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  for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Procedure/guidelines for sand blast of a vessel

I'm designated as my company QC. I'm looking at ways to further save cost and yet produce quality work. One area of concern is in the way sand blasting is carried-out. Some of the blasting crews take a much longer time than others to blast a similar size tank of same blast finishing. Is there a set procedure and/or guidelines that can assist in our training? All of my company's blasting crews were hands-on trained and I'm certain that there are some finer points that will assist in our job.

Overtime and observations, I've taken into account of the site conditions, weather, equipment and experience that contributed to some of the short-falls in each of the blast job assigned.

Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you

Philip Lim
Stripping and rubber line vessels - Gonzales, Louisiana
2005

Lots of things enter into it, and not the least is the difference in thicknes and quality of the paint and primer. For the sand blast operation, pressure, gun tip to tank distance, angle and quality of the sand are the normal differences. Do you recycle the sand, or is it a 1 pass operation? If it is recycled, they may be trying to save you money by using the grit too long.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2005

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Any process that involves human intervention means that you will have and/or experience variables. Abrasive blasting is subject to a lot of different factors. Unless you decide to automate the process, I do not think you will achieve the uniformity you seek.

AF Kenton
retired business owner - Hatboro, Pennsylvania
2005