PB PRECISIONBLAST SURFACE & COATINGS CO. №/ SINCE 2008 — HOUSTON, TX Book a site visit
01 / 06

Industrial
sandblasting.

Blast cleaning on structural steel, storage tanks, pressure vessels, and process piping — specified to the SSPC grade your coating system requires, and executed to a surface profile you can actually verify with a gauge.

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[ WHAT IT IS ]

Industrial sandblasting — more accurately called abrasive blast cleaning in the trade — is the process of propelling a granular media against a metal surface at high velocity to remove mill scale, rust, existing coatings, and surface contaminants, while simultaneously creating a mechanical anchor profile that a protective coating can grip.

The "sand" in the name is a legacy term. Silica sand was the original blasting media, but it was banned for industrial use decades ago because of silicosis risk to operators. The modern industry runs on coal slag, steel grit, garnet, aluminum oxide, glass bead, plastic media, and soda bicarbonate — each with different hardness, shape, and cut rate.

What actually matters on a spec sheet is not the media name — it's the cleanliness grade the surface must achieve and the anchor profile the coating requires. Everything else is a means of getting there. The pages below break both of those down.

[ SSPC CLEANLINESS GRADES ]

The four grades
we blast to.

SSPC (the Society for Protective Coatings) publishes the cleanliness standards referenced on almost every industrial coating specification in North America. Here's what each one actually means on the surface.

SP 5 WHITE METAL

The most thorough grade. When viewed without magnification, the surface is free of all visible oil, grease, dust, dirt, mill scale, rust, coating, oxides, corrosion products, and other foreign matter. A uniform, light-grey metal tone across the entire area.

Cleanliness 100%
Typical use
Immersion service, high-value assets, aggressive environments
Profile target
1.5 – 4.0 mil
Coating systems
Inorganic zinc, high-build epoxy, glass-flake
SP 10 NEAR-WHITE

The industrial workhorse. At least 95% of the surface is free of all visible residues, with only light shadows, streaks, or discolorations permitted in the remaining 5%. The practical benchmark for most protective coating systems in coastal and chemical environments.

Cleanliness 95%
Typical use
Exterior steel, tanks, piping in Gulf Coast service
Profile target
1.5 – 3.5 mil
Coating systems
Zinc-rich primer, epoxy mid, urethane top
SP 6 COMMERCIAL

At least two-thirds of the surface is free of all visible residues, with the remainder limited to light shadows, streaks, or discolorations. Used when a full SP 10 blast isn't warranted by the coating spec, or when the asset is being recoated on a maintenance schedule rather than for new construction.

Cleanliness 66%
Typical use
Maintenance recoats, mild environments, budget-driven work
Profile target
1.0 – 3.0 mil
Coating systems
Modified epoxy, alkyd, high-solid urethane
SP 7 BRUSH-OFF

The lightest grade. All loose mill scale, rust, coating, and foreign matter is removed, but tightly adherent matter is allowed to remain. Reserved for situations where the existing system is sound and only a light tooth is needed before a maintenance coat.

Cleanliness 40%
Typical use
Spot repair, temporary protection, upper-layer prep
Profile target
0.5 – 1.5 mil
Coating systems
Surface-tolerant epoxy, zinc silicate touch-up

Not sure which grade your job needs? It's almost always specified by the coating manufacturer in the product data sheet — send it to us and we'll blast to that spec. If there's no spec sheet, we'll recommend one based on service environment and expected coating life.

[ MEDIA SELECTION ]

The right abrasive
for the substrate.

Choosing media is a trade-off between cut rate, profile shape, substrate safety, and cost per square foot. Click a media to see where it's used.

Steel grit

RECYCLABLE · 100+ CYCLES

Angular, metallic abrasive made from crushed steel shot. The heaviest cutter in our lineup — capable of stripping thick mill scale and heavy rust in a single pass. Because the grit is magnetic, it can be recovered from the blast pit and recycled for years, which brings the total cost per square foot down on long production runs.

  • Heavy structural steel, new mill stock
  • Storage tanks and pressure vessels
  • High-production shop blasting where media is recovered
  • Surfaces that will receive zinc-rich or inorganic zinc primer
Hardness
55 – 62 HRC
Profile range
2.0 – 4.0 mil
Cut rate
Very fast
Best on
Carbon steel, cast iron

Coal slag

SINGLE USE · DISPOSABLE

Also sold as copper slag or mineral grit. Angular and hard, but cheaper per ton than steel grit or garnet. It leaves a sharper, deeper profile than glass bead, which makes it an excellent choice for surfaces that need a heavy anchor for thick-film coatings. Contains trace heavy metals — disposal requires a manifest.

