Sandblasting, also known as bead blasting, is one of the most effective ways to remove paint, rust, dirt, grease or other foreign substance from a substrait. Sandblasting helps to bring the material back to its original form and making it look new again.
Sandblasting uses compressed air to "blast" fine sand or other very abrasive, high grit material through a nozzle and at the objected to be sandblasted. These abrasive materials quickly remove the surface of the object leaving a clean matte surface.
Our equipment includes remotely operated sandblasting equipment for use in many different environments. Our technicians are fully trained - both classroom and hands-on - before they get to your site.
Traditionally, sandblasting was carried out using only sand, but now, in the 21st century, the power and flexibility of this kind of abrasive technique means that sandblasting abrasives have been developed and now a variety of different materials can be used depending on the job that needs to be done. There are lighter abrasives such as walnut husks through to glass beads for really heavy duty tasks, and thanks to this range of different materials being available to you, it is possible to get a much better result every time.
While sifted sand was traditionally used as the main sandblasting abrasive, it has recently fallen out of favor for a number of reasons. The main one is that the dust that is released when conventional silica sand is blasted onto a surface can be toxic and cause a lung condition called Silicosis. This disadvantage of sand as a sandblasting abrasive means that whenever it is used, extensive protective clothing must be worn, and other precautions such as masks and breathing gear are essential.
By using less harsh sandblasting abrasives, you can get a much more subtle effect from your work, have more control over the finish that you get, and also ensure that you do a lot less damage to any underlying materials when you are using the sandblaster. Using a material such as glass beads and a lower air pressure also provides an extremely gentle cleaning action that is popularly called bead blasting.
There are also very highly abrasive materials available, which offer an even more powerful effect, and are ideally suited to much heavier jobs such as removing very thick paint and layers of material from surfaces. These rougher sandblasting abrasives such as Black Silicon Carbide are extremely hard crystals that are robust enough to strip material from a surface and leave it clean and ready for either painting or other treatment. |
