What is sandblasting?

Sandblasting is a surface cleaning process that uses a powered machine to spray, or blast, abrasive particles under high pressure against a surface. Once the particles, also known as sand particles, hit the surface, they create a smoother and cleaner texture. This is great as a surface finishing process, but maybe not the most ideal for cleaning in some cases due to its harshness and abrasive properties.

Should you use sandblasting to remove paint from brick?

Sandblasting is a popular cleaning method that is commonly used to prepare surfaces before painting them and sometimes used to remove paint off of brick as well. However, although effective, this paint removable practice can be harsh and actually somewhat harmful to the brick. While sandblasting removes and peels off that last layer of paint, it also takes a good portion of the brick off with it. This is frustrating because it leaves the brick with little pores, making it more susceptible to retaining moisture. This could eventually lead to water leaking inside the building. So short answer, yes you can use sandblasting to remove paint from brick, but it is not always advised.

So, now what? At nexAir, we have years and years of industry experience and training to not only allow our employees to perform at the best of their ability but also to help guide our customers. For paint removal, we recommend trying out dry ice blasting. Here’s why.

Dry ice Blasting for Paint Removal

Dry ice blasting is the concept of taking dry ice pellets and blasting them onto a surface. This is one of the most effective and practical cleaning solutions – and can even remove paint from a brick wall too! Dry ice blasting is a non-abrasive cleaning method, which means that while it may seem to be powerful, it is not harmful to the surface. It will not only remove and peel off that paint, but it will also remove any dirt, grime or unwanted residue that is left behind. Dry ice blasting is a top choice in different industries due to its many benefits such as – being environmentally friendly, saving time and money, near-perfect cleaning, no waste left behind and being easy to learn, to name a few.

nexAir continues to be a leading dry ice provider and we would love to use our industry KnowHow to help you make decisions when it comes to dry ice and dry ice blasting. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or if you are ready to get you and your team trained and started with dry ice blasting. As always, we’re here to help you Forge Forward – thank you for choosing nexAir.