  • Storage tank exteriors and field blasting
  • Barge decks and marine hull work
  • Bridge girders and municipal structural steel
  • Anywhere profile depth matters more than media cost
Hardness
7 – 8 Mohs
Profile range
2.0 – 3.5 mil
Cut rate
Fast
Best on
Carbon steel, heavy weldments

Garnet

REUSABLE · 3–5 CYCLES

A naturally occurring mineral abrasive. Sharper and harder than coal slag with far less dust — a big advantage on job sites where airborne particulates or cleanup costs matter. It's the preferred media for water-jet cutting and for offshore work where only virgin, low-contaminant abrasives are permitted.

  • Offshore and near-shore marine blasting
  • Stainless steel where iron contamination is unacceptable
  • Water-jet cutting beds and precision equipment
  • Projects with strict dust or cleanup requirements
Hardness
7.5 – 8 Mohs
Profile range
2.0 – 4.0 mil
Cut rate
Fast
Best on
Steel, stainless, stone

Aluminum oxide

RECYCLABLE · 20–40 CYCLES

Extremely hard, blocky, synthetic abrasive. Long service life in a blast cabinet, and available in a wide range of grit sizes. It cuts cleanly without embedding in the substrate, which makes it the standard choice for blasting in preparation for powder coating, anodizing, and bonding operations.

  • Parts going to powder coating or anodize
  • Blast cabinet work in fabrication shops
  • Pre-bond surface prep on aerospace and defense parts
  • Fine detail work on small parts and tooling
Hardness
9 Mohs
Profile range
1.0 – 3.0 mil
Cut rate
Fast
Best on
Steel, aluminum, titanium

Glass bead

RECYCLABLE · 8–12 CYCLES

Spherical, non-angular media. Rather than cutting the surface, glass bead peens it — closing surface porosity and leaving a satin finish without significant metal removal. Used where the goal is cosmetic or where stock removal must be minimized, such as on thin sheet or on precision parts.

  • Cosmetic finishing on stainless and aluminum
  • Automotive sheet metal where warp is a concern
  • Precision parts with tight dimensional tolerances
  • Surface peening for fatigue resistance
Hardness
5.5 – 6 Mohs
Profile range
0.5 – 1.5 mil
Cut rate
Slow
Best on
Aluminum, stainless, thin sheet

Plastic media

RECYCLABLE · 15–25 CYCLES

Soft, angular, urea- or melamine-based. Plastic media removes coatings, sealants, and elastomers without touching the substrate underneath. It's the standard for aerospace depainting, classic car stripping where the factory panel must be preserved, and any situation where a metal substrate absolutely cannot be profiled.

  • Aerospace depainting and composite prep
  • Classic car body strip without panel distortion
  • Removal of powder coat, plastisol, or elastomer
  • Sensitive alloy parts and castings
Hardness
3 – 4 Mohs
Profile range
0.5 – 1.0 mil
Cut rate
Slow
Best on
Aluminum, composite, thin sheet
[ SURFACE PROFILE ]

The number on the gauge
is the number that matters.

Anchor profile — measured as Rz (mean peak-to-valley height) or Ry depending on the standard — is what a coating physically grips. Too shallow and the coating peels under thermal cycling. Too deep and the peaks poke through a thin primer film. We measure and log every job.

Profile is created by the shape and hardness of the media, the blast pressure, the nozzle angle, and the standoff distance from the surface. All four variables are controlled by the operator — which is why the operator's experience matters more than the equipment.

TEST / 01

Replica tape

Compressible foam tape pressed against the blasted surface, then read with a spring micrometer. The industry-standard field method.

TEST / 02

Digital gauge

Electronic profile gauge for high-production work. Reads directly in mils or micrometers and logs to memory for the project record.

TEST / 03

Comparator disc

Visual reference plate for quick checks. Rough, but useful when you need a fast sanity check between formal readings.

SP 5 1.5 – 4.0 mil
SP 10 1.5 – 3.5 mil
SP 6 1.0 – 3.0 mil
SP 7 0.5 – 1.5 mil
Typical achievable profile ranges by SSPC grade — with mixed steel grit / slag media, 100 psi, 3/8" nozzle.
NOTE

Coating manufacturers specify both a minimum and a maximum profile for their products. Blasting deeper than the maximum is just as much a defect as blasting too shallow. We confirm target profile before mobilizing.

[ ASSETS WE CLEAN ]

What comes into the shop
and what we go to.

  • A / 01

    Structural steel

    Beams, columns, trusses, braces, and weldments. New mill stock or existing steel being recoated in the field or at the yard.

  • A / 02

    Storage tanks

    Above-ground storage tanks (AST) and shop-fabricated vessels. Exterior shells, roofs, and appurtenances. API-653 coordination available.

  • A / 03

    Pressure vessels

    Exterior shell and head blasting for ASME-coded vessels going back into service. Interior work on inerted, gas-freeed vessels by arrangement.

