24 Oct Commonly Asked Questions About Dry Ice Blasting in Indianapolis, IN

Dry ice blasting has been around since the 1970s, when it was developed during research into methods of stripping paint from aircraft. It wasn’t until the late 1980s that the process of dry ice blasting became commercially available. Today, it exists as one of several abrasive media blasting methods you can choose from, depending on the kind of job you have in mind.

Here are just a few of the most frequently asked questions we receive about dry ice blast cleaning in Indianapolis, IN.

How much dry ice will be used in the process?

This, of course, depends in large part on the size and scope of the job you’re working on. In general, you can expect a 210 kg box of dry ice to give you about eight hours of continuous blasting for the vast majority of applications. How much you can get done in eight hours will vary depending on the substrate condition.

Will dry ice blasting be effective at removing rust?

Dry ice blasting can remove rust and salts if they are loosely adhered, but deeply adhered rust will not be removed with dry ice blasting, and the process will not result in a white metal finish. You’d need to remove the surface metal for that, which you cannot accomplish with dry ice blasting. Dry ice blasting does, however, preserve the substrate’s surface integrity.

Can I use dry ice blasting on wood?

Dry ice blasting will clean wooden surfaces, but it could remove some of the underlying surface in the process unless it’s performed very delicately. It will raise the grain on the wood,resulting in the kind of finish you’d get from sandblasting, a process that’s not normally recommended to be used on wooden substrates.

Can I remove paint with dry ice blasting?

Yes, dry ice blasting can be used to remove paint, but the removal rate will vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the underlying substrate surface profile, the thickness of that coat of paint, the adhesive bond the paint formed with the substrate and the cohesive strength of the coating, which will be influenced in large part by the age of the paint. So,while you can remove paint with dry ice blasting, there are some circumstances in which it might not be the most effective method for doing so.

Will the process be loud?

Yes, just about any abrasive media blasting process is going to be noisy. The blasting nozzle creates significant velocity for air and dry ice to move through, and high-velocity air at high volumes can get to be quite loud. It’s a good idea for people who are performing the task to wear hearing protection.If you have any further questions about the use of dry ice blasting in Indianapolis, IN, we encourage you to contact the team at Knauss Property Services, LLC,and we will be happy to provide you with more information. We look forward to working with you on whatever upcoming project you have in store