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Blast cleaning consists of bombarding the
surface of a material with one of many types of sand, grit
or shot. Normally this is carried out to remove paint, rust
or scale, but sometimes it is required to impart a particular
surface, or uniform finish, to the object being blasted.
A typical blasting rig consists of a high powered
air-compressor connected to a blasting pot (where
the sand or grit is introduced) connected via a length of
blast hose to the blast nozzle.
The abrasive material used can be calcium s ilicate
(sand), calcium carbonate, granules of iron silicate (chilled
iron), silicon carbide, glass grit produced from recycled
bottle bank glass, aluminium oxide, garnet and even walnut
shells! Abrasive materials are available in many different
sizes, from dust to 3.5mm.
Items which can be cleaned by our company vary from
wood, soft stone, brick and masonry, through to aluminium,
iron and steel. It is "simply" a case of determining
the correct material and pressure to accomplish the task.
For instance, wood or soft stone would be cleaned at very
low pressure using the finest grade of sand available, whereas
iron or steel can be cleaned at full pressure using 2.5mm
chilled iron, if necessary. It is advisable to apply a first
coat of primer to freshly blasted metal to prevent the onset
of corrosion, and this can be carried out by Steadblast using
roller or brush.
 Dust
nuisance can be effectively controlled, where appropriate,
by using a "wet blast" system;
water is introduced into the blast stream to envelope the
particles in a fine mist as they leave the nozzle. If this
is not appropriate, we have dust extraction equipment which
will remove dust from confined spaces.
Due to the unpredictable nature of this work, and in order
to gain an idea of the cost of the cleaning, it is sometimes
necessary to carry out a "test patch"
on the item in question; to ascertain the amount of time and
material that will be required to remove the layers of paint
etc without damaging the surface of the item itself.
Steadblast has undertaken many different
blasting projects over the years:
- Paint and rust removal of the entire Steeplechase rollercoaster
at Blackpool
- Removal of paint from all of the brickwork arches that
form the "Catacombs" at The Stables Market in
Camden
- Concrete retexturing along Wembley Way at the new Wembley
Stadium
- Removal of paint from brickwork at "Planet Hollywood"
in London
- Etching lines of text into the marble benches and concrete
plinths along the new Southampton seafront.
- Paint and rust removal on feature steelwork at the top
of the Stock Exchange Building in Birmingham
- Removal of paint from brickwork at "The Orange"
in London
- Smoke and soot damage at "The New Garden House"
in Hatton Garden
- Blast and prime old coal cutting machines at the National
Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield
- Blast and prime and topcoat all street ironwork in the
Cathedral Quarter in Derby
- Retexturing all York stone pavements to provide anti-slip
at Kensington & Chelsea
- Blast clean railings at Natural History Museum
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