He gