[J_Walker]

Seems like a good way of removing paint from the tank/rims/plastics without damage/pitting. but is it worth the money?

 

[DrPsyc]

i dont think thats paint, im pretty sre its oil/grime. i dont think this would work for removing paint, and if it did i dont think it would work on the plastics, anything that can remove paint can also damage them, period all those parts were made out of metal, also i wonder how the extreme cold will now effect those parts?

 

[Jstriple]

That's pretty cool.

 

[TheSaintsRBack]

This is how I clean all the equipment/machines at work.

It's pretty tough to get a 'good' coat of paint off with it. A rough or damaged coat comes off fairly easy.

I wouldn't use this on plastic...just my preference.

 

[FezDaForeigner]

Interesting. Is it on par in cost with media/sand blasting? Seems like a less messy cleanup of metal parts imho.

 

[Jay V]

I've heard of it being used to remove graffiti from painted/coated parts (light poles, railings, etc) without damaging the coating.

As for the video, I think you could get the same results by soaking with a heavy duty degreaser and a pressure washer.

Blasting with soda (sodium bicarbonate) is similar, but slightly more aggressive. It does leave a residue that needs to be removed though.

 

[bcj]

Though the media used for the blasting cleans up by itself, the crud only gets moved from one place to another.
You'll still need to clean out passages and corners where it comes to rest.

 

[Prodigy]

why dry ice though? wouldn't it be the same thing if it was just simple air? Maybe the gasses from the dry ice are heavier/denser... that's the only reason i can think of

 

[Prodigy]

did my own research

http://www.coldjet.com/en/information/how-does-it-work.php

 

[fastlil1]

Interesting.

So, Bennafit: less abrassive and damaging than media blasting Sacrafice: Does not remove tough material as aggressivly as media blasting. Am I right?

 

[Jay V]

Interesting.

So, Bennafit: less abrassive and damaging than media blasting Sacrafice: Does not remove tough material as aggressivly as media blasting. Am I right?

For general clean-up without changing the surface finish, I think Soda Blasting would be better and less expensive. Anything more aggressive like glass beads, crushed glass, or aluminum oxide will give a frosted look.

Walnut shells may work about the same as soda. There is plastic media that is very soft also. The advantage of soda is it won't get caught in passages and jam itself into tight places like a larger media (walnut shells, plastic) will. Soda is also a 1-shot use, and can't be recycled like the others. That way you always have clean media and don't have the pre-clean the part before blasting like you do when the media is recycled.

This was Soda Blasted -

before

after

 

[Marlin]

<SNIP>also i wonder how the extreme cold will now effect those parts?

why dry ice though? wouldn't it be the same thing if it was just simple air? Maybe the gasses from the dry ice are heavier/denser... that's the only reason i can think of

Dry ice blasting is pretty nifty. I've seen it used to remove mold from wood, like in a home's attic. It's blasted and hits the surface as a solid, but turns to gas upon impact, so the only thing to clean up afterwards is whatever stuff is removed from the surface of the target. So it's not a gas, so no comparison to jsut using air, really. And also, it's time in contact with the surface is so minimal before sublimating that it really won't make anything cool. In fact, most media blasting has a tendency to heat up a surface, as some of the kinetic energy of the particle is converted into heat upon impact. This is why dry ice sublimates at impact. I'd imagine it may be fairly temperature neutral to the surface.