Greetings all,
I've been removing power coating from steel with a wire brush on an angle grinder. I don't mind doing drudge work if there's no other way, but I prefer to work smarter.

Thinking about turning to soda blasting, but I don't know if it's practical for a home shop.

Attached a photo of the current project. More chairs to go and other projects in the future.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Soda blasting could be expensive. Sand blasting with play sand would be more in line. BTW, what was wrong with the "before" picture???

 

Thanks. With play sand? Didn't know you could do that. I can use the 50 pound bag of play sand for around $5 vs the 8 pound container of blast media sand for around $30? Are there safety implications?

I was thinking soda because of the easy cleanup.

There's nothing really wrong with the before chair (although you'd have to reupholster if you wanted them to be nice). But someone threw them out and I picked them up with the thought of doing something with the contrast of old barn wood and shiny steel.

 

Bare steel won't stay shiny for long unless you coat it with a clear sealer, maybe polyester clear coat.

Yes, ordinary sand is quite ample for DIY sandblasting. I've done a whole lot of blasting with ordinary sand. It IS pretty much a one-shot material as it dulls pretty quickly and you will have trouble sifting the blasted paint from the sand. You need to wear a face mask and a respirator and remember to properly dispose of the sand and paint particles, especially if it is a leaded paint.

 

Yes, I'm planning to clear coat.

Thanks for the guidance. I'll be looking onto blasting come next weekend.

 

Yes there are safety issues from the silica with using play sand but it's rather minimal if you are only doing it now and then. You can also vary the texture you get by which sand you pick. Coarse sand yields a more coarse texture while fine sand leaves a finer, smoother finish. You can also buy blasting media in whatever grit you want. Since it's made for blasting it usually does not contain silica and it's very consistent to yield a more consistent finish.

Another option since you are in a big city is to look for paint stripping companies. There is one 30 miles from me. I give them powder coated things and they bake them at high temperature to burn off the paint. If you give them plenty of time so they can throw your piece in with a large commercial batch then the cost can be minimal.