All About Soda Blasting

There are plenty of materials around that can and are used for blasting metals and other surfaces such as plastics and wood, either to clean them or prepare them for painting. Impact finishing techniques include shot, sand and bead blasting, for instance. if you’ve never heard of soda blasting, you may by wondering what its advantages are and when it’s best to use this medium rather than the alternatives. Here, we look at a few of the main reasons soda blasting is such an efficient technique and when you might use it.

Soda blasting uses sodium bicarbonate (also known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda) to carry out cleaning of surfaces. Sodium bicarbonate is non-toxic, non-flammable and non-hazardous. It’s also environmentally safe, making it much safer and better to use for cleaning projects than heavy duty chemicals that can harm both the user and the environment around it.

Gentle Yet Highly Effective

It’s also a gentler abrasive than shot, sand or other alternatives, so is appropriate when you need a material that won’t damage the surface below in any way. In fact, it’s very versatile and can be used to clean a whole range of materials, including rubber, trim, wood, masonry, metal, fibreglass, glass and chrome without pitting or otherwise marking the surface.

When used on metal, it’s a superb rust inhibitor. If you sand or shot blast a metal surface, it must usually be painted almost immediately, or flash rust and corrosion may begin to form while the metal is in direct contact with the air. Soda blasting, though, leaves a thin protective film on the surface. If kept dry, the bare metal part cleaned with soda can remain safely unpainted or coated for up to a month without rust beginning to form. The film can be safely removed with compressed air and then wiped down with a damp, soapy cloth and rinsed before painting.

Mould, Smoke and Grease Removal

Soda blasting for cleaning purposes can be done as a dry technique as opposed to some other cleaning methods that rely on wet-vacuuming or the use of chemicals. This makes it highly effective at removing mould from any surface, even those that are porous such as wood. If used within a building, for instance, this removes the requirement to avoid exposed wiring, piping or fixtures and fittings too.

Soda blasting is also highly efficient at dealing with the effects of fire. As well as stripping away the charred surfaces cleanly without having to spend hours scraping, soda’s properties also include a deodorising effect which will remove the lingering burnt smell.

Using sodium bicarbonate for degreasing or cleaning machinery is just as effective. Not only can the machine remain in place, it can even remain in operation if necessary. Meanwhile, the soda blasting process is gentle enough to strip away grease, oils and combustion deposits without damaging the delicate parts of the machine.

These are just a few of the benefits of using soda blasting to clean a wide array of surfaces, large and small. For more advice on whether soda blasting is appropriate for your project, contact specialists such as Qse Metalblast Ltd.