Tell us what your blasting project is and we will let you know which blasting
system will work best for you to give you the best adhesion possible.
Wet Abrasive Blasting
Wet abrasive blasting uses low pressure air, water, and inert media such as crushed recycled glass to clean and strip surfaces. Our highly controlled cleaning stream significantly reduces or eliminates airborne particle dispersal close to 98%. Wozbuilt wet abrasive blasting has chosen the GeoBlaster equipment because it makes both cleaning and cleanup safe, fast and cost efficient. It is the most efficient wet blasting system on the market today.
Wozbuilt Abrasive Blasting will be using mainly crushed recycled glass of varying grits. Very fine Medias can be used for very delicate surfaces and substrates or the system can be adjusted to accommodate coarse Medias (glass beads, garnet) for tough industrial coatings. We can use a special wet blastable soda for delicate surfaces or to act as an odour suppressant. We can also use a combination of these together!
Abrasive wet blasting also creates no heat at the point of impact, which eliminates part warping, static and dry sparks. Wet blasting actually cools the substrate to at least 20 degrees below ambient temperature instead of heating it up like every other blasting method, including soda. Abrasive Dry Blasting systems work by hammering hard particles against the coating and substrate until the coating (and the abrasive) is pulverized and dispersed into the air. This high pressure destruction can actually damage a portion of the substrate in order to remove the coating. Friction at the surface also creates heat which can warp metals. It creates worker hazards and raises clouds of dust and contaminants that may require expensive containment. Without containment, high pressure Dry Abrasive Blasting can create extensive clean up issues. This is why we prefer to use our wet blasters, however there are still other reasons to use a dry blaster.
Wet blasting removes hard industrial coatings like powder coatings, epoxies, undercoating seam sealers 15 times faster than any other blasting or chemical removal methods without damage to the substrate. So far there is no known substance or coating that we cannot remove.
We can be gentle enough to blast graffiti off of sand stone, clean stained stucco or cement, or be aggressive enough to blast the old Spalled / Shaling surface of your driveways and sidewalks to make them look updated and new like washed aggregate.
What about flash rust?
To prevent flash rusting on metal surfaces, a water based, non-hazardous, biodegradable additive called HoldTight 102 is added to the water during the blasting and cleaning / rinsing process. The surface is blown dry with filtered, oil free compressed air and it is then ready to be re-coated with no additional preparation needed. This allows our customers approx 72 hours (depending on weather conditions and humidity) to coat the surface free of flash rust.
Blasting media
We will be using mainly recycled crushed glass of varying grits. We can use other materials commonly used in conventional blasting such as coal slag, garnet, glass bead, plastic and more. In general, so long as the media is not water soluble, and it does not float.
Why Wet Blasting?
There are numerous reasons why wet blasting is becoming more favourable over dry blasting and this is primarily because of it’s two key features; firstly, the finish is achieved by flow of water borne abrasive – not by impact, and secondly, because it is a 98% dust free process.
Wet blasting is a less aggressive form of blasting in comparison to dry blasting, working just as effectively. The ricochet of media is reduced due to the cushioning effect created from the water acting as a lubricant between the media and the component surface. As a result, the angle of the media is changed, producing a lapping effect travelling across the surface, resulting in an even satin / polished finish.
The illustrations below show the different processes of grit, bead and wet blasting and the resulting damage to the substrate.
Grit
Beads
WetblastingOther Wet Blasting Facts
When dealing with hazardous areas and hard to contain areas, wet blasting is safer! The water from Wet Abrasive Blasting suppresses dust, sparks, and static electricity making it far safer than traditional dry blasting while maintaining a healthy environment for your workers.
Wet Abrasive blasting is clean and efficient. It quickly removes paint, primer, soft or hard coatings of rust, grease and any other type of contaminants that are present in one easy step.
100 % Eco friendly. New Government Standards are being implemented and the need to be safe for the environment has increased. With our 100% Eco friendly process you can be sure we are complying over and above with all the environmental standards. At WozBuilt, we use products like recycled glass which are inert. We also use clean water ensuring that you won’t have hazardous run off. We fully comply with all Occupational Health And Safety.
Although our specialized equipment can be very powerful, we don’t sacrifice Safety to accomplish what we do. The water based abrasive power is completely adjustable ensuring that your surroundings and other employees remain unaffected by our service.