Abrasive preparation and protective painting, where the surface has to be taken back before anything is put on it.
Tanks, structural steel, fabricated sections, gates and equipment stripped back to a stated surface standard, then primed inside the window that standard is only good for. The preparation grade is what the coating's whole life rests on, so it's specified and inspected rather than judged by eye.
- Free site inspection
- Written, itemised quote
- 1-year workmanship warranty
- Same-day callback
At a glance
What does sandblasting and painting involve?
Abrasive is driven at the steel to strip off rust, mill scale and old coating, and to leave a roughened profile for the new system to key into. The surface is prepared to a stated cleanliness standard, inspected, then primed before it can flash-rust. Blasting is preparation, not a finish; it's only worth doing when the coating that follows justifies it.
When this is the answer, and when it is not.
Sending you to the wrong service wastes your money and our time. This is how to tell.
This is likely right if
- Structural steel, tanks, gantries or fabricated sections where the existing coating has broken down over a wide area and patch repair would simply postpone the same failure
- Rust has progressed past surface bloom into pitting and scale, so wire brushing and a rust converter would leave contamination under the new system
- A high-performance protective system is being specified, and its data sheet calls for a surface cleanliness and profile that hand and power tools can't reach
- Fabricated items can be taken off site to a controlled facility, where containment, dust extraction and waste handling are already in place
Something else comes first if
- The steel is thin, decorative or ornamental, blasting can distort light sections and destroy detail on cast and pressed work. Ornamental gates and grills are prepared by hand and power tool instead
- The existing coating is likely to contain lead or another hazardous pigment, or the asset has held chemicals, fuel or product residue. That's licensed removal work with its own controls, and it isn't taken on as ordinary preparation
- The location can't be contained, abrasive and dried coating debris travel a long way, and an occupied plant, a residential neighbour or open drainage nearby will decide against it before the surface does
- The item is sound and only cosmetically tired. Blasting a coating that's still adhering well spends money removing something that was doing its job
What the service includes.
Condition survey and rust grading
We record the rust grade, the extent of coating breakdown, pitting, contamination and previous repairs, and check section thickness where corrosion looks advanced. Steel that has lost section is a structural question before it is a coating one.
Written preparation and coating specification
The quotation states the surface cleanliness standard and profile to be achieved, the primer and top coats, the coat count and the dry film thickness, and the maximum time allowed between blasting and priming.
Containment, extraction and waste handling
Screening and sheeting around the working zone, dust control, and collection of spent abrasive and removed coating for disposal. On site work this extends to protecting plant, cabling, bearings, seals and anything with an air intake.
Abrasive preparation to the stated standard
Media and pressure chosen for the substrate and the profile required, worked systematically rather than area by area at whatever pressure is to hand, with the achieved standard checked against comparators before priming.
Priming inside the window
Blasted steel begins to flash-rust from the moment it is clean, and the rate depends on humidity. Primer goes on within the stated interval, and any area that has bloomed is re-prepared rather than painted over.
Coating, inspection and records
Top coats applied to the specified thickness, with wet and dry film readings, ambient and surface temperature, humidity and dew point logged. You receive the readings, the batch details and the coverage record at handover.
Not included, or quoted separately
- Removal of coatings containing lead or other hazardous pigments, and cleaning of assets that have held chemicals, fuel or product residue, this is licensed work with separate controls
- Structural repair, plating, welding and section replacement where corrosion has reduced the steel, along with the engineer's assessment that decides it
- Scaffolding, access towers, hoists and rope access, and the permits and isolations that come with working at height or in confined spaces
- Dismantling, transport, lifting and reinstallation of items being prepared away from site, and any recommissioning afterwards
- Insulation, cladding, lagging and fireproofing removal and reinstatement around the steel being treated
The sequence.
Survey and feasibility
We look at the asset, the surroundings and the access, and say plainly whether blasting is warranted, whether it can be contained where the item stands, or whether it should be prepared away from site. Where hand and power tool preparation would serve the specification, we say that too.
