What we clean, and what we leave alone

Six kinds of job. For each: what comes off, what stays exactly as it was, how long it takes and where it is done.

01At the workshop

Engine bays

Decades of oil and road film come off cast alloy, rubber hoses and wiring looms without touching the paint, the chrome or the factory markings. Dry ice is dry and does not conduct, so it goes around sensors and connectors that a pressure washer has to avoid. The car is driven out the same day.

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Typically: 2 to 4 hours
Where: At the unit in Cwmcarn
Stays: Paint, chrome, rubber, wiring, casting marks
Comes off: Oil, grease, road film, wax, carbon

02At the workshop

Classic restoration

Underseal, wax and road grime come off the underbody, arches and engine so a restorer can see exactly what they have, including the original finishes and markings that grit would erase.

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Typically: About a day
Where: At the unit, ramp access needed
Stays: Original finishes, factory markings, sound paint
Comes off: Underseal, wax, road grime, failed paint

A white classic Ford raised on a two-post ramp in a workshop, with an operator in a dark hoodie dry ice blasting underneath it. — A classic Ford on the ramp, cleaned from underneath.

A casing under the Ford covered in grime and old underseal, the Ford badge barely visible, as the dry ice nozzle starts on it. — Under the same car: grime and old underseal on the casing, then bare metal with the Ford badge and the cast lettering still sharp.

The same casing after dry ice blasting: bare metal, with the Ford badge, the plate and the cast lettering crisp. — Under the same car: grime and old underseal on the casing, then bare metal with the Ford badge and the cast lettering still sharp.

03On your site

Machinery and moulds

Presses, moulds, conveyors and control cabinets are cleaned where they stand, still assembled, with the power isolated by your people. There is no strip-down, no drying time and no spent grit in the machine, so a clean that used to need a shutdown can fit inside a changeover.

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Typically: Planned around you
Where: On site, to your permit and isolation
Stays: Mould detail, vents, tolerances, cabinets
Comes off: Release agent, product build-up, grease, carbon

04On your site

Fire and smoke damage

Soot and char come off timber, brick and steel without adding water to a building that has already had plenty. The smoke smell lives in the burnt residue, so removing the residue takes much of the smell with it rather than covering it. Timber cleaned back to sound grain lets a surveyor judge what can be kept.

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Typically: Priced after a visit
Where: On site, alongside surveyors and builders
Stays: Sound timber, brick, steelwork
Comes off: Soot, char and the smoke smell held in them

05Ashore

Boats and marine

Antifouling, growth, salt and oil come off the hull and out of the engine space, and the only thing to collect is what came off the boat. Because it is not abrasive it cleans GRP and aluminium without thinning the plating or scarring the gelcoat.

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Typically: Priced from your photos
Where: Ashore, on a hard standing
Stays: Gelcoat, GRP laminate, plating thickness
Comes off: Antifouling, growth, salt, oil, corrosion

06On your site

Stone, brick and graffiti

Paint, carbon, moss and pollution staining come off stone and brick without the erosion of sand or the soaking of a pressure washer. On old buildings the surface is the historic part, so we agree a test patch with you before anything else is touched.

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Typically: Priced after a visit
Where: On site, access at height arranged
Stays: Tooling marks, lime mortar, carved detail
Comes off: Paint, graffiti, carbon, moss, staining

Working on your site

What a maintenance manager or facilities team needs to know before letting a contractor through the gate.

An operator in an orange hi-vis vest, yellow ear defenders and gloves closing the hopper lid on a dry ice blaster in a workshop. — Hi-vis, ear defenders and gloves on while the blaster is loaded.

Method statement and risk assessment

Supplied before we attend, covering the blasting, the noise, the gas and how we contain what comes off. If you need a particular format, tell us when you book.

Your permit, your isolation

We work to your site induction, permit-to-work and lockout procedure.

Nothing needed from you

The van brings its own compressor and dry ice. No power, no water, no compressed air, and no drain, because nothing runs off.

Noise, gas and waste

Hearing protection and an exclusion distance are agreed beforehand, enclosed spaces are ventilated, and what comes off is sheeted, collected and taken away.

What dry ice will not do

Bonded rust and heavy scale.They are part of the metal now, and need abrasive blasting. We will say so before you spend anything.
Healthy paint.Sound, well-stuck paint stays. Only failed and flaking coatings come off.
Quiet work.It is as loud as a busy workshop, so we keep people back and wear hearing protection.
Sealed rooms without planning.The gas has to go somewhere, so small enclosed spaces are ventilated first.

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