Abrasive blasting

Abrasive blasting

This is a generic term for the process of smoothing, shaping and cleaning a hard surface by forcing solid particles across that surface at high speeds. This can be carried out using many different methods.

Here at Surface Technik all our blast cleaning is conducted in accordance with the British Standard BS 7079-0:1990 The Preparation of steel substrates before application of paints and related products.

We conduct four main types of blast cleaning:

Grit blasting

This is a manual operation and is carried out by forcing a steel grit through a narrow nozzle with the use of compressed air. The process is Ideal for De-scaling, de-rusting, existing coating removal and general surface preparation for painting, thermal metal spraying or galvanizing.

Here at Surface Technik have three dedicated self recovering blast rooms that can accomodate steel fabrications and structures up to 5 metres tall 12 metres wide and up to a maximum length of 25 meters.

Bead blasting

This is a non metallic blasting operation which we use exclusively on stainless steel. We have developed a two stage blasting process using a special blend of media which gives a bright frosted finish which is unachievable by our competitors and is seen as a more cost effective finish to brushing or polishing.

Our bead blasting process is used typically on fabrications that go into the pharmaceutical and food industries. It is also increasingly being used on many different types of architectural metal work, whether it being balustrade, street furniture or complex sculptures.

Shot blasting

This process is typically categorized as an airless blasting operation because there is not a propellant (compressed air) used to propel the abrasive. Rather, a centrifugal wheel is used to propel the abrasive against the substrate.

At Surface Technik we have two multi wheel machines which offer a fully automated blasting operation enabling us to work at high volume. Our process uses round ball shot in varying sizes which gives a smoother surface profile than gritblasting and provides us with an ideal surface for painting.

Non metallic blasting

This is a manual operation which has the same basic principle to grit blasting only this time a non metallic blasting media is used. This process is used predominantly on non ferrous fabrications and parts.

We have two dedicated non metallic blasting pens where we use many types of blasting media. The medias we typically blast with in this process is stainless steel grit garnet or aluminium oxide.