Blast cleaning (sandblasting, grit-blasting) consists of bombarding the surface of a material with one of many types of sand, grit or shot. Normally sandblasting 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 sandblasting 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 silicate, 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 sandblasted 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 spray, 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 blast cleaning projects over the years:

• Gritblast removal of paint and rust the Steeplechase rollercoaster at Blackpool
• Sandblast removal of paint from all brickwork arches that form the "Catacombs" at The Stables Market in Camden
• Sandblasting 6000m2 of paint from brickwork at the Constantine Building in Manchester
• Gritblast 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
• Gritblast and prime old coal cutting machines at the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield
• Gritblast 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 by floorblasting
• Blast clean railings at Natural History Museum