Sodium bicarbonate as a blast media

I am interested in hearing from conservators who have had experience
with or know of examples where sodium bicarbonate has been used as a
blast media for cleaning metals such as aluminum and copper alloys
and whether the results were favorable or not.  The proposed
application is the cleaning of a very large aluminum rocket
assembly.  I am familiar with the various media used in blast
cleaning including the organic materials such as walnut shell and
corn husks.  I know that the US Navy has abandoned sodium
bicarbonate in favor of CO2 techniques for the cleaning of
operational aircraft.

Ed McManus


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:29
                 Distributed: Monday, November 20, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-14-29-025
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