Can you soda blast plastic

How much does each one cost, and what are their benefits? There are many questions to answer before choosing one method. Knowing the purpose of each process will help narrow the options for different projects and ensure optimal results with beautiful finishes.

Sand blasting, also called abrasive blasting, is the older and better-known option of the two. This process involves using compressed air to force abrasive material at a surface in order to remove rust, paint, or debris prior to applying an industrial finish like paint or powder coating. Contrary to its name, sand is no longer the primary material used in sand blasting.

Sand is less durable and effective due to its tendency to break down and turn to powder on impact. In this way it is similar to the material used in soda blasting. Other media like glass or plastic beads, steel grit, and even walnut shells are better suited to use in sand blasting. Some of these materials can be recycled, as they are much stronger than sand and are less likely to be destroyed. Sand blasting essentially provides the same type of finish as hand sanding, but more evenly and efficiently.

It requires some specialized equipment like an air compressor, blast cabinet, and blast room. The equipment used depends on the method that best suits the project at hand. Portable air compressors are pressurized and filled with blasting material and can be transported to the project site and the sand blasting is done in a more open space.

Blast cabinets are ideal for recyclable material, as they collect the media after it has been used so it can be gathered for a future project. In this case, the operator performs the sand blasting with the piece in a small, enclosed cabinet. Meanwhile, a blast room serves a similar purpose to the cabinet, but on a larger scale.

Blast rooms are used for vehicles, construction equipment, and aircraft, though dust and media collection systems can still make it possible to reduce waste and recycle materials. Sand blasting is most often used on metal due to the strength of the media and air pressure.

It is one of the most efficient preparation methods and the best one for rust removal. It cleans surfaces quickly, and because of the variety of media used in the process, its uses are just as versatile. One of the most significant downsides to sand blasting is the health risk. Sand blasting creates a large amount of dust, which can cause respiratory problems, and pressurized application can cause burns on unprotected skin.

There are also fall risks from media left underfoot, as well as excessive noise and heat potential. Most of these dangers can be addressed and prevented using the proper personal protective equipment PPE.

Soda blasting is a process much like sand blasting. The two can overlap in certain circumstances, but in general, they serve different purposes. The main difference lies in the material. Soda blasting is a newer form of abrasive blasting that was invented in the s and is milder than sand blasting.

It uses sodium bicarbonate —otherwise known as baking soda—and, with equipment similar to that used in sand blasting, blasts the particles against a surface to clean it.

While soda blasting can be used to smooth surfaces for coating preparation and remove rust, it is primarily used to clean. Soda blasting is especially effective on surfaces like wood, chrome, and plastic. In other words, surfaces that are softer or require a gentler touch work well with this type of blasting, as it is less likely to damage the surface. Because of the low risk of distorting the surface, soda blasting is suitable for use on a wide variety of surfaces.

It is especially practical in automotive restoration, cleaning wooden surfaces like decks and doors, and cleaning in masonry applications. Sodium bicarbonate is also a deodorizer. This makes it ideal for mold removal and cleaning up after fire damage. It is also a more fragile material than those usually used in sand blasting, which means it breaks upon impact and creates a lot of dust.

For this reason, respiratory protection is needed. The differences between sand blasting and soda blasting go beyond their applications and materials. Where sand blasting might cause damage, soda blasting is ideal for the job. Meanwhile, where soda blasting can be used on the same surfaces and for many of the same purposes, sand blasting is more efficient and can clean or strip a surface of rust and paint much more quickly than soda blasting.

Sand blasting is applied using much greater pressure than soda blasting. Soda blasting may use only 20psi, but sand blasting can use anywhere from 70 to psi. This alone creates a vast difference in how well they work in various scenarios, as air pressure is one of the main factors in their strength. Sometimes, however, soda blasting can offer more advantages in rust removal. Not only can it remove the rust, but it prevents it from forming again. With sand blasting, the industrial finish has to be applied immediately because of the danger of flash rusting.

