Captive Shot-Blasting

The abrasive removal of coatings and contamination from concrete and metal surfaces

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Shot-blasting has been used for many, many years for the abrasive removal of coatings and contamination from concrete and metal surfaces. The floor industry started using shot-blasting to speed up the process of surface preparation but also as a very effective way of thoroughly preparing floors with a heavy profile or rough surface finish.

There are a number of different shot-basting machines that we have access to from a small 110Volt, 9” push along shot-blaster right up to a large 32” 3 phase, 32amp, self-driven shot-blaster and at Infinity Resins we will ensure that we correctly specify the appropriate machinery to effectively deliver a great end result.

What is captive shot-blasting?

Shot blasting is a fast and incredibly thorough process that is commonly used to prepare concrete floors prior to the application of coatings and screeds. Captive Shot blasting is the process of firing steel beads (“shot”) out of a machine at a very high velocity. The beads “blast” off debris, stains and contaminants that are on the floor which can’t be removed through regular cleaning or grinding methods. The intention is to remove anything weak, loose or friable from the surface and ensure a clean, solid and sound finish.

There are many different sizes and types of machines but we prefer to use 12” or 18” 32amp 3 phase equipment. However if you do not have this power supply we can also specify the use of small 110V 32amp machines that we can transform off normal 3 pin power sockets.

Why do we need to shot-blast a surface?

Shot-blasting is best used on rough or uneven surfaces to ensure a thorough preparation, or on a smooth power-floated floor where speed is necessary.

Reasons:

  1. Rough surfaces – Shot-blasting is ideal on these floors as it gets into all the “peaks and troughs” on the floor. This means that no matter how rough the floor is you can be sure that the pores will have been thoroughly cleaned out.
  2. Smooth Surfaces – Shot-blasting can be very light and very fast so if you need a floor prepared very quickly shot-blasting is the way to go. It fully prepares and lifts all dust as you go. Unlike grinding where you often have to vacuum the floor after preparation to remove the fine film of dust this leaves.

When would you not use a shot-blasting machine

There are certain scenarios where we would not recommend shot-blasting. Each point has been explained below:

  1. On rubbery or elastic surfaces – We do not shot-blast these surfaces because they would absorb the shot and therefore render the shot-blasting ineffective.
  2. On sticky floors – As with rubbery floors, sticky floors will also absorb the shot blasting materials and even if the surface was removed, the steel balls would stick to lumps of waste, adhesive or dust and be taken away by the vacuum. Losing a lot of the steel shot in the waste makes the process very expensive.
  3. Heavily oil contaminated floors – As with point 2, the steel mixes with the dust and oil and creates lumps of waste that the machine cannot process and you lose a lot of steel shot, again making the process expensive and ineffective.