Soda Blasting ?

BulldogMedia

I got a call today about blasting clean a aircraft machine shop. Here is the thing the shop is painted white(celling & walls), and they are looking to get dust and oil from the machining process cleaned off. The gentleman tells me he has been somewhere else about 10 years ago where they had this done and it was done at a low PSI and did not harm the paint.

Can this be blasted with out taking the paint off.

It is about a 6 hour drive away from me so before I go and do a test blast and waste two days I wanted to see if anyone has done something like this or what you all think.

I told them that power washing seem to be what they need and they said that is not an option.

Thanks
Tony

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www.bulldogblasting.com

MEDIA MAN

Tony,
I don't have much advice to give as I do questions regarding the aircraft machine shop.
Did they indicate the square feet of the shop? Also what are the walls? Stick framed? Cement or cinder block? What are the walls coated with now? I would imagine it possible to brush-off blast the walls, but to what degree has the oils or stains of any sort penetrated the coating on the walls. Stains can be tough if they have already saturated the structure. Any paint that may not have adhered tightly initially will come off irregardless.
Also are they going to remove their machines or will you have to work around them? What do they intend to do about the residule soda dust. If the walls have any gloss type coating you will be dulling the surface by blasting it. Do they intend to repaint or not. You may want to find out their final intentions, budget and time frame. I might make an offer to come in and blast the walls (brush-off blast SSPC-SP7/NACE 4) and recoat everything. Even make a little more money! Especially if they are going to have the shop empty already. I don't know about you, I myself do not get into the coatings but I work with companies that do. Get a proposal from an industrial coating contractor. Pay attention to the soda film left behind. That should be removed before recoating. Although it sounds as though they may be trying to get by without spending much money. Talk to them a little more. You get an idea how much they will spend. I just don't think that blasting without removing the paint will get out all the stains and are they going to be happy with that outcome. Who knows maybe there budget will allow to have it recoated. See if they can email you some quality pics before you drive out. If the pics indicate severe staining and harsh marks on the wall you may have to blast heavier than what they are asking for. Besides, you could post them here for others to comment on what to do.

Media Man

ODAT

Hi All,

I hope one of you knowledgable people here can help me or push me in the right direction.

I'm looking into starting a soda blasting company and need to find out info about the different manufacturers out there and which ones are better..

Thanks in advance for any help!

Roger

MEDIA MAN

Roger,

I am just interested in knowing how or why you have got the interest in soda blasting. No particular reason, just curious. I would suggest not limiting yourself to just soda.
Are you interested in purchasing a "package" offer. By this I mean a compressor, pot, hoseses etc. bundled together for 1 purchase price. Or are you looking to buy everything separatly.
There are companies out there that offer "packages" and so called "training". Go to www.sbsllc.com or www.sodaworks.com are just a couple. I have a sodaworks unit. If I new then what I know now I probrably would have done things different. I am not putting them down but I've learned things. They are great entry level pieces of equipment but I am after larger jobs now. Looking to revamp what I have now for larger equipment.
Universal minerals (www.universalminerals.com) is a distributor blasting equipment and media. They are a distributor for Axxiom (www.axxiommfg.com) which is taking over Schmidt. Call and talk to Gary Birdwell. I have corresponded with him via email. He can help you.

Media Man

ODAT

Hi Media Man,

Thanks for all of the great info, and comments.
I just moved back to the east coast, for many reasons, including to be near the ocean again. I have history which includes hazardous material, which is a big concern in coastal areas everywhere.
I went to a boat show and started talking to a bunch of people about painting boat bottoms just to be around the water again, while I recieved some more training in marine electronics. It set off a spark and I've been aggressively following it ever since.
The short answer is I hadnt even heard of soda blasting until about a week and a half ago...
Its a very interesting situation up here right now with all of the issues, so we'll see what happens.

So MM , if you had to do it all over again what would you buy ?

Thanks,

Roger

MEDIA MAN

ODAT,

I was like you when I first bought mine. I thought I was going to do soda. Along with my soda pot and compressor, I bought a used pot for sand blasting right from the start just in case. It's too small and would like a larger pot and compressor. I do more so-called "sand blasting". No traditional silica but slag, crushed glass, cob, and I even have some walnut shell. Soda has its place but it also has its downfalls. The big one being that it does not cut out rust.
In this region it is hard for me to sell the soda. Tight-wads around here even though there is a lot of money in this area. People around here would rather spend a lot on the paint job and very little on the prep work.
I'm trying to get into larger jobs, and away from the weekend restor. guys and their cars.
Another thing to consider is that sand and soda blasting go hand in hand with coatings. Check into this equipment too or find someone you can work with that does coatings. Customer what to deal with one company. So if you can do the caotings too it a plus.

