Nobody needs to explain that money is tight these days. But your muscle car interests just won’t wait. Restoration must go forward. Eastwood, the Pennsylvania-based supplier of restoration tools and supplies, gets that and has a small-job soda blasting kit for the enthusiast that will fit most any budget. It is simple to set up and use, requiring only an air compressor. It is item number 13943, and for around $40 you could be up and running, doing your own work and having a “blast.”
Soda is a less aggressive medium than sand or glass bead, and it is much easier on sensitive parts like carburetors and aluminum castings. While it is easier on softer materials, it is not as effective for removing heavy rust. Sand or beads are traditionally the preferred blasting media for oxidized steel and iron. But soda is great for removing scale, grime, chemical stains like fuel, carbon, paint, and unfortunate coatings. And here’s a bonus: The Eastwood Small Job Blaster will also work with ground glass, should you need a more aggressive cut.
The kit includes the gun, four replaceable nozzles and Allen wrench, a metal pickup tube, 10 feet of rubber hose, an air line fitting, and a 10-pound jug of soda. Setup is so simple anyone can do it.
Mechanically minded or not, don’t fear. We’ll walk you through setup and blast a few sample parts to give you an idea what to expect.
Pick Your Blasting Media
If your job requires a blasting medium with more cutting power than soda, this chart from Eastwood will help you choose.
PSI Removal of carbon, rust, paint Paint removal, no rust (sheetmetal) Paint removal, no rust (heavy metal) Paint prep Transmission, engine cleaning Brazing, welding prep Glass bead 60 Good Good — Good Good Good Aluminum oxide 80-90 Best — Good Best — Better Silicon carbide 80-90 Better — — Better — Best Walnut shells 80 — Better — — Best —
1] You’ll need to supply an air compressor, but you don’t have to spend big to get something usable. The system needs 7 cfm at 80 psi. That’s pretty modest. Even a small unit like this Lowe’s special can work.
2] If you’re shopping for an air compressor, check the info sticker on the tank for its rating. This one is rated at less than what the system specs call for, but it can still work if you don’t mind doing some blasting then waiting for it to catch up.
3] Setup is easy. Thread the supplied air fitting into the gun and tighten snugly. Don’t get too crazy; these are aluminum parts, not hardened head bolts. Teflon tape here is a good idea for better sealing.
4] Push the rubber hose onto the gun. We cut off a foot or two that got kinked from being coiled up tightly in the package. Not to worry, there’s still plenty left. Another strong point of this system: Because the blasting media enter the gun so near the outlet, moisture buildup is much less of a problem than with pressure blasters.
5] Slide the other end of the hose onto the metal feed tube. One end extends a little longer than the other. There’s probably a right and wrong here, but we tried it both ways and one worked as well as the other.
6] Push the metal feed tube into the media and you’re done with setup.
7] Fire up your compressor and set the regulator for 80 psi. Now you’re ready to blast. Wear eye protection, a respiratory filter, and some work clothes.
8] We started with this grimy old Autolite carb, covered in decades of funk and grime.
9] Soda blasting did a very good job of removing the crud. Some parts took a little extra effort, but overall the system performed admirably. It did very well on the carb’s original ID tag, made of light aluminum, which would have been damaged with heavier media. The better condition the metal is in to begin with, the better the outcome. The castings cleaned up well, but if there’s rust on the steel parts, like linkages, you’ll need to step up to glass beads.
10] Next up was this severely weathered Mallory dual-point distributor. The blasting removed the top layers of scale and dirt, but this metal was so deeply oxidized, it would need more—maybe emery cloth, sand or glass beading, an acid wash, or some combination of those—for a deeper cut that would restore a like-new look of fresh aluminum.
11] This vintage Edelbrock aluminum intake also had oxidation, but not as deep as the distributor. The soda blaster produced very good results with it. There are lots of different surfaces on a piece like this, and it’ll take some time to get them all, and a fair amount of media too.
12] A 10-pound replacement jug of soda or other media is $15 from Eastwood. Many different kinds of blasting media are available—soda, glass bead, walnut shell, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide—so you can choose the level of cut you need for your job. (See the accompanying chart, which matches media to jobs.)
13] Be sure to follow up the blasting with a thorough cleanup and blowout. The abrasive is very fine and finds its way into everywhere.
14] Here is the before shot of an Autolite 4100 Cracker Box carb. It’s not too bad, but it does have its share of oxidation and carbon buildup. Steel linkage is rusty too. It’s a prime candidate for soda blasting.
15] After.- The improvement is dramatic. The castings show a deep cleaning, even in the nooks and crannies that would be nearly impossible to reach with a brush and solvent. But the big bonus for soda blasting is that it cleans without damaging critical detail like the part numbers, date codes, and other identification. A second round of blasting with a heavier cut would remove the rust from the steel linkages. High-end restoration would involve full disassembly and replating, but a little time and effort with a do-it-yourself Small Job Blaster can still yield excellent results
16] The Eastwood Small Job Soda Blasting System includes a replacement air jet and four nozzles, two ¼-inch and two slightly smaller 13/64-inch. They are easily changed with an Allen wrench, also supplied.