Specification and method statement
Preparation standard, coating system, film thickness, containment, waste route, permits, isolations and the sequence of work, issued before anything is scheduled. This is also where the quotation names who carries out each stage.
Set-up and protection
Containment built, extraction positioned, adjacent equipment and openings sealed, and the area around the zone secured. Nothing starts until the protection is complete, because abrasive gets everywhere once it is moving.
Blasting and inspection
Worked to the specified standard and profile, then checked against surface comparators and cleaned down. Any area that doesn't meet the standard is reworked before it goes forward.
Prime and coat
Primer applied inside the stated interval, then the coating system built up in the specified coats, with conditions checked before each coat and film thickness measured as the work proceeds.
Clean down, records and handover
Spent abrasive and debris collected and removed, containment struck, the finished work walked with you, and the inspection record issued together with the written warranty and its conditions.
What moves the price on this job.
We do not publish a rate, because it would change once someone measured your property. These are the variables that decide it.
- The surface cleanliness standard specified, a higher standard takes considerably more time and abrasive over the same area
- The rust grade and how much old coating is being removed, since a sound coating and a scaled, pitted surface behave nothing alike
- Developed surface area rather than outline dimensions, lattice, sections, flanges and stiffeners hold far more surface than they appear to
- Whether the work is contained on site or the item is prepared at a controlled facility, and the transport that follows from that choice
- Containment, extraction and waste disposal, which on a live or neighbouring-occupied site can exceed the preparation itself
- The coating system specified and its film thickness, and access, ground level, at height, or inside a confined space
Sandblasting and Painting — your questions.
Is sand actually used?
Usually not. Silica sand releases respirable dust that causes silicosis, so the media chosen is normally garnet, steel grit, copper slag or similar, selected for the substrate and the profile the coating needs. The word sandblasting has stayed in common use for the method rather than the material. The media proposed for your job is named in the specification.
Can this be done at our premises, or does the item have to go away?
It depends on whether the working zone can be contained. Fabricated items, panels and components are often better prepared at a facility where extraction and waste handling already exist. Fixed structures have to be contained where they stand, and that's what we assess at the survey, neighbours, air intakes, drainage, open product and anything nearby that dust must not reach.
How soon after blasting does painting have to start?
Within the interval stated in the specification, and in humid weather that can be a matter of hours. Clean steel starts oxidising immediately, and a light bloom of flash rust is contamination under the primer even when it looks like nothing. That's why blasting is planned around the priming, not the other way round, and why we stop blasting when we can't prime.
Our steel has old paint on it and nobody knows what it is. Does that matter?
Yes, and it is worth establishing before work is planned. Older industrial and marine coatings may contain lead or chromate pigments, which change the removal entirely, enclosure, air monitoring, worker protection and hazardous waste disposal, done under licence. We don't take that on as ordinary preparation. Where the coating history is unknown and the age suggests a risk, it should be tested first.
Do you carry out the blasting yourselves?
The quotation states who performs each stage before you are asked to commit. Abrasive preparation with proper containment, extraction and waste handling needs specific equipment, and where a job calls for capability that can't be delivered properly, we say so rather than take the order and improvise. What we won't do is leave that question unanswered until the work has started.
Related services
- Anti-Rust Treatment and Metal CoatingThe right answer when the rust is surface-level and blasting would be more than the asset warrants.
- Factory and Industrial PaintingFor the wider factory scope this steelwork usually sits inside.
- Spray PaintingHow the coating goes on once the surface has been prepared.
Let us look at your walls first.
Tell us about the property and we will set up a free colour and wall inspection. You get a written, itemised quotation afterwards, with no obligation to go ahead.
- We call you back the same day to get a picture of the property and the surfaces.
- We agree a time and come out for the free inspection.
- You get the written scope and itemised quotation.
- Nothing starts until you approve it.