Sponge Blasting Removes Toxic Coatings Safely
Even though lead-based paint has not been used for nearly four decades, many standing, inhabited structures are still covered with multiple layers of this dangerous substance. Safe removal includes protecting nearby residents from the toxic residue disturbed during the cleanup process, including unhealthy airborne dust. Sponge blasting achieves that goal without the billowing clouds, disruption and noise that accompany traditional sandblasting.
Used for industrial scouring as well as paint removal, this new process can be effective on several types of materials, including hard surfaces, easily damaged substrate layers, and even on some types of heavy equipment. The process is commonly compared to those using sand, abrasives, or high pressure water, but is actually more advanced. The abrasives used are much more easily managed, cause less damage, and are environmentally safer.
Sponge media make this possible. They are actually tiny, water-based polyurethane bits that contain different strengths of abrasive material. When shot under high pressure onto a surface, their unique chemical consistency actually collects and surrounds fragments of surface paint or rust. Sponges absorb the environmentally harmful substances, which can later be chemically removed, and the media recycled. Disposal is consistent with current EPA standards.
There are five broad categories of these abrasives, color-coded to illustrate their particular strengths. Red sponge media is impregnated with steel grit that is the ideal consistency for slicing through many industrial coatings. Color code silver contains suspended aluminum oxide particles effective against paint and similar hard external coatings, and is also used to prepare industrial surfaces.
Brown media is designed to remove flaking coats of paint, as well as lighter industrial coverings, and can also be used to eliminate surface rust. White is often used to get rid of building graffiti, and also works well on surfaces made of fiberglass, composite materials, or tile. The lightest form is Green sponge media, used primarily to clean light contaminants such as soot and grease in hard-to-reach locations.
Unlike traditional scouring processes, this system creates little dust. Sandblasting is somewhat less costly due to wide availability and lower media cost, but is more difficult to precisely control, making surface damage a real possibility. Not only do the polyurethane sponges prevent dust clouds from forming by trapping loosened contaminants, but they allow much greater accuracy of operation.
Scouring media is reusable multiple times after being cleaned, and recycling is economical over time. The machines that shoot these particles onto surfaces during cleaning are far less noisy and intrusive. In many cases, this cleaning process makes it possible to finish jobs in high density urban locations without forcing co-located businesses to suspend activity, and is also safer for nearby residents.
Fewer toxic emissions and a generally higher quality of surface preparation and cleanup is the end result. There is less chance for contractors to be slapped with fines for violating environmental regulations, and nearby residents are usually less hostile to the interruption. Setup is not as complicated as older methods, residue and dust is more readily controlled, and safe disposal and recycling of materials help finish the job efficiently.
Used for industrial scouring as well as paint removal, this new process can be effective on several types of materials, including hard surfaces, easily damaged substrate layers, and even on some types of heavy equipment. The process is commonly compared to those using sand, abrasives, or high pressure water, but is actually more advanced. The abrasives used are much more easily managed, cause less damage, and are environmentally safer.
Sponge media make this possible. They are actually tiny, water-based polyurethane bits that contain different strengths of abrasive material. When shot under high pressure onto a surface, their unique chemical consistency actually collects and surrounds fragments of surface paint or rust. Sponges absorb the environmentally harmful substances, which can later be chemically removed, and the media recycled. Disposal is consistent with current EPA standards.
There are five broad categories of these abrasives, color-coded to illustrate their particular strengths. Red sponge media is impregnated with steel grit that is the ideal consistency for slicing through many industrial coatings. Color code silver contains suspended aluminum oxide particles effective against paint and similar hard external coatings, and is also used to prepare industrial surfaces.
Brown media is designed to remove flaking coats of paint, as well as lighter industrial coverings, and can also be used to eliminate surface rust. White is often used to get rid of building graffiti, and also works well on surfaces made of fiberglass, composite materials, or tile. The lightest form is Green sponge media, used primarily to clean light contaminants such as soot and grease in hard-to-reach locations.
Unlike traditional scouring processes, this system creates little dust. Sandblasting is somewhat less costly due to wide availability and lower media cost, but is more difficult to precisely control, making surface damage a real possibility. Not only do the polyurethane sponges prevent dust clouds from forming by trapping loosened contaminants, but they allow much greater accuracy of operation.
Scouring media is reusable multiple times after being cleaned, and recycling is economical over time. The machines that shoot these particles onto surfaces during cleaning are far less noisy and intrusive. In many cases, this cleaning process makes it possible to finish jobs in high density urban locations without forcing co-located businesses to suspend activity, and is also safer for nearby residents.
Fewer toxic emissions and a generally higher quality of surface preparation and cleanup is the end result. There is less chance for contractors to be slapped with fines for violating environmental regulations, and nearby residents are usually less hostile to the interruption. Setup is not as complicated as older methods, residue and dust is more readily controlled, and safe disposal and recycling of materials help finish the job efficiently.
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