it for future generations.

Thanks for reading my blog! – The Soda Blasting Guy