WTK: Soda Blasting

[ibanez]

planning to restore an Austin Mini and would like to have the body stripped to bare metal.

Where can I have soda blasting done?

Not interested in sand blasting.

[ado15mk3]

^ what he said.
also want to do a mini

[Rocketraz1982]

Isn't bead blasting another option????

[MG Man]

PM Sanctifier
man has a tonload of info on this

[Sanctifier]

^ ^ ^ I don't know who does that locally. I gave up looking for a local shop to do it for me quite a while ago.
I have three DIY "Body & Paint" projects to do; so I decided to buy my own equipment and do it myself.

So far I have all the safety gear (Remote Respirators / Turbine compressor / Cool suit)... Pressure pot... 5 hp/2-stage compressor (to install)... a temp positive-pressure (keeps dirt out), "crossflow" booth to make... 2 x 30" standing fans (to buy)... 24" exhaust fan (to assemble & install)... "filtered" intake doors to make... and a rotisserie to spin the shell.

If you are both talking "Mini", you may have SERIOUS chassis rot & PITTED, rusty panels to deal with.
IMHO that needs much harsher media than soda blasting... Garnet for the chassis... and Soda for the outer panels maybe?
If you want to DIY, your best bet is to go to the Eastwood site. They have great info and advice and sell reasonable "Hobby" equipment. Prices are a bit high, so maybe buy equipment from them (& rent a small compressor) and buy media from elsewhere (eBay? The Auto Shop? etc.)

N.B. Wash ALL "soda blasted" panels with warm, soapy water BEFORE prep & paint, to avoid paint adhesion problems.

EDIT: New info. See post below.

Maybe Ryan Pinheiro can help. His business is "Ice Blasting". That's cutting edge in the Auto Blasting business these days.

Some blasting info here...
Link--> The Ultimate Paint and Body Guide Part 2- How To Strip Paint.

BTW blasting the outside of the shell & body panels is great... but IMHO your BIGGEST problem is the corrosion INSIDE the chassis rails... box sections... doors... all double panels, etc.

You could try to spray "Wonder" or similar... coat with anti-rust spray... and then use rubberised undercoating... but that will still let rust back in again sooner or later.

I'm NOT recommending this for you... but there's too much "inner panel" rust to avoid in my 29 year old, rwd Lancer 1800 GSR... so I'm going to try ELECTROLYSIS first... then Blasting... then some kind of eCoat/Phosphate Coating BEFORE body prep... then Anti-rust protection (above) AFTER painting. Should last awhile.

Link--> Rust Removal using Electrolysis on a large scale.

My $0.02¢

[MG Man]

if their pockets deep, they can buy a Heritage shell and start with a good base
Heritage makes brand mew Mini bodyshells from better grade steel, using the
original factory tooling

[ado15mk3]

PM Sanctifier
man has a tonload of info on this

MG, you wasn't joking hoss. btw Heritage shells is for bottomless pockets!!! besides which how legal would that be? i don't think our law caters for this, does it?
Sanky, thanks for all the info.

[MG Man]

well considern man bringin 1990s Rover Minis and runnin ole plates............technically u jus replacin all de panels one by one ;p

[Sanctifier]

After soda-blasting, you MUST neutralize/remove the baking soda residue, before doing further bodywork.
Otherwise you will grind the residue into the "pores" of the metal, which causes this---> Skipping this step sometimes causes 'adhesion problems' with primer and paint coats. They can "peel off" ... ... so better safe than sorry!

EDIT: New Information & Easier Method - While a WARM soap & water mixture and "ScotchBrite" scrub is usually suggested, it too is a base (alkaline pH) and may not solve the problem entirely. A better alternative is HoldTight 102 Salt Remover / Flash Rust Inhibitor. Simply dilute it (50:1) with water... pour it into a pressure washer... pressure wash the panel/body-shell... blow dry with compressed air...
NO Flash Rust (up to 120 hours)... and NO Paint Adhesion Problems!

This is THE professional answer to eliminate ALL adhesion and "flash" rust problems and IMHO makes DIY media blasting the preferred method of autobody preperation.

Link--> HoldTight 102 Salt Remover / Flash Rust Inhibitor.

BTW another source for media blasting (unfortunately not soda) and powder-coating is PanLand opposite Angostura Ltd. on the Eastern Main Road (check phonebook.)

My $0.02¢

[Dragsta]

Glass Bead Blasting!!!

[Sanctifier]

I'm a total novice but IIRC, glass bead media would take too long to remove heavy rust... Blast media is EXPENSIVE!

......... Blast Media Application Chart.

Glass Bead media usually requires the entire car to be stripped before blasting... right down to a bare shell... otherwise (like all other agressive media) it will also "etch" you glass windscreens and windows... damage door rubbers (and electrical wiring) etc... and it's a pain in the azz to remove ALL particles from ALL creases, etc. before priming the body.

I would use agressive media on rusty areas only... unless the whole car is rusty... then I would blast... or instead,
I would not touch the car at all... unless it was a "classic." Media and restoration parts are VERY expensive.
Better to start with a "straight," rust-free/low rust example... MUCH cheaper in the long run!

For this kind of extreme case, I would also have to try electrolysis (or use VERY expensive Rust Converter chemicals with all the body-holes "masked off"... on a rotisserie [or in a tank] for thorough application) to remove heavy rust from inside chassis rails, box sections, double panels etc.
Otherwise you will be wasting your time as rust will eat the car from the inside out and destroy all your hard work.

Soda isn't used to remove rust, only primer & paint. It doesn't etch glass or damage rubber parts. Since it's water-soluble, it can also be used on an assembled car in a pinch (at least externally) with less risk of particles getting into the final coat.
IMHO you should still mask off ALL door openings etc. before blasting... vacuum afterward... pressure wash with HoldTight 102... then blow dry with compressed air.

My $0.02¢

[roadracer7]

take it or leave it ,that's my final offer.

great info there sanctifier

''we've been sanctified''

[Sanctifier]

...great info there sanctifier

''we've been sanctified''

I hope it wasn't too painful! (Less info req'd?)