“The Best Paint Prep” a Paint Rep Had Ever Seen: Below Decks Paint Removal Project Leaves Lakeside Vessel Ready for its Makeover

When a docked construction and excavation barge needed a new coat of paint below decks, the project manager turned to Polar Clean.

With 30,000 square feet of wall, ceiling and floor panels covered in multiple layers of old paint, some of which was releasing volatile organic chemicals into the air in tight spaces, it was the kind of undertaking sometimes described as an “impossible” job. And that was before a three-month deadline was shortened to two.

For the Polar Clean team however, a boatload of old paint and fumes in a compressed space on a compressed schedule might not even make the top 10 list of jobs with seemingly impossible challenges.

Innovative Blasting Solutions for Challenging Circumstances

After all, this is a team that has suited up to clean inside a petroleum reactor rising hundreds of feet in the air. They’ve descended into salt mines and coffee silos, and blasted hundreds of thousands of square feet of lead paint from the surface of buildings undergoing delicate restoration.

Such jobs often begin with calls from contractors who are pretty sure the only solution will be tedious hand cleaning but are curious about Polar Clean’s reputation for innovative solutions in places where traditional abrasive blasting is not an option. Water-based abrasive blasting poses a risk of damage to delicate surfaces, in addition to the risk and mess created by introducing water and collateral debris. For this project two options were under consideration:

• Water-free dry ice blasting, which uses frozen CO₂ pellets that sublimate on contact and nozzles that can be calibrated for more delicate surfaces, works well in tight spaces where the introduction of water and collateral debris is problematic.
• Water-free sponge-blasting, a more abrasive form of blasting in which bits of reusable sponge are filled with various blasting media, can be used in combination with dry ice blasting and is especially effective at dust suppression.

Diligent and Effective Paint Removal Yields “Best Ever” Results

To remove the old paint – which was up to ¼” thick in places – sponge blasting was the solution of choice, both for its effectiveness on well-adhered paint and its ability to suppress dust. We set up containment for electrical panels, lights and anchor winches and disassembled the plate decking above so that every square inch of paint below deck could be blasted away. Then our team donned Tyvek suiting and respirators and went to work.

The result was a surface clean and ready for repainting, three weeks sooner than the original schedule had called for. No one was happier than the painting rep, who called it the “best paint prep” he’d ever seen.

We call it “the Polar Clean Way.”

 

 

What Can the Polar Clean Difference Do for Your Impossible Paint Prep Job?

Learn more about Polar Clean solutions for “impossible” paint prep projects, including paint prep for historical or industrial restoration, for lead paint removal, or for any job in which ordinary abrasive blasting methods are not an option.

The Polar Clean team has deep expertise and specialized training and certifications for settings that require working at heights, in confined spaces, with the use of supplied air, or where customized containment structures are required.

In our world, there are no “impossible” jobs. Just jobs that require more expertise and innovation than others.

Contact a member of the Polar Clean team to learn more about solutions for your next paint removal job.

Learn more about innovative blasting solutions for paint prep