Learning About Products Made In Industrial and Manufacturing Plants
How To Prepare For Sandblasting
Ryan Baker
If you're going to have something at your home sandblasted, you need to prepare the area around the item, and the area around your home, so that no one is hurt or surprised. Sandblasting can be disruptive, but it is often the only way to clean off corrosion, paint, or another material. Preparing properly will help make the job go a lot more smoothly -- and a lot faster.
Close off the Area
Whatever is being sandblasted needs to be closed off. Hang tarps around the item or erect a temporary fence, if the item is large. Place disposable tarps on the ground around the item, too, and be sure there's a roof or canopy above the item. All of this will make cleaning up a lot easier, and it will stop the blasting medium and the bits of corrosion, etc., that are being blasted off from getting into the environment. You don't want those bits mixing with the dust on the ground, where they can later be kicked back up into the air. If that happens after the blasting is done, you're likely not going to be wearing a mask -- and you could end up breathing in bits of the blasting medium.
Get Protective Gear
While the blasting is going on, you'll need to wear protective gear. If you're watching the blasting while standing right by the item being blasted, you'll need goggles, hearing protection, gloves, a mask, and protective clothing. If you've moved away and can only hear the blasting, you should still have hearing protection. Ask the sandblasting company when it would be safe to walk back into the work area without a mask once the blasting is done.
Warn Neighbors
If there is absolutely no way to move the item that needs blasting to an isolated area, and you have to have the blasting done at home, warn your immediate neighbors. If any of them are going to be home, they need to know there will be loud noise happening between certain hours. Don't assume that just because it's daytime, you can make as much noise as you want. Warn them and let them know how long the noise should be happening. It's good neighborly form.
There may be additional precautions you have to take depending on the exact item you're having sandblasted. Contact a blasting company like Powder Coatings of Utah for more instructions on how to prepare for sandblasting.
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Hi, my name is Bruce Fuller and do you often wonder how various products are made? So do I and that's why I've written this blog about industrial and manufacturing plants. I've contacted the owners of numerous manufacturing plants and requested a tour of their facilities. Many business owners graciously obliged and I was able to see how their specific products were made. At some of the plants, I wasn't allowed to tour the facility, but a representative of each company described the process to me in great detail. I wanted to share this information that I learned in a blog and I hope that you'll also find it very interesting.