Thread: soda blasting

has anybody tried soda blasting. I've heard good stuff about it, but was curious about how it works on blades in rust.

Originally Posted by breakofdawn

has anybody tried soda blasting. I've heard good stuff about it, but was curious about how it works on blades in rust.

I have never seen a blasting set up small enough to work on a razor. I know that the process is excellent for removing spray paints and graffiti. I had to use one when I was in college...Which would explain why I know first hand how well it works on graffiti.

Removing the top layer of rust on razors has never been an issue, you can do it it seconds with a DE or SE blade,, It has been and always will be the underling pitting/corrosion that is an issue that requires actual work..

Basically any system to "Remove rust" is easy, getting the steel back to shiny and clean is not

+1 on what Glen said.

The amount of times I have removed what looks to be just light rusting, only to be confronted with a pitted, grey mess that looks worse than the original 'bloom' of rust is unbelievable.

That stuff goes downwards, into the steel, and spreads out under it. Removing the rust is not enough - you have to remove metal, too.

Regards,
Neil

I use the small sandblasting setup at work to knock the rust off and get down into the pits. It's a unit for sandblasting dental coping so it's small and precise, but powerful enough to work. I use it at 80 psi with 50 micron aluminum oxide. It knocks the rust off and opens up the gritty, pitty areas really well.

Then the sanding to get the pits flat starts. That's the bulk of the job. But the initial sandblasting let's me start from a clean canvas so to speak.

thanks Neil. I guess it just comes down to sanding, starting with the heaviest grit and going down to the lightest grip, is that true.I have a blade with some heavy petting and I would like to get it nice and shiny again. This will be my first attempt so any advice is welcome thank you.

Originally Posted by breakofdawn

thanks Neil. I guess it just comes down to sanding, starting with the heaviest grit and going down to the lightest grip, is that true.I have a blade with some heavy petting and I would like to get it nice and shiny again. This will be my first attempt so any advice is welcome thank you.

That's about it. I used to start with around 100 grit wet and dry paper for fairly pitted blades and work up. However, if you start at a higher grit that's no bad thing - if it removes the pitting (takes a loooong time) that's great, if it doesn't seem to touch it you can always drop down in grit size. The worst thing is starting with too aggressive a grit, and introducing worse scratchmarks than pitmarks! Maybe 400 grit is a good 'suck it and see' grade.

Trouble is, you can't just hit the pitted areas, you have to treat the blade equally along its length, as well as the other side. After conventional papers you can go to micromesh and then metal polish. Try to introduce 90 degree angle variation, or at least a slight variation in direction with each grit - it makes it easier to see when the lines from the previous grit have been worked out. For the last few steps changing direction doesn't matter that much.

Try not to get RSI during the many happy hours of sanding that lay ahead of you!

Regards,
Neil