soda blasting vs paint stripper..heard a bad story on soda blasting

[Brandon T.]

Talked with a guy who had his 54 soda blasted and he said it caused a couple of dips in it.

He did say in the area it happened it was kinda rotten.

So, I'm thinking of buying if there is such a thing fiber glass safe stripper some advertise their stripper as being safe for corvettes?

I think I'd rather do that than risk dips in my 58.

thoughts?

[Wayne W.]

Re: soda blasting vs paint stripper..heard a bad story on soda blasting

Many here have used soda with good success and will no doubt comment, but I am yet to be totally convinced that it is the best. I think that if you are doing a total body apart job, it will be fine, but I have seen a couple of horror stories. Not from the fiberglass damage angle, but from the BIG AS MESS standpoint. I had a car in the shop last week, that was full of soda, in the carpets, in the gages, in every crack and crevice. It is caked up under the dash every where and has about ruined the brand new wiring harness connections that I just installed. Soda might be OK, but like everything else, you had better know your operator.

[Bill B.]

Re: soda blasting vs paint stripper..heard a bad story on soda blasting

Talked with a guy who had his 54 soda blasted and he said it caused a couple of dips in it.

He did say in the area it happened it was kinda rotten.

So, I'm thinking of buying if there is such a thing fiber glass safe stripper some advertise their stripper as being safe for corvettes?

I think I'd rather do that than risk dips in my 58.

thoughts?

Soda blasting is the most gentle of all the non-chemical paint removers. Are you positive there wasn't a repair done to the location you speak of?

I like the quality of media (plastic pellets) blasting. I'm not fond of chemical strippers, they can be harsh on the gel coat, and in some cases be drawn into the fiberglass if not properly neutralized. Heard some horror stories over the years that some chemical strippers are known to dissolve newly painted Corvettes. I'm sure chemical strippers when properly used can present outstanding results. It's a judgment call.

Bill

1961 Black/Silver/Red Int. 283/315 FI
power windows. Frame off 65% completed.
1989 White/hard top/Grey Int. daily driver 167,000 miles

"The problem with Liberalism is that eventually you run out of other people's money" - Margaret Thatcher

[Stewart A.]

Re: soda blasting vs paint stripper..heard a bad story on soda blasting

Brandon there was a huge post on Soda Vs paint stripper ! A month or so back. See if you can find it. It is worth the research. Soda all the way !! Stewy

[Pete B.]

Re: soda blasting vs paint stripper..heard a bad story on soda blasting

I tried using soda on my 71. Two different guys who claimed to do fiberglass "all the time and just last week" First guy blew the edges off my hood and scalped the doors back to the raw fiber stage. The second dude while I told him to go easy, while I watched he blew dips in the first 15 minutes of doing the job (fired immediatly).
I went back to good old stripper for fiberglass took longer and was frustrating with the mess, but I got throught it.
It should be back from paint in the next 3 weeks I hope.
I can honestly say I would never do it again unless I bought a rig and did the job myself....plus its expensive!
PS: It took a long time to clean out the soda in the nooks and crannies too!

[Rich P.]

Re: soda blasting vs paint stripper..heard a bad story on soda blasting

I had a guy come to soda blast a 67 convertable and after he screwed up the hood and door I kicked him out!!! I came back after he finished the hood and was starting on the door...holy cow is all I can say. He was at corvettes at carlisle 3-4 years ago. I will never use soda again. I use chemical/thinner and D/A and good old hand sanding. I have stripped hundreds of cars this way. I also had the same problem with media blasting 17 years ago. I will never let anyone strip a car in prep for one of my paint jobs ever again. I did twice and both times they were screwed up. I also checked both guys out before using them and they had good refrences

Rich

[Stewart A.]

Re: soda blasting vs paint stripper..heard a bad story on soda blasting

If you look on You tube you can see how gentle it is. You can take layer off at a time. Sounds like you must of used a guy with the wrong equipment. That sounds like a horror story ? Stewy

[Michael G.]

Re: soda blasting vs paint stripper..heard a bad story on soda blasting

I have no experiences with soda blasting and only know what I've read. What I hear if you have a proficient operating your're good to go....notice I said "if". Numerous accounts have been reported of successful blast jobs. However do read and have heard of many "bad" jobs causing damage to the vehicle.

What I do have experience with is Captain Lee's stripper....applicable for fiberglass. I've used Captain Lee's on my last 3 Corvettes stripping them to the glass...neutrilizing the stripping with multiple washes and laquer thinner as well. Paint jobs on first two are 9 and 5 years old respectively and still standing tall . Paint job on my latest hasn't been completed but is currently in paintable primer. I feel comfortable that there shouldn't be any issues with this paint job as well. Nothing's certain using either method but know there has been no issues using C/L's and C/L's hasn't warped any panels...rounded any edges or blown holes through 40 + year old fiberglass .

[Tracy C.]

Re: soda blasting vs paint stripper..heard a bad story on soda blasting

Captain Lee's stripper for me too. Works like a champ and I go at my own pace.

One thing I shutter to think about is having pounds and pounds of micropulverized SALT in every nook and cranny of my Corvette's birdcage. Baking soda is afterall..Sodium Bicarbonate.

No amount of rinsing is going to get it all and whats left is going to promote the rusting process in hyperoverdrive.

tc

[Michael G.]

Re: soda blasting vs paint stripper..heard a bad story on soda blasting

Terry....I love it when you say "hyperoverdrive".

Your right about going at your own pace....neutrilizing the stripper along the way. Messy but controlable.

[Stephen R.]

Re: soda blasting vs paint stripper..heard a bad story on soda blasting

When I got my 59 in 1974, I used a paint stripper that was made to remove paint from fiber glass. It did it very well, took off the color coats and left the primer which I hand sanded. Took the body and body parts to Maaco and had the car primed and painted for a grand total of $250, using lacquer (enamel back then was expensive at $400 and it needed to be baked).
The paint job has held up very well. No bubbles, no peals, just the usual stress cracks. and a few dings when my kids shattered one of the windows in the garage with a basket ball and sprayed glass on the driver side. It's a driver, not a show car.

[Sam K.]

Re: soda blasting vs paint stripper..heard a bad story on soda blasting

I also used Captain Lee's Stripper on my '55 and '64 GS... it works very well, just don't apply it to a very large surface (too hard to handle) and use a plaster trowel to scrape & lots of water to wash it down, and then wet sand it. Removes layers of paint in an area that you are comfortable with. I used newspapers to cover the driveway, when the slop fell off the trowel.
Clean-up was the wet newspapers from the driveway....Great idea.