Adding Value to Stone and Ceramic Building Materials with Blast Finishing

SKIPTON, U.K. - June 10, 2014 - PRLog -- Though blast cabinets tend to be more synonymous with the surface finishing of metal components, a number of Guyson International’s customers choose to use them, and do so to great effect, for producing value adding surface finishes to stone and ceramic flagstones, tiles and artefacts.

Many Guyson blast systems have been installed in specialist stone merchants and restoration salvage yards for use on their cleaning, aging and restoration projects. Salvaged items such as tiles from bathrooms, kitchens and floors and stone flags from court yards, floors and roofs are now being transformed, via gentle blast cleaning, into an attractive condition, delivering the rich patina finish normally brought about by age, usage and weathering that new products have yet to attain.

Additionally there are many modern manufactured products made from concrete or engineered stone composites that can be enhanced by appropriate blast finishing to appear aged and distressed or to have a desired surface finish or texture created upon them, giving the appearance of a potentially more expensive option. New concrete paving slabs, kerb stones, driveway sets, roof tiles, garden ornaments and sculptures can also be subjected to sand blasting to ‘distress’ or artificially age items to make them look older or weathered. This can make them appropriate for use in those building projects or housing refurbishments where new concrete items would look out of place. Blasting can also bring instant aging to modern garden ornaments and facilitate faster organic growth on the more pitted surface.

A typical blast system to consider would be the Euroblast 10PF (Pressure Fed) (Internal cabinet sizes: Width 1480mm x Depth 1480mm x Height 1145mm) side loading cabinet with a G55-16 pressure pot, cyclone reclamator and C800 dust collector. The use of a pressure pot allows faster cleaning times, typically 2-4 times over suction fed blast guns, by forcing a dense flow of media through the blast system to the gun at high impact velocities. This produces a fast cleaning action with great effect and, if the appropriate media choice is made, with no damage to the surface substrate.

For safety and clear visibility, particularly when working with stone, tile and other loose surface debris, there is a need for effective media reclamation and dust extraction. The reclamator performs the important task of separating out the used but good media, from the dust and fines - which are passed through to the dust collector, such as the Guyson C800.

Dust collectors should be matched to the operational capacity of the blast cabinet, taking account of the volume of air pumped into the system, the chamber dimensions, workflow, media type and breakdown rate. The Guyson C800 is equipped with twin-pleated micronic paper filter cartridges for effective cleaning. A fan draws the dust-laden air from the cyclone, the airflow being controlled by a butterfly valve. Initial pre-separation of the heavier particles takes place as the inlet air stream is deflected downwards towards the collection bin, the lighter particles being retained on the surface of filter cartridges, which are cleaned by an auto-pulse air cleaning system. The waste is collected in a floor level collection bin fitted with a polythene bag liner which, when full, is then sealed and disposed of responsibly.

To facilitate ease of component handling, the Euroblast cabinet is often specified with a side loading turntable. These can be fitted with heavy duty rollers or be cantilevered enabling heavy or bulky components such as large flagstones, to be slid effortlessly into position. Alternatively, very heavy or bulky components may also be winched into the larger blast chambers via a roof slot, allowing hoist chains to deliver components directly into the centre of the cabinet.

Prospective users of Guyson International manual or automated blast systems are encouraged to submit sample components for free feasibility testing to the company’s extensive development workshop in Skipton, North Yorkshire.

About Guyson
Guyson International Limited is a privately owned family company with a world-wide reputation for excellence in the design and manufacture of blast finishing, spray wash and ultrasonic cleaning equipment.  Formed over 75 years ago, the company is registered to BS EN ISO 9001: 2008 and BS OHSAS 18001:2007, and its head office is located at Skipton, North Yorkshire, in the north of England.  Guyson has four international subsidiary companies: Guyson Corporation of the USA, located in Saratoga Springs, New York State; Guyson SA, situated near Paris, France; Guyson Sdn Bhd in Penang, Malaysia; and Guyson CN, in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China.