Dry Ice Blasting for Auto Body and Classic Cars

This is something that I never thought I would blog about. We have successfully dry ice blasted several classic car undercarriages. This job was definitely a first for our company. Although I have seen several videos of dry ice blasting paint off of cars, it is something that our company has not done. Rather than start with finished paint on the various external panels of a car, we went straight for the undercarriage.

Our customer owns several beautiful classic cars and he likes to keep them in mint condition. He needed the undercarriages of four classic cars cleaned of tar, grease, loose undercoating body patches, and other grime. The reason he was doing this is so that he could have the undercarriages freshly painted. Previously, he had one car cleaned using manual cleaning methods and it took a total of 100 man hours. One of the beauties of dry ice blast cleaning is that it is a much faster way to clean. Below is a video of his classic car collection.



With a day’s labor, Robin and his crew were able to complete three cars. The three cars dry ice blast cleaned were a 1959 Chevy Impala Convertible, a 1970 Chevy Chevelle Sedan and a 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix. Our customer was very enthused with the results. It would have taken our customer 400 man hours to clean the undercarriage of these four cars. We dry ice blasted three car undercarriages in less than 12 hours. That equates to about one car every four hours. Plus, there are two people working, so it ends up being a total of 8 man hours per car. That is a 92% reduction in cleaning time on the undercarriage of an automobile. Not too bad if you ask me. Look what our customer said below in regards to this.

“The cleaning process removed all tar, grease, undercoating loose body patches, it was ready for paint after this process a saving of 100 hours! Robin and his crew done a great job and I will, on the next job CALL AGAIN!”

The value of the cars we dry ice blast cleaned is in excess of $200k dollars. Our customer was happy with the way we handled them and was amazed with the results of dry ice blast cleaning. Since we have now completed this type of work, we know we can do it again. Dry ice blast cleaning works great on removing grime, paint, tar, weatherproofing and body patches from the undercarriages of vehicles. It also works well on stripping the exterior paint off of vehicles. I really think this could prove to be a great cleaning method for restorers of high value and classic cars. Lastly, some auto body shops could use it as well.

For more information about dry ice blast cleaning, please visit our dry ice blasting web page. If you have any questions or comments, please call (508) 459-7447 or email rtaylor@nitrofreeze.com.

Dry Ice Blasting for Paper Mill Equipment

A few weeks ago, several of our employees worked on a dry ice blasting project at a paper mill in New England. This paper mill specializes in filtration products, engineered papers and industrial non-wovens. Employees of this particular paper mill needed to clean several of their paper and filter manufacturing machines. One of these particular machines was a large drier with nine massive rollers. Rather than clean these machines by hand as done in the past, the Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. was chosen to clean the machines using its Nitrofreeze® Dry Ice Blasting Service. The plan was to clean three machines in a total of five days. One of these days includes a Saturday due to the New Year’s holiday.

I had the opportunity to go to the paper mill. The first day I went was to help get the equipment there, unload the truck, set-up our dry ice blasting equipment and start blasting the large drier. The first three steps went very smoothly and we started blasting at about 10:15AM. We decided to dry ice blast the two rollers at each end first before blasting the rollers above and in the middle of the machine. Each roller had a different degree of buildup that needed to be removed. In order to clean the rollers properly, we had to keep jogging the entire machine. Overall, it was a complex process, but the results were apparent. The rollers cleaned up very well and in far less time than it would take to do them by hand. Below is a picture of Robin dry ice blasting the roller. You can see the areas that have been cleaned on the roller.



Paper mill equipment is a good application for dry ice blasting. Rather than cleaning by hand with cleansers; dry ice blasting offers a safe, environmentally-friendly and faster way to clean. More surface area can be cleaned in a faster amount of time, reducing machine downtime. Dry ice blast cleaning also takes off contaminants without all the scrubbing which is labor intensive. If you are trying to reduce machine downtime while cleaning and want to be “green”, then dry ice blasting is a great way to clean. Below is a picture of a roller being dry ice blast cleaned. In the picture you can see the dry ice subliminating upon impact. This makes for less cleanup when compared to sand blasting, soda blasting and pressure washing.



If you would like to gain more knowledge about dry ice blasting, please visit our dry ice blasting webpage. We offer dry ice blast cleaning as a service to our customers. If you have an application that requires dry ice blasting, we are happy to come to your site and provide a no-cost assessment. We have completed many dry ice blast projects, but our specialty is heavy industrial equipment. For inquiries relating to dry ice blasting please email info@nitrofreeze.com or call us at (508) 459-7447.

