Why Soda Blasting Works
The cleaning effectiveness of blast soda is a direct result of its physical properties. These qualities allow the media to be used in a wide variety of applications.
The effectiveness of baking soda is due to:
Granulation resulting in consistent sizing of the cleaning media;
Shape is multi-sided - leads to an improved cleaning capability;
Hardness is such that it will not damage substrates;
Friability (easily crumbled) enhances the cleaning process; and PH of media (8.2) greatly reduces any caustic effect.
These properties provide the cleaning power:
- High friability with consistent angular fractures results in smaller, uniformly angular cleaning particles. This feature ensures that all surfaces of a part can be cleaned safely;
- Media is soft;
- Media imparts a cleaning effect where other abrasives use a ‘hit and cut’ method to clean or chop away the coating;
- Soda crystals begin at 70 microns. At impact the crystal crumbles and gently imparts the energy into a cleaning mass. Much of this energy is transferred perpendicular to the angle of the blast across the entire structure. The result is a clean surface;
- Easily removes carbon, grease, oils, gasket material, surface corrosion, paint and coatings from a variety of alloys, plastics and composites without substrate damage or distortion. It even leaves hard anodized coatings intact;
- Reduces cycle time by cleaning, degreasing and de-painting in one step. Unlike other media, soda requires no pre-wash and its water solubility allows for complete rinsing, eliminating the risk of spent media lodging in the tight spaces or critical passageways.