Industrial Surface Preparation Details

by Kevin Smith Author

Maintaining the best appearance of an industrial facility, including floors, walls, and equipment, requires regular, if infrequent, refinishing, which will likely include blasting surface preparation in New England. To find out more about this process, read this blog.

Blasting Surface Preparation Basics

Almost any surface exposed to the elements or to regular and extensive wear, such as a factory floor, requires an effective coating. Often that coating needs to be refinished, but it's not as easy as slapping it on with a brush. First the surface needs to be prepared, and that often means removing the old coating. One option for cleanly and effectively removing the old coating is to blast the surface, often referred to as sand blasting, with a high powered spray and abrasives in the mix.

Blasting can be used on surfaces of all types - steel, concrete, stone, brick, fiberglass, wood - to remove old coatings and other contaminants. Since the process can be used on so many surfaces, there are many different kinds of abrasives that can be employed, including sand, but also things like coal slag, glass, plastics, even walnut shells or dry ice, among others. That is why it is key to find the right company with the experience and know how to do the job.

The Process

It is important when planning for a maintenance and/or repair project involving blasting surface preparation to have a detailed dialogue with the contractor. Specifically, you need to:

Complete all due diligence regarding the contractor, including references, previous projects, and required certifications, if any. If possible, visit a former customer's site to see the results.
Meet with the work team and project head to begin exchanging information.
Lay out a detailed time line. If this is a more extensive project, such as a resurfacing after the surface blasting, get a clear picture of when the facility is off limits and when it is available, if that applies.
Have a point person for the contractor to talk to, if necessary, during the project. Your point person should be appropriately inquisitive but not overbearing.

Blasting surface prep is an example of a 150 year old process that has been improved over the decades by technology and trial-and-error. It has been around this long because it works, but blasting surface preparation in New England is a project only to be done by professionals, so choose your service provider with care.