Dry Ice Blasting for Vacuum Furnaces

It is amazing how dry ice blasting can be used to clean so many different types of surfaces. This week, we completed a dry ice blasting job at Bodycote Thermal Processing in Worcester, MA. The objective at this facility was to clean the interior of the vacuum furnace before a new coating was applied. The vacuum furnace was to be cleaned using our Nitrofreeze® Dry Ice Blast Cleaning process and then a special coating was to be painted on to protect the chamber. Come watch our dry ice blast cleaning of a vacuum furnace video.

The vacuum furnace had been taken off line and some parts were removed to make cleaning easier. I had the opportunity to take photographs of the vacuum furnace before, during and after dry ice blasting. The furnace was in good shape for its age considering it was manufactured in 1979. Vacuum furnaces are used for brazing, sintering and heat treatment. These furnaces are widely used because air and other gasses are not present, which could cause contamination. Below is a picture of the vacuum furnace that we cleaned.



The door and inner chamber of the vacuum furnace needed to be cleaned. The door had a white residue on it that needed to be dry ice blasted before the new coating was applied. In addition, the inner chamber had the same white residue and a few other types of buildup on it. Below are pictures of the vacuum furnace door and chamber before dry ice blasting.



Dry ice blasting was a great cleaning application for this vacuum furnace. The furnace cleaned up very well and quite easily. We used a larger air compressor that gave us a higher pressure to clean the vacuum furnace at. This made cleaning the furnace much easier than other industrial machines we have cleaned in the past. Below is a photograph of Robin dry ice blast cleaning the door of the vacuum furnace.



After a day’s work, the dry ice blasting job was completed. The results were quite impressive. The residue that needed to be removed was blasted right off. Below are pictures of the vacuum furnace door and chamber after dry ice blasting. Both our customer and our company were highly satisfied with the results. Now, our customer can paint the coating on to the interior of the chamber without worrying about it lifting.



For more information about our Nitrofreeze® Dry Ice Blast Cleaning service, please visit our dry ice blast cleaning web page. If you have any questions or comments about dry ice blast cleaning, please email info@nitrofreeze.com or call us at (508) 459-7447.

Dry Ice Blasting Creosote Wood Joists and Floorboards

The Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc.’s dry ice blast cleaning manager, Ian Scott and I headed out to Boston on September 24 to complete a dry ice blasting project involving wood joists and floorboards. The job was to be completed in a single day’s work. The room to be cleaned was situated to the side of an alley way that was located off of a one-way street. We had to position our air compressor on a curb and then run hose down the alley to the back room. Additionally, our dry ice blasting machine needed to be brought down several steep stairs, which required the use of a ramp. Setting up the job took much less time than expected considering the logistical issues associated with the dry ice blasting job.

The objective of this project was to clean wood joists and the bottom of floorboards in a soon to be renovated dining room. The wood needed to be cleaned to a bare finish that was smooth. Ideally, the end result would look like brand new fresh wood that had been installed. Before even starting our dry ice blasting process, the wood looked very old and worn. It had a feathered texture and in some sections was stained and had dirt on it. Regardless, it looked like something dry ice blast cleaning would fix without issue. It was a humid day and since we were blasting in an enclosed area between the joists, it was very hard to see the surface being blasted. The floorboards cleaned up well, but it took several sampling efforts to get the right finish.

The joists on the other hand were a completely different story. The joists seemed at first to have been stained at some point in their lifetime. But, once we started dry ice blasting the joists, a certain smell started to permeate the room, even through our respirators. The joists appeared to have been made of what would remind you of utility pole wood. After doing some further reading on the subject, I discovered that it is quite likely that the wood was finished in creosote. Creosote was created as a wood preservative dating back to 1831. The house we worked in which was over 120 years old, may have had creosote protected wood joists, which prevented us from getting the clean that both us and our customer desired. We were only able to bring a wood stain look back to the joists. Unfortunately, we were unable to bring them back to bare wood. The wood seemed to have been soaked completely through with creosote and even after dry ice blasting the texture was still not smooth. It still had that feathered look.

I have included before and after photographs for you to view of the project.









Regardless, we learned something from this dry ice blasting project. First, creosote coated or soaked woods will not be able to be cleaned to a bare finish that looks like brand new unfinished wood. Rather dry ice blast cleaned creosote coated wood will look like it has been freshly stained. Second, wood timbers that have a rough finish (think utility pole wood) may not clean to look like smooth sanded wood. Therefore, dry ice blast cleaning will work on creosote treated wood, but not to the extent that we have seen on other wood cleaning operations.

