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Posted by gmharris [71.105.178.157] on Friday, February 25, 2011 at 22:01:14 :
Harbor Freight will have their small soda blaster on clearance sale for $35, normally $100, during their parking lot sale, March 11-13.
I assume this is a nationwide sale, but I picked up my blaster several months ago on clearance, so you can probably pick one up at any store on clearance. Item #65902.
The nozzle and pickup are the same as in their larger units. The only difference is the smaller tank.
Soda is non-toxic and, as far as I know, will not harm bearings. It's kind of messy, but cleanup is with just a vacuum cleaner or water hose. I would consider using it and a vacuum cleaner for a small job in the cab if I protected other areas with plastic sheeting.
Soda blasting, while less effective than sand, will not warp sheet metal or damage small parts. I believe it can be used to strip fiberglass without damaging the fiberglass, although I have not done so.
A bag of soda will cost you about the same as the blaster, but I bought two bags that had been ripped for half price. You can, of course, use the widely available 20% off coupons to reduce the cost.
The soda blaster is about the size of a small vacuum canister. It doesn't take up much space.
The blaster works well for an occasional use in a home shop. If you use it much, you may want to replace the cheap control valves with something larger and easier to handle.
I used my blaster to do a rough cleanup of the brake drums on my PW. I don't care about the drums looking great, so a quick blast following a pressure wash was more than enough.
Remember to wear a good mask. Even though soda is non-toxic, it doesn't mean it's good to breathe and you are digging up a lot of other stuff when you blast.
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