However, soda blasting creates a protective film over the surface after blasting and allows for some time to pass between preparation and coating, as it prevents the surface from rusting quickly. Once the final coating is ready to be applied, the sodium bicarbonate film can be removed with water and vinegar or scrubbed away, ready for the new coat.

Another key difference is its environmental impact. While sand blasting media is sometimes recyclable, it also is not always environmentally friendly. Materials like corn cobs and walnut shells are an exception here, as they are biodegradable, but other materials like metal and plastic beads are not.

Sand blasting also creates much more dust than soda blasting, which means that when the materials used are already harmful, this creates airborne hazards as well as potentially toxic residues.

Sodium bicarbonate is much better for the environment. Some people use fine glass beads I've never tried that. At any rate, get off as much as you can with soaking techniques. Pour out old and use fresh. Scrub with a medium toothbrush. Soak some more. Scrub some more. You may get more off that you think you can. Last edited: Jan 1, Try to find someone in your area that has a Vapor Honing machine. We have one here and it makes any plastic look like new. It works perfect.

DASH 95 , Jan 1, To show how gentle it is, here is a photo of a Carburetor float. You can damage just by scratching it with your fingernail. It cleans the brass and the outside coating with no damage to the surface. This is not a machine for the hobbyist it takes 3 phase power, 40 CFM of air and it was about 6K with the shipping. But it does one hell of a job. You can put your hand in it and spray them and it feels just like water running on them.

We do have big blast cabinets that would wipe out plastic in a few seconds. We even put plate glass in it to test it and no marks on the glass. DASH 95 , Jan 2, I have a Badger grit blaster. I use baking soda all the time for "roughing up" engineering plastic on truck frames to give them some tooth to make paint adhere better. I have also used it to clean paint off of etched brass car side models with plastic cores with great results.

The plastic parts end up with a satin finish that holds paint real nice. Soda blasting can help reduce or remove unfriendly odors while removing contaminants.

Benefits to Wastewater Treatment Systems In most non-hazardous applications, the residue from soda blasting can be rinsed into sanitary drains or sewers which flush the baking soda residue to a water treatment facility, greatly reducing clean-up time. Sodium bicarbonate is actually beneficial to waste water treatment systems.

For industrial treatment systems, where chemical neutralization is a major cost in water treatment, soda blast media can often save significant dollars in waste treatment. Although soda blasting media costs per square foot are higher, site clean-up and residue disposal are significantly lower. The net balance is that total cost per square foot is about the same for both approaches.

Reduces Surface Acids As a strong buffer for acids and alkalis, soda eliminates acidic conditions on the surface of the substrate. For conditions with high acidic levels, acid rain or boiler fly ash, blasting with soda will reduce coating failures. Natural Rust Inhibitor As long as baking soda is on a ferrous metal surface, rust will not form. For rust to form, free moisture and acidic conditions must exist. In most cases, free moisture combines with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to form carbonic acid.

This acid releases a free metal ferrous ion which combines with oxygen oxidizes to form rust. Soda buffers acids and prevents the release of free metal ions and prevents rust. Reduces Solid Waste Soda blast media can be dissolved in fresh water. By dissolving the media and filtering out the contaminants the solution can generally be discharged to P. With increasing landfill costs and liabilities, this advantage becomes more important everyday.

No Re-Profiling of Metals Standard grades of soda media without any hard aggregates do not profile steel. When an operator removes a coating from a metal surface, he or she exposes the existing anchor pattern under the coating.

Unless corrosion has occurred, there is no reason to re-profile the surface. No Pre-Cleaning For projects where the coating is covered with grease, carbon, salt or other contaminants, the more traditional blasting methods require the coating to be fully cleaned before blasting. This is required so that the contaminants on the surface of the coating not be driven through the coating and into the surface of the substrate, causing future coating failure.