Dustless Blasting V/S High-Pressure Water Cleaning

 

Introduction 

No matter how thick and good the paint is, unfortunately, it does not last forever. The external painting of your house, the paint on your car or boat, or the steel underneath the bridges starts to fade, peel or flake over time with the influence of the elements of weather. In addition, steel, iron and other ferrous objects start to corrode over time with the impact of moisture in the atmosphere. Corrosion is a huge problem across many industries and billions of dollars are spent on restoring ships, bridges, jetties, pipelines, etc. Even historical monuments lose their shine, become dirty, develop rust, and without restoration, are likely to crumble.

Restoration can be efficiently and effectively done with the right technology. There are many ways of cleaning and removing paint or corrosion namely – chemical stripping, thermal stripping, manual sanding, dry sandblasting, high-pressure water cleaning, and wet abrasive blasting. However, all these methods with the exception of wet abrasive blasting, have limited applications due to the risks associated with hazardous chemicals, damage to the substrate or are inefficient.

In this article, you will get to know what is high-pressure water cleaning, what is dustless blasting or wet abrasive blasting and why dustless blasting is a compelling option for surface preparation.

What is high-pressure water cleaning?

A high-pressure water cleaning unit consists of a positive displacement pump driven by an electric motor and the pump draws the water continuously from a faucet and pumps out high-pressure water (the pressure can be 2000 PSI or more). The hose connected to the outlet of the pump is used to produce a high-pressure water jet at the other end of the hose by using a variety of nozzles. 

High-pressure water cleaning uses only pressurized water for cleaning the surfaces and it is effective for cleaning dust, oil, grease, grime, and cobwebs, from surfaces and walls. However, it is not effective for the removal of paint from external surfaces such as steel, timber, automotive vehicles, and steel structures.

What is dustless blasting?

Dustless blasting also known as wet abrasive blasting or vapour blasting is the process of sandblasting whereby dust is suppressed by using a slurry mix of abrasive and water propelled by compressed air. In some ways, it can be considered a combination of high-pressure water cleaning and abrasive blasting. Dustless blasting has the advantage of pressurized water but still be able to remove rust and paint using the impact of abrasive media without the dusty environment of sandblasting.

The process of dustless blasting involves mixing the water and recommended abrasive inside a pressurized blast tank and the mixture of air, water, and the abrasive is forced onto the surface being blasted. The force required to blast the surface is provided by compressed air.

During dustless blasting, water will encapsulate the particles of the abrasive and the particles of the stripped surface coating into it. The abrasive particles and the stripped coating particles encapsulated in the water form a combined mass and fall onto the ground due to gravity. Hence, the surrounding environment is free from dust to a great extent.

About RapidBlast™

RapidBlast TM is a truly Australian made product and offers cutting-edge technology in wet abrasive blasting. Unlike some systems that use a basic venture system, RapidBlast™ uses a precision needle valve to regulate and optimize the flow of abrasive media. Through continuous improvement, it is the equipment of choice for dustless blasters all over Australia and is gaining popularity overseas as well. It comes with a very affordable price tag and at half the cost of some of its competition.

The RapidBlast Dustless Blasting Equipment is designed, manufactured, and assembled by Quantum Blast Technologies in Australia and is suited for the harshest operating conditions.

For more details, please visit RapidBlast.

Phone: 1300822569 E-Mail: sales@quantumblast.com.au

Source : Dustless Blasting V/S High-Pressure Water Cleaning

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