Media Man

ODAT

Hi MM,

Hope you had a nice weekend.
I went and looked at a rig a guy had for sale and spoke to a few people since I last posted.
The size of the pot really does matter for many reasons I've been told, so I'm thinking what I'd like to do is buy the top of the line multimedia pot. I guess they call it the 500 class, and the hoses to go with it, and buy a used 210cfm air compressor , tow behind or mounted on a flat bed.
Any advise for buying the compressor? I'm hoping to find a john deere diesel 80hp or so.

Are there any hidden issues I should be aware of?

Roger

plazaman

Roger, what brand of pot are you thinking?

I purchased a used Sullivan Palatek compressor on ebay last year, actually, he ended the auction early and i bought outright. anyway, it was an 01 or 02 with about 620 hours on it. 210 cfm 125 psi, a 185 will work but try with a 210 if possibile. Are you only going to be blasting soda? If so, then i would say a smaller pot would be ok, but if you are going to expand and go into other areas, i would look into a larger pot.

Or go with the small soda pot now, and later add a larger pot for other media.

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Westchester Remodeling Contractor
Hartsdale Remodeling Contractor
Ardsley Remodeling Contractor

MEDIA MAN

Roger,
Can i ask why this guy has his rig for sale? As for a pot look into the Schmidt M-21. www.axxiommfg.com. I don't have this pot but am looking at purchasing it. The only advice I can give on a compressor is to look at it as you're buing a vehicle. A new compressor will cost a lot more but will have a warranty. I would not look at anything with a lot of hours. As with a vehicle you will be able to tell a lot about it by the condition it is in. A lot of use or long periods of heavy use causes the internal mechanics to wear out. Make sure you get to try it first. There are ways to determine how many cfm and the psi at the nozzle. A sandblasting distriutor can line you up with a needle and guage to check this out. That would be my concerne. I don't see any hidden issues with a compressor, pretty straight foreward. Some of the others on this forum may have something to add though. I purchased new. If you are thinking of mounting it permenatly on a truck or trailer you may want to look at a skid mounted compressor. I would mount it on a truck so that you can pull a trailer of media behind. That is my problem. I am looking at an F550or F650 to mount my compressor, pots, and hose's. This way I can still pull a trailer of media and everything else to a job site. If needed I can leave the trailer on site but bring home my expensive/important stuff each night. www.machinerytrader.com has a section of air compressors under equipment for sale. Most major brands from Atlas to Sullivan Palatek.

Steve (Media Man)

ODAT

Steve,

Actually I was talking to Benny LeCompte about buying a new rig and the other one I looked at was in Boston , he was selling it because he was too old to do it anymore. Not what I want anyway, it has two of everything and the price relects it.

Benny mentioned that I might want a larger pot for doing boats, so once in the enclosed tented area I could stay until it was done. He suggested the multi-media pot for flexability, right off the bat, indicating that some people want their boats done with a certain media..
I have a 2005 Dodge Diesel 3500 4x4 quad-cab,dually, with the full bed . I was thinking I might weld a platform on the trailer for the pot and the hoses and put the media in the bed of the truck so I wouldnt need to carry it all the time, with todays diesel prices.
What do you think?
Roger

plazaman

Roger, I would suggest using a pot that you can move around, instead of those fixed setups.

__________________
Westchester Remodeling Contractor
Hartsdale Remodeling Contractor
Ardsley Remodeling Contractor

MEDIA MAN

Roger,
There is noting wrong with doing it that way. Plazaman has his compressor and pot on a trailer too. Find out what he did because I know he can move his pot off his trailer. My soda pot is mounted to brackets on my compressor's tounge with u bolts so I f I needed I could easily remove it if I wanted to. I also have a 1.5 fine media pot that I blow slag, crushed glass, cob, walnut shells and occassionally soda through. I also haul my media in the back of my truck but I'd rather do it as described previously.
A Tow behind compressor whether on a trailor or on its own axle is fine. But I have learned in my case that I would rather have it mounted to my truck, that is the compressor, pot, and hoses. I am a one man show therefore if I need a lot of media at a job site I can pull a trailer behind my rig because the compressor and pot are on the truck. Saves me from pulling the compressor to the job site and then having to go back and get a trailer of media. Also if the job is small and the flat bed is long enough I could load the media on it too and not have to pull a trailer. Its not just the media but everything else you may need for a job. Ladders, saw-horses, planking, scaffolding, lighting, extension cords,tarps, poly plastic, orange cones, tools, and so on.
As for media consumption the air/abrasive consumption guide (U.S. standard) estimates at 100psi that on average to expect to consume about 812lbs. of abrasive per hour with a #5 nozzle. Now you won't go through as much soda per hour and I don't go through quite that much when using slag, or crushed glass but then I use fine grit media. I go through about 600lbs. of slag (40-60) and crushed glass (60-100) per hour. I get between 15 to 24 min per pot @ 150lbs per pot.
One thing I would suggest to you is to go to clemcos web site. There are two booklets they publish that are beneficial. One is titled Abrasive Blasting Safety Practices and the other is Blast Off 2. They are free.

Steve (Media Man)