Most people will have noticed some rather large tanks which are usually situated somewhere away from city centers. They tower over their surroundings and they normally hold liquid gases or some such thing for onward distribution to smaller wholesale companies. To find out what these tanks are lined with, look up ‘coatings’ or ‘sandblasting’ which should give an indication of what goes on within.

Once a product like oil has been stored, it tends to leave a sticky residue sticking to the inside of any tank. When new stock is coming in, or if the stock is to be changed, this residue has to be cleaned off. This is specialist work and actually involves men being lowered into the tanks with machines to work on the lining until it is clean enough to take other products.

What normally happens is a material is shot blasted under great pressure at the surface of the tank so that whatever is stuck there is virtually blasted off. The medium used can be several materials which include sand or metal balls depending on what is to be cleaned. Sand is highly abrasive and will even take off human flesh if the machine is not handled correctly. The met pellets, called shot, are collected after they have been used and recycled through the machine in a rather clever way. Indeed, it is this recycling which makes it so popular.

What happens here is all the debris is collected, the metal separated from the rubbish and then pumped back into the machine all in one easy operation. By doing this, the work costs less of course and the work can be done much faster.

Once the debris has been taken off, the bare metal will now need a lining of some kind to stop the product eating into the metal. These linings also get cleaned off occasionally once they have deteriorated since the product being held will eventually eat through this material too.

It is not only tanks though which have to undergo this kind of treatment. Girders on bridges need some form of cleaning every now and then when remedial work will also need to be done. The lining on these is somewhat different and consists of metal wires being melted onto the girder to give added strength where the metal is perhaps wearing a little thin. This is normally put on in several very thin layers to add strength to the whole. After this the whole think will be repainted with specialist paint which is formulated to withstand even the harshest of weather conditions.

Consequently, all of this work is rather specialized and only a few companies can do it. Finding them is not too difficult since most companies these days are online. Making sure that the company is up to the work though is very important since mistakes with this kind of work could prove to be very costly. Check that they have all the requisite licenses and permits before opting to sign any contracts with the chosen professional.

Author Bio: Stewart Wrighter recently worked with a San Antonio coatings firm as new developments occur regularly in this field. He worked with a San Antonio sandblasting firm as he sought quotes for an abatement project.

Category: Business
Keywords: SanAntonio Coatings,Sanantonio sandblasting