One of the many arrows in Lakeside Painting's quiver is the pressurized cleaning method known as Dry Ice Blast Cleaning. 

Also known as CO2 Blast Cleaning, Dry Ice Blasting utilizes dry ice pellets projected at supersonic speeds to clean various surfaces such as food processing plant equipment, turbines and generators. It's also used to remove fire and soot damage, oil and paint from surface such as brick and concrete, amongst others. Upon impact, the pellets create microscopic shock waves that remove the undesirable residue from the surface.

"One place we've used it as at GE Energy in Waukesha, "says Lakeside Painting President Joe Pangburn. "We've used it to clean their spray boths, where they paint their engines. Once a year we go in and Dry Ice the paint-build up from over-sprays."

One of the many upsides to Dry Ice Blasting is that it doesn't generate any harmful chemicals or lingering odors. It also complies with the FDA, EPA and USDA rules. The pellets can also penetrate into extremely tight crevices and, unlike sand and sponge blasting (which leave particles behind), clean-up is minimal. The soft pellets are non-flammable, non-abrasive and non-conductive—meaning, they do not conduct heat or electricity. 

"The reason we use it is because there's nothing to clean up except the paint particles. If we sand or sponge-blasted, we'd have to clean up the sand and sponge particles as well. It's more efficient," notes Pangburn. "When we find that Dry Ice Blasting is not the right method, we will sometimes use Sponge Blasting."

If you have any other questions about Dry Ice Blasting for your plant or manufacturing facility, please give Lakeside Painting a call at 262.642.9445 or email us at [email protected].