When painting your home or any other item you may want to upgrade, you need to remove the old paint to ensure that you get the best possible results. As a result, you should consider processes such as sandblasting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This removal option has quickly become one of the most popular ways to get rid of paint, and we at Advanced Blasting can help you get the quick results that you need to paint your home or car in a way that makes sense for your needs.
Paint Removal Makes Upgrading Your Home Easier
Why should people be worried about paint removal in the first place? Well, removing paint from a home, car, or other item helps to make a new paint job that much easier. That’s because old paint can be too slippery of a surface for your new paint to cling to after application. As a result, you can easily end up having to apply more coats than you would like simply to get your color to stay.
Beyond that problem, old paint can also affect the color of your new paint. For example, if you have an orange home and want to upgrade its color to white, you’ll have an orange residue beneath your coats that linger for a long time. Though heavy coating can help to cover it up eventually, there is a possibility that you may end up never fully coating that orange and may be stuck with a slight orange tint.
Thankfully, sandblasting can help by getting rid of that orange paint and making it easier for you to apply your paint. Rather than having to apply multiple coats simply to get the look that you want, you can apply far fewer. As a result, you’ll save yourself time and money on this process. But why should you sandblast when there are other processes available for paint removal? Let’s read on to learn more.
Why Sandblast Processes are the Best Choice
When it comes to removing paint, sandblasting is by far the quickest and easiest method. But let’s examine a few other options, first, to give you an idea of why this is the case. Applying liquid paint removers to your home or car will take a long time and leave you with a chemical residue that can be dangerous and hard to clean up. This process is typically only useful in smaller paint situations.
And sanding by hand is going to be one of the longest processes you can imagine for paint removal. Even when a mechanized hand sander, you’re going to spend hours going over specific parts to get them ready for painting. And while hand sanding may be useful for more difficult areas or for more focused sanding, you may end up wasting a lot of time when sandblasters could have handled it for you.
That’s because sandblasters provide the same level of paint removal as hand sanders but more focused and efficient. And they also work more quickly than hand sanding, as well, which means you won’t spend as much time on this process. Let’s face it: painting your home or car is already going to be a challenging process. Therefore, you need to streamline your sanding to minimize its time further.
Which Items You Can Sandblast
When you rent or buy a sandblaster for paint removal, you need to be very careful about which items you want to sand. That’s because this process is very powerful and may be damaging to certain items if used improperly. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of some of the most common types of materials on which it is safe to use a sandblaster. Read through this list to fully understand your options here.
First of all, sandblasting is safe to use on most types of metal surfaces, as they can easily withstand the power of this process. So your care is safe to sandblast, as long as you are careful. Just as importantly, you can also sandblast brick and concrete. These materials are used in many homes, which is why it is important to pay attention to these spots and to use a sandblaster when you can on their paint.
But can you use a sandblaster on wood? This question is very important to answer because many homes use wood on their exterior surfaces. Thankfully, you can use this process on wood, as long as you are very careful. First of all, you should use the lowest setting to avoid damage. Secondly, you should expect some scarring of the surface even with a lower setting. These scars can be used to produce a neat artistic effect that makes your home stand out.
Safety Procedures to Follow
Now that you have chosen sandblasting to remove paint on your home or car, you need to understand how to protect yourself and others. Set up your blasting in an outdoor area that you can easily control. Place up barriers around the work area that create a zone of at least 30-50 feet. That safety area is critical because people getting hit by a blast from a sandblaster will be in pain and may even lose some skin.
Therefore, you need to protect yourself by wearing a full-body level of protection. If you can, rent or buy an abrasive blast suit. If you can’t, try to at least wear heavy overalls above the rest of your clothes. Wear tight-fitting goggles to protect your eyes, as well as a ventilator mask to avoid breathing in the sand particles. And heavy work gloves are a must because they’ll protect your hands from abrasions and blisters as you work.
Make sure that you have your home’s paint tested before you start, as well, because it may contain lead. If it does, you have to contact a professional to remove this paint because you cannot risk getting it into your environment. If your paint is lead-free, you can start blasting. Move slowly over the surface and stand back at least 3-5 feet. Doing so helps to prevent blowback and minimizes the impact damage that you might experience.
Help is Readily Available
As you can see, the best sandblasting Cedar Rapids, Iowa has to offer can give you a great paint job at a reasonable price. So please don’t hesitate to contact us today at Advanced Blasting right away to learn more. Each of our professionals has years of experience working in this field and fully understands how to help you succeed. Just as importantly, we constantly strive to give your blasters the kind of maintenance that they need to stay strong during the toughest parts of the year.