<VV> Rust Free

[Chris & Bill Strickland]

>Just bought a 50 lbs bag of baking soda blasting media at Harbor Freight and Tool for $30. Probably as cheap as you're going to find. 
>

Naw -- bicarb is cheaper at the livestock feed stores, but it won't be 
labeled blasting media -- probably says Not For Human Consumption.

Washing Soda and Baking Soda are not the same thing though -- Baking 
Soda is sodium bicarbonate, aka "bicarb", whereas Washing Soda is sodium 
carbonate which is commonly used as a water softening additive during 
laundry. According to Wikipedia and the blurb on the box, it competes 
with the ions  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium>magnesium and  
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium>calcium in hard water and prevents 
them from bonding with the detergent being used. Without using washing 
soda, additional detergent is needed to soak up the magnesium and 
calcium ions. Called Washing Soda, Soda crystals or Sal Soda 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_carbonate#cite_note-1> in the 
detergent section of stores, it effectively removes oil, grease, and 
alcohol stains. Sodium carbonate is also used as a descaling agent in 
boilers such as found in coffee pots, espresso machines, etc.  It too 
can be found in foods as an additive. In an aqueous solution it is a 
mold cleaning spray.  Numerous other uses.

Sodium carbonate (in moderate quantities) is possibly available at the 
abrasive or swimming pool suppliers or your industrial chemical supply, 
unless maybe if you can get some in bulk at the glass plant, but the 
washing soda in the laundry aisle will be ground finer and isn't very 
expensive.

Both probably work as a blasting media.

Bill Strickland