Expanding The Potential
Sandblasting. Bead Blasting. Dry Ice Blasting? The first two are definitely more well-known when it comes to cleaning and preparing a variety of surfaces – removing paint, chemicals and other coatings with relative ease.
These methods, however, create lots of dust and debris that can be problematic in certain environments. They also can be too harsh for delicate surfaces. Enter DRY ICE BLASTING. An industrial approved alternative to traditional blasting methods, blasting with dry ice allows you to remove paint and other coatings in sensitive environments by reducing waste and dust generated during the removal process. Let’s take a closer look at the distinguishing factors between abrasive and non-abrasive media.
Abrasive Media
When using abrasive media such as sand or beads within a pressurized stream of air or water, there are several steps necessary to mitigate exposure to waste and contaminants. This multi-step process requires cleaning and containment strategies as well as preparatory steps before re-painting or re-coating can occur.
While effective in removing rust, paint, chemicals and other coatings, blasting with abrasive media can be a costly and time consuming process, when you take into consideration containment, cleanup, prep, and drying out as part of the whole process. Although an intensive process, abrasive media is necessary when the surface to be addressed needs to obtain a profile or texture in order to accept it’s new coating.
Non-Abrasive Media
A valuable alternative to abrasive media, dry ice blasting is a completely dry blasting process that can be used within a range of applications. Using pressure blasted particles of solid carbon dioxide (commonly called dry ice), instead of using small, abrasive particles for blasting, dry ice blasting uses a pressurized stream of dry ice pellets that are initially solid and instantaneously turn to gas upon impact.
Surface coatings like paint oil, adhesives, and accumulated debris shrink from the change in temperatures and are forcibly blown off the surfaces they are attached to, leaving a clean, dry substrate.
By eliminating water from the blast stream, dry ice blasting can be used indoors or in environmentally sensitive applications, allowing you to decrease the downtime of machines being taken out of service for routine cleaning. Effective for electric equipment, automotive, food preparation, and marine use, dry ice blasting opens up possibilities while eliminating the use of toxic chemicals within the cleaning process, reducing both the damage to the environment and improving the overall health of your employees, customers, and contractors.
Best Of Both Worlds
When you’ve got a surface that requires a little more “oomph” than dry ice blasting alone, there are two abrasive media that can be incorporated into your dry ice stream to create a stronger, but still gentle blast. Crushed Garnet and Glass Beads both increase the strength of dry ice without creating excessive residue that are caused by sandblasting or pressure washing.
Revealing the bare metal and removing surface contaminants that can prevent good bonds with new coatings, thereby eliminating the need for chemical stripping or sanding, crushed garnet allows you to create a consistent surface profile while scouring deep into cavities and pitted surfaces to remove all rust, salts and contaminants. Preferred among auto enthusiasts and restoration shops, dry ice blasting with glass beads is a gentler method for preparing a car’s parts or paint job for fresh coatings to leave your car looking as good as new. With added glass beads into the dry ice, even the toughest coatings can be removed without pitting or gouging the product surface.
Working with General Abrasives
Providing clients with a cumulative 30 years of experience, General Abrasives Co Inc. proudly serves clients across South Louisiana. The versatility provided by dry ice blasting can be incorporated into both general cleaning applications as well as specialized remediation and heavy-duty cleaning services. Reducing costs and overall downtime, contact General Abrasives Co. Inc. and protect your investment in your equipment and manufacturing processes with our proven cleaning services.
