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"  A soda blaster is like a sandblaster\u2014it works in conjunction with an air compressor to clean dirty parts and surfaces. But instead of using sand as the cleaning abrasive, a soda blaster shoots out sodium bicarbonate, which is commonly known as baking soda (though what&amp;#039;s used in blasters is composed of larger particles than those found in standard household baking soda). The advantage of using baking soda, as opposed to sand, crushed walnut shells, coal slag, or any other abrasive, is that it&amp;#039;s environmentally safe, less aggressive, relatively affordable, and easily rinsed away with water. In fact, the first large-scale industrial use of soda blasting occurred during the 1986 centennial restoration of the Statue of Liberty. It was the only safe and effective way to remove coal tar, paint, and corrosion from the statue&amp;#039;s soft copper skin.  Soda blasters can be used to remove paint, grease, indelible stains, and caked-on dirt from virtually any surface, including steel, aluminum, wood, sheet metal, brick, concrete, granite, chrome, glass, and even fiberglass. Today soda blasters are often used to remove rust from metal, strip paint from wood doors and moldings, clean graffiti from masonry surfaces, blast hard-water deposits from ceramic tile, and power-strip industrial machinery. I recently used one to blast four coats of paint off a sheet of diamond-plate steel. It took less than 2 minutes to clean a 1-square-foot area down to bare steel. A soda blaster itself is composed of a steel storage tank for holding the sodium bicarbonate, a spray nozzle and hose, manifold, and water separator that helps to prevent clogging. When shopping for a soda blaster, check its air requirement to ensure that your air compressor can provide the necessary pressure. Soda blasters come in various sizes, based on the their storage-tank capacity. I bought a compact 15-pound Central Pneumatic soda blaster from Harbor Freight Tools for less than $100. The company also offers a larger 40-pound unit for about $160. Sodium bicarbonate is commonly available in medium- and extra-large grit. A 50-pound bag costs between $38 and $43. When operating a soda blaster, always wear protective eye goggles or a face shield, and a dust mask or dual-cartridge respirator. And be sure to follow the safety precautions outlined in the instruction manual. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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