  • A / 04

    Process piping & spools

    Pipe spools, valves, flanges, and fittings. Shop blasting before spool coating, or field blasting on installed lines during turnarounds.

  • A / 05

    Heavy machinery

    Crane components, rail cars, mining equipment, and process machinery frames. Bring the unit to us or we blast in place with containment.

  • A / 06

    Bridges & infrastructure

    Bridge girders, overpass steel, sign structures, and municipal railings. Bonded for public-sector work; full containment for over-water blasting.

  • A / 07

    Skids & modular units

    Process skids, compressor packages, and modular equipment frames. Blast in place at your yard or at ours before shipment.

  • A / 08

    Marine structures

    Dock piles, sheet piling, barge decks, and offshore module exteriors. Coordinate with our mobile division for on-water work.

[ SAFETY & COMPLIANCE ]

This work has real hazards.
We treat them like it.

Abrasive blasting produces airborne silica, high noise, high heat stress, and confined-space risks. Every one of those has killed workers in this industry. Our safety program isn't a binder that lives in the office.

  • S / 01
    OSHA 30 trained crews

    Every field lead holds an OSHA 30-hour construction card; all blast operators hold OSHA 10 at minimum. Refresher training annually.

  • S / 02
    NIOSH-approved supplied-air respirators

    No operator blasts without a supplied-air hood and clean air source. Cartridge respirators are not acceptable on any abrasive blast job we run.

  • S / 03
    Full containment on every job

    Shrink-wrap or rigid panel containment, spent-media recovery, and documented disposal. We don't leave media in the environment — ever.

  • S / 04
    Confined-space and hot-work permits

    Certified confined-space entrants and attendants. Full permit coordination with your site's safety officer when working on operating facilities.

  • S / 05
    SSPC-QP 1 certified

    Our quality program for shop and field blast cleaning is audited under SSPC-QP 1. Certification documents available on request.

[ RELATED SERVICES ]

Where industrial blasting
hands off.

ALL SERVICES →
[ FAQ — INDUSTRIAL ]

Questions we get
on the industrial side.

FULL FAQ →
Q / 01 Is silica sand still used in industrial blasting? +

Not by any reputable contractor in the United States. Dry silica sand blasting was effectively prohibited by OSHA in the 1970s because of the extreme silicosis risk to operators. Every job we run uses a non-silica abrasive — coal slag, steel grit, garnet, aluminum oxide, glass bead, or plastic media. If a contractor tells you they're blasting with "sand," that's a red flag.

Q / 02 What pressure do you blast at? +

Typically 90–110 psi at the nozzle for structural steel work. Pressure is adjusted based on the media, the target profile, and the substrate thickness. Thin or heat-sensitive substrates may run at 60–80 psi to reduce warping risk. We document nozzle pressure and standoff distance in the project record for jobs with a formal coating spec.

Q / 03 Can you blast an asset that's in service? +

Sometimes — depends on the hazard class of the contents, the asset pressure and temperature, and your facility's hot-work permitting rules. Hydrocarbon service requires gas-freeing and a permit before any abrasive work. We coordinate closely with your operations team and won't proceed without a signed permit. In many cases we recommend isolating and shutting down the asset, but it isn't always required.

Q / 04 How long after blasting before the surface starts to flash rust? +

In Houston-area humidity, blast-cleaned steel can begin to flash rust within 2–4 hours if not coated. Best practice is to apply the primer within 4 hours of blasting, and always the same working day. If a project requires overnight hold, we use a holding primer or schedule blasting and coating in the same shift. Flash-rusted steel requires re-blasting before coating, which is why scheduling matters more than most people realize.

Q / 05 Do you provide the coating, or just the blast? +

Both, depending on the job. Many customers run their own coating crews behind ours. We also apply coatings ourselves — zinc-rich primers, high-solid epoxies, polyurethane topcoats — when a turnkey system is more efficient. We can purchase coating materials on your behalf or work with material you provide. Details on the services overview page.

Q / 06 What's your minimum job size? +

For industrial work there's a mobilization minimum — it costs the same to bring a rig and crew to a site whether the job is 100 sq ft or 1,000. The minimum covers setup, containment, and cleanup. Call the office with your square footage and location and we'll give you a straight number.

Q / 07 Can you match an existing coating system already on the asset? +

Yes. If you can tell us what's currently on the surface — brand, product name, and age — we'll source a compatible primer and topcoat. If the history isn't documented, we can take a sample chip and have it analyzed, or default to a surface-tolerant epoxy system that's formulated to go over a wider range of unknowns. Never guess on a coating system you plan to warranty.

[ NEXT STEP ]

Send us the spec,
or just describe the job.

If you have a coating manufacturer's data sheet, an SSPC spec, or an existing project drawing, send it over. If you don't, tell us what the asset is and where it lives — we'll figure out the right approach.

Book the site visit (713) 674-1414

Or email [email protected] — we answer within one business day.