For more information about our Nitrofreeze® Dry Ice Blast Cleaning visit our dry ice blasting page or call Ian Scott at (508) 459-7447.

Dry Ice Blasting at 89 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA

Over the past few years, we have completed many dry ice blasting renovation projects for home owners, commercial clients, and even construction firms. In July of 2007, we completed a project for Cardinal Construction at 89 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA. Many of you may be familiar with this building because it houses a local restaurant named VIA Italian Table on the first floor.

The job completed in July 2007 was on the third floor of 89 Shrewsbury Street. The project involved removing paint from brick walls and cleaning painted wood ceilings. Many walls were required to be cleaned to the bricks’ bare surface, bringing back their original finish from over one hundred years ago. The painted wood ceilings needed to be cleaned in a few areas that would become main offices and a conference room. The Nitrofreeze® Dry Ice Blast Cleaning Service removed the paint and left the wood with a rustic smooth finish. In less than ten days the third floor of 89 Shrewsbury Street was cleaned and construction began on the new office space. The third floor now houses the Worcester Business Development Corporation with a total of 7,200 square feet of office space. I have added a link to a brochure about the third floor project, which can be viewed below.

Worcester Business Development Corp. at 89 Shrewsbury Street

In the summer of 2009, we are revisited by Cardinal Construction. They are interested in having the second floor dry ice blasted. The tenants moving into the second floor liked the look of the fresh brick on the third floor. As a result, they requested that the same process be carried out on the second floor. A mix of brick walls and wood ceilings needed to be cleaned utilizing dry ice blast cleaning. Many walls needed significant blasting as different paints had accumulated on them over the years. Some ceiling areas required blasting as designated by the customer. In particular, the conference room and a few offices would end up with fresh wood ceilings without any imperfections or paint.

The entire job only took nine days of dry ice blast cleaning. Our cleaning process allowed us to complete the entire second floor job on time and within budget. Historic restorations have become one of the mainstays of our Nitrofreeze® Dry Ice Blast Cleaning Service. We take pride in cleaning buildings to the point that they are at or near new condition. I have added pictures below to show you various areas of the second floor of 89 Shrewsbury Street before and after dry ice blasting.

Before & After Pictures



































We can dry ice blast clean your renovation projects. Call Ian Scott, our dry ice blast cleaning manager, at (508)-459-7447 today, to discuss possible projects requiring dry ice blast cleaning. For more information about dry ice blast cleaning, please visit Nitrofreeze Dry Ice Blast Cleaning Service.

Dry Ice Blasting Fire & Smoke Damage

Last week, we completed a dry ice blasting job along the coast of Maine. This summer we have seen an influx of dry ice blast cleaning jobs from home owners rather than industrial customers. This job involved cleaning an apartment that had recently experienced fire and soot damage. The small stove in this converted apartment had caught fire causing damage to the vaulted ceiling. For the most part, the rafters and ceiling were salvageable. It was our job to go to the site and dry ice blast clean the ceiling and rafters. In only one day we took the trip to Maine, completed the job, and came home.

Fire restoration jobs reveal how effective dry ice blasting is in cleaning wood surfaces. The black soot and char marks for the most part will be removed. This saves homeowners and insurance companies thousands on fire restoration considering the alternative option is to disassemble the structure and rebuild it with all new materials. Regardless, there are typically some parts that will need to be replaced as they will still not be up to code. However, this is for home / building inspector to decide.

Dry ice blast cleaning uses dry ice as a media to sand down the surface of the wood to be cleaned. As the dry ice hits the facade to be cleaned it begins to remove the surface finish. At the same time, the dry ice evaporates as it hits the surface to be cleaned. This reduces the amount of cleanup that is required after dry ice blasting has been completed. If we were sand blasting, we would need to clean up all the sand as well as the char and smoke particulate after cleaning. By using dry ice blasting there is far less residue that needs to be cleaned up. The picture below shows dry ice blast cleaning in action. The blasting gun is aimed at the surface to be cleaned and moved back and forth about two to four inches away in a sweeping motion. This cleans the surface and attains the desired clean that the customer requires.



At the job site we setup scaffolding so that we could reach the highest peak of the ceiling. Throughout the day we moved the scaffolding around in circles to clean all levels of the ceiling. After hours of blasting we went back over the surfaces to make sure that there were no spots that had not been cleaned. Any spots that were missed were taken care of. Below, are some before and after pictures of different sections of the ceiling. Dry ice blasting was extremely effective in cleaning the ceiling.




