Are you asking: can timber be cleaned with abrasive blasting? We look at  timber products that can be sandblasted and what you need to know before sandblasting wood.

Can Wood Be Sandblasted?

Absolutely, wood can be sandblasted. But it is important that you use all the correct techniques and mediums of sandblasting. 

Sandblasting wood can be used to restore furniture, clean different types of wood, remove the finish and paint off wood, and can also be used for making wooden signboards. 

You need to be cautious when going through the process of sandblasting, wood is not a very forgiving canvas, and the material can easily be ruined by overdoing the blasting.

Different varieties of wood will vary quite widely in their density and hardness. This means that choosing the correct kind of abrasive medium is very important.

WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SANDBLASTING AND SHOT BLASTING?

Restoring Timber Furniture

Do you have any old furniture that needs to be brought back to life and rejuvenated? Maybe you make your money off old furniture and want to revitalise an old piece for a healthy profit quickly. 

No matter what the reason might be, the process of abrasive sandblasting is the quickest and most highly effective method of taking any old paint or varnish off wood and getting the material's surface right back to square one, ideal for restoration.

The use of messy and damaging chemical paint strippers will not get the job done properly. The wood's surface will be left completely marred by different chemicals, and then these chemicals will need to be removed all over again before the restoration can begin. 

The other issue with paint strippers is that all the furniture's tiny nooks and crannies will not be effective, meaning you will have to get on your hands and knees and remove the paint or finish from these areas yourself. Abrasive sandblasting can get into all kinds of small tight spots and remove old paint and debris incredibly quickly.

There are various different types of abrasives that can be used on pretty much any surface you can imagine, and some of these abrasives, for example, garnet, come in different grades so that the results after the sandblasting process is perfect after being done by a professional. 

It is important to remember that a lot of surfaces are highly delicate, and so a finer grade of abrasive is required in order to do the job correctly and not have the underlying surface of the wood become damaged.

Timber Products That Can Be Sandblasted

Wooden furniture is not the only type of wooden object that can be helped through the process of sandblasting. Pretty much anything that is constructed out of wood can be restored by using the sandblasting method.

Sandblasting is perfect for objects that would normally be very difficult to sand back, such as a louvre wooden door. These doors can sometimes be seen attached to the cupboards in the kitchen, bedroom wardrobes, or the swinging doors that are used to separate rooms. 

We can assure you that abrasive blasting will remove the paint and vanish of these wooden objects in no time at all. Then once you have applied a new coat of finish or paint to the wood, the object will look like it is absolutely brand new. Fresh from the factory.

Some other objects that can benefit from going through the sandblasting process are below:

Almost anything that is constructed out of wood can be restored through the process of sandblasting. Blasting will leave the wood ready for a finish with a new coat of your choice of clear gloss, stain, or paint.

What is Sandblasting?

Sandblasting, also known as abrasive blasting, is the process through which surfaces are cleaned, smoothed, or scratched using a device called a sand jet which is sprayed using compressed air.

The process was initially used exclusively for metals, but these days the process is much more popular for use on wood. 

Sandblasting can be used for stripping off old paint and varnish from old and worn finished surfaces. It can also be used along with special templates in order to print on various different types of signs.

Superficially, the amount of depth from the surface layer that is removed is almost entirely dependent on the amount of pressure that is applied to the martial and the abrasive materials that are being used.

When sandblasting wood, due to the material's highly fragile structure, you usually want a blast that has quite a delicate effect. You want to blast with a material that has the least dangerous and harmful effects. So in order of general abrasiveness, the material used will usually be either shredded shells of walnut or fragments of pumice stone.

This is about the maximum abrasive level that is recommended to be applied to wood. But it really depends on the strength of the wood, as different types of wood can vary widely. The stronger the wood's structure is, the harder it will be able to take the sandblasted. This allows you to create wood that has a very stylish ageing look.

The advantage of Sandblasting Wood Surfaces

The process of sandblasting has several different advantages aside from the smoothing of wooden surfaces. There are various different advantages related to the process of sandblasting:

• Sandblasting can give wood upholstery a brand-new glaze-like appearance. This gives the wood's surface a special gloss that can not be achieved through other means.
• Sandblasting can also remove different traces of wood chemicals that can find their way into the wood through chemical treatment processes during the manufacturing of different wood parts.
• Blasting can also assist in closing the wood's pores. This is done by physically pushing back the wood's fibres back into the wood's surface.
• Sandblasting can also help with improving the wood's rough surface's overall quality. This is because the abrasive blasting process will straighten up small cracks in the wood and smooth them right out.
• One of the great parts about sandblasting is that it allows for different types of abrasive materials to be used in order to achieve different results.
• Another key element is that the sandblasting process provides flexibility when it comes to wetting pressure.
• Sandblasting does not affect hardwood at all. If the pressure on the sandblasting is adjusted, then it is effective on softwood without accentuating the wear of the material.
• The majority of people will choose wet sandblasting as a method of restoring old wooden furniture. But it can also be used for construction wood relating to wood such as bridges, benches, panelling, and other items.

Vapour Abrasive Blasting or Wet Abrasive Blasting

The main advantage of vapour abrasive blasting over dry sandblasting is that it leaves much less dust once the blasting is over. This means that the professional doing the abrasive blasting has much better visibility and, therefore, can be much more precise when doing the operation. Sometimes vapour abrasive blasting can also be referred to as wet abrasive blasting, wet blasting, vapour blasting, wet sandblasting, slurry blasting, and dustless blasting.

Wet abrasive blasting can, fortunately, stand in for dry sandblasting in almost every situation, but there are particular surfaces, environments, and situations where the use of wet sandblasting would come in especially handy. This includes use with wooden surfaces. Wet blasters are used at a much lower PSI than dry blasters. This means that coats, chemicals, and installation marks can be removed with ease without any damage to the underlying substrate.

Do you require blast cleaning in London or throughout the UK? Contact us on our phone number or via email for further information or advice. If you are interested in a dustless blasting service, RM Specialist Blast Cleaning is always happy to help and assist you. 

We can offer high-quality training that may only take around 5 or so minutes. We have professionals on standby so that you can happily stop by and demo our machines at any hours of the day.