Industrial Surface Preparation: A Complete Guide

Industrial surface preparation is the controlled process of bringing a substrate to a defined cleanliness and roughness so that a coating, lining or overlay performs for its design life.

It starts with the specification. Steel work is normally written against ISO 8501-1 blast grades with a stated surface profile; concrete work is written against the ICRI CSP scale; both are set by the coating manufacturer, not by the blasting contractor.

Media selection follows the substrate. Steel shot and angular grit for structural steel, garnet for stainless and non-ferrous, glass bead for finishing, and low-pressure or soft media for stone, brick and heritage fabric. Silica sand is not used.

Containment and waste are as much a part of the job as the blasting. Encapsulation, dust suppression, collection of spent abrasive and licensed disposal of removed coatings — particularly lead-based systems — are planned before mobilisation.

Documentation closes the loop: RAMS, recorded blast grade and profile, environmental conditions at the time of blasting, and waste transfer records. Rayco supplies all of these as standard under ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.