Vacuum Blasting
Comprehensive nontoxic industrial cleaning solutions
What Is Vacuum Blasting?
Vacuum blasting is a process that harnesses the power of sand without the risk of flying grit and is often referred to as dustless blasting or closed-loop abrasive blasting.
Sandblasting alone effectively removes rust and corrosive contaminants from metal surfaces but is inappropriate for projects requiring a clean work area. Vacuum blasting provides the power of sand while keeping work areas clean.
How Does Vacuum Blasting Work?
Vacuum blasting involves a blasting tool that uses the power of sand for abrasive blasting while simultaneously collecting the used blast media and particles from the treated surface. The blasting tool has blast and suction hoses that run to a control unit. That control unit supplies pressurized air and blast media, then sucks back the dust, particulates, and used blast media.
Vacuum Blasting Uses
Vacuum blasting is best suited for spot repairs and areas where cleanliness is imperative.
It works well for:
- Paint residue removal
- Lime paint/scale removal
- Rust removal
- Oil-based paint removal
- Lead paint removal
- Paint removal from steel and concrete
- Surface preparation
- Steel preparation
- Thermoplastic removal
- Property cleaning
- Steel boat hull cleaning
The surfaces vacuum blasting works on include:
- Steel
- Cast iron
- Aluminum
- Galvanized steel
- Stainless steel
- Stone
- Concrete
- Hard wood
Drawbacks To Vacuum Blasting
While effective and cleaner than traditional sandblasting, vacuum blasting requires much more compressed air than standard blasting and is tremendously slower. Because the blasting head is a closed loop, it only covers a small area, meaning more time is needed to complete the job. Additionally, the operator has to wait for the vacuum to reclaim the blast media and particulates before moving on to the next area.
Due to the amount of compressed air and time required for vacuum blasting, it is not practical for extensive blasting jobs. Additionally, it carries a higher cost than other blasting methods that are simpler and more effective.
Portland Blasting Offers Alternatives To Vacuum Blasting
Using the latest technologies, Portland Blasting offers superior results without the drawbacks of mediums requiring cleanup or much more extended time commitments to perform the work. Our use of laser, induction, and dry ice blasting ensures you always get superior results with the least downtime and cost.