For more information about dry ice blast cleaning, take a look at http://www.nitrofreeze.com/dry_ice_blast_cleaning.html.

We have been dry ice blast cleaning since 2006 and have significant experience in fire restoration work. If you live in New England and need to clean smoke and fire damage, give us a call at 800-739-7949. We would be more than happy in assessing your fire damage cleaning needs.

Dry Ice Blasting For Mold Removal

On Friday, June 26th we had the opportunity to complete a dry ice blast cleaning job in the suburbs of Boston. Like many other dry ice blasting jobs, this one was dirty. The job site involved a newly acquired house that had undergone some problems last winter. The previous owner was hospitalized and the home ran out of heating oil. As a result, pipes burst leaving water in the basement. As the water evaporated, mold and mildew were left on the rafters in the ceiling of the basement. The photo to the right shows the job before we went into clean. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture taken after our work, but I can assure you that the wood rafters were clean of mold and mildew. After review of the site, it was apparent that dry ice blast cleaning would be an effective way to remove the mold both in time and cost.

Mold remediation requires several steps to be fully effective. The first step involves drying the area that has become moist, allowing the mold to grow. The second step involves removing the mold from the surface that is contaminated. This can be done via sanding, sand blasting, soda blasting, dry ice blasting and by other means. The third step is to use a mold remediation product that will ensure that the offending mold will not rejuvenate. The final step is to monitor the areas that had mold to make sure that the problem does not re-surface.

Here at the Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc., we offer dry ice blast cleaning as a service. We are more than capable of cleaning mold from various surfaces. However, we do not employ mold remediation products to the surfaces that have been cleaned. The customer has the option to do this themselves or hire a contractor to complete the final steps of mold remediation.

Any person with a potential mold problem should consider the options before taking up the project. Utilizing sand blasting and soda blasting will result in a significantly larger clean up. Not only will the cleaned surfaces have run-off but so will the process. I can’t imagine blasting sand everywhere and then having to clean it all up. Sanding mold off will take a very long time and will be labor intensive. But, dry ice blast cleaning is different. The surfaces cleaned will result in run-off on the floor, but the dry ice will evaporate. Therefore, cleaning is limited to a sweep, vacuum, and mop. In terms of time, the clean-up will be much shorter utilizing dry ice blasting.

Next time you have a mold problem and need the mold removed, call us at 800-739-7949. We will come to your location and review the problem. Then we will provide you with a quotation for the job. When it comes to mold, you want it gone the first time with as little extra work as needed. Utilizing our dry ice blast cleaning service is a step in the right direction.

For more information about dry ice blast cleaning, please visit the link below.

Dry Ice Blast Cleaning for New England

Dry Ice Blasting Industrial Equipment

Dry Ice Blast Cleaning also known as dry ice blasting and co2 blasting has been one of our service offerings for the past two years. We have completed many jobs involving industrial equipment, fire damage, and mold remediation. Dry ice blasting is a very different yet environmentally friendly cleaning process.

Unlike sand blasting and pressure washing, dry ice blasting is approved by the FDA, EPA, and USDA. Why does that matter some may ask? The answer is simple, it allows us to clean food processing lines and equipment along with other medical applications.

Sand blasting leaves sand and grit all over the area to be cleaned; pressure washing leaves a slippery wet mess on the floor. These two cleaning processes cannot be used on every application for the cited reasons. Dry ice blasting doesn't leave anything on the floor except the grit from the surface that was cleaned. The dry ice (aka co2) that we use comes in pellet form. This means that it is about the size of a tic-tac. As the operator uses the dry ice blasting equipment, dry ice is blasted at the surface and evaporates as it cleans the surface. Therefore, there is no wet mess on the floor.

The most important principle that differentiates dry ice blasting from sand blasting and pressure washing is the fact that dry ice blasting is non-abrasive. Picture a brick wall that was painted white. Sand blasting it would take off the paint, destroy some of the grout, and damage the surface finish to the bricks. Pressure washing may take off some of the paint, but probably not all and don't forget the gallons of water all over the floor. Dry ice blasting will remove the paint, but keep the grout and surface finish to the bricks just the way it was before the bricks were painted.

Dry ice blasting can be used on different surfaces including metal, brick, wood, stone, and many others. The picture above shows our president helping us clean the Telegram & Gazette's main printing press located in Worcester, MA. Our company offers dry ice blasting throughout the whole New England area. For more information take a look here at http://www.nitrofreeze.com/dry_ice_blast_cleaning.html.