My investigation led me to the conclusion that it depends on what condition the vehicle is. If it is a paint strip, Soda blasting is fine. If there is rust, media works better. One of the problems with soda is that I have read it can do funny things in the future. Soda is a basic, so I would have to think what I read refered to the fact that you must, and I repeat must, get all the soda out of the car after blasting. Soda can hold moisture and therefore lead to rust in the future. There were also major questions with how to clean the soda out, how many washes to do, any additives, etc. I believe I could have had the Barracuda blasted for about $800 but issues led me to choose media. My neighbor is a bodyman and he told me they had an Austin-Healey come and the guy came down with a portable plaster and did the work on site. I thought the Healey might be aluminum and he told me no it was regular metal and a lot of wood, and the job came out fine. For media, I plan on using glass bead. Not cheap, but it is non-porrous, tends to heat the metal much less than slag, and can get the rust as well as the paint. Hope my plans don't blow up in my face. I will be doing this in about 2 weeks.