What builds up, and why it matters
On this kind of work the problem is salt, corrosion product, oil, exhaust soot and bilge residue. South Florida salt air never stops working on a vessel. Abrasive cleaning takes the protective finish with the salt; dry ice removes the contamination and leaves the coating.
Work happens dockside, in the yard or aboard. The people who call us about shipyard equipment are usually captains, yards and vessel owners, and the thing they are actually worried about is stripping a coating that was the only thing holding corrosion back.
The method
Why dry ice and not the alternatives
- Non-abrasive
The pellet is soft and sublimates on impact, so the work is thermal rather than mechanical. Machined faces, plating, paint and gaskets survive it.
- Low moisture
No standing water in a harness, a bearing or a cabinet, and no dry time before the equipment goes back into service.
- No secondary waste
Sand, soda and walnut shell all have to be swept and hauled. Dry ice leaves only the contaminant it removed.
- Often no teardown
Much of this work is done in place, which is usually where the real saving is. The labor is in the disassembly, not the cleaning.
More marine work
Related jobs we get called for
Questions we get asked first
Will it damage the surface underneath?
On most substrates, no. The pellet is soft and sublimates on impact, so it does thermal work rather than mechanical work. We still test an inconspicuous spot first on anything unusual.
Do you have to take the equipment apart for shipyard equipment?
Usually far less than you would expect, and often not at all. Cleaning in place is where most of the saving comes from, because the labor is normally in the teardown and reassembly.
How much mess does it make?
Far less than the alternatives, because the blasting media disappears. What is left is the contaminant itself, which we contain and clean up.
Do you come to us?
Yes. The whole rig is mobile. Compressor, hose and operator arrive at your shop, plant, driveway or dock, anywhere across South Florida from Miami out to roughly a hundred miles.
What does a job cost?
It depends on the equipment, the contaminant and the access, so we will not throw a number at you over the phone without understanding the work. Describe the job and we will give you a real figure.
How soon can you look at it?
Send photos and a short description and one of the owners gets back to you. If you have a shutdown or a deadline, say so up front and we will tell you honestly whether we can hit it.
The comparison
What the alternatives actually do
- Media blasting
It takes the top off whatever it touches. That is the point on rusted plate and the problem everywhere else.
- Pressure washing
Pressure pushes moisture past seals and into connectors, and then you wait. Panels and motors rule it out.
- Solvent and degreaser
It dissolves the deposit and often the finish underneath, then leaves a film behind either way.
- Hand scraping
It is the fallback when nothing else is available, and it shows on the surface afterward.
- Dry ice
The deposit shrinks away from the surface it is stuck to and releases. The ice is gone before it can do any harm.
What comes off
The deposits we see most
Most calls involve one of the following. The common factor is a bond between two things that should not be bonded.
- Grease and oil
Oil film is the layer everything else sticks to. Remove it and half the job is already done.
- Carbon and soot
The hard black crust on a housing, an oven or a weld cell. Bonded by heat, and the first thing to release under thermal shock.
- Adhesive and sealant
Sealant squeezed out and cured where it was never supposed to set.
- Resin and mold release
Cured process residue on a mold or fixture. The surface has to come out dimensionally unchanged, which rules out anything abrasive.
- Paint and coatings
Removed selectively where the substrate underneath has to survive, which rules out most abrasive approaches.
- Salt and corrosion product
A constant in South Florida. Removing it without stripping the protective finish is the whole trick.
- Ink and printing residue
Ink and coating on anilox and press rollers, surfaces where changing the texture changes the print.
How a job runs
What happens once you call
If you have not seen this done before, the process is worth reading once. Nothing below is hidden in a footnote.
- We test a small area
Settings get proven somewhere nobody looks before they get used somewhere everybody does. What is correct on cast iron will mark aluminum, so the test is not a formality.
- We blast, then clean up
There is no spent media to recover, only the deposit, which we collect before packing up.
- You look before we pack up
Walk it with us before the hose goes away. A second pass while the compressor is still running costs nothing; a return visit costs us both.
- You describe the job
What the equipment is, what is on it, where it lives, and whether it can be shut down. Photos tell us more than a paragraph. If dry ice is the wrong tool we say so on that call rather than after taking your money.
- We look at access and containment
How close the truck can get, how far the hose must run, what needs covering, and where the debris goes. That is the bulk of the planning on a tight site.
What happens in your space
Dry ice is carbon dioxide in solid form. It is non-toxic and leaves no residue, but it does displace oxygen in an enclosed space, so ventilation is part of the setup rather than an afterthought.
The process is loud. Hearing protection is standard for anyone in the working area, which is why you will see ear defenders in most of our photographs.
Cold surfaces are the one aftereffect. Depending on the piece that is either a few minutes of patience or some condensation while it returns to room temperature.
Air comes from our own compressor. You do not need to provide power, water or a connection of any kind.
Describe what you are dealing with.
A short description and a location is enough to start. Add photos if you can. You will speak to an owner, not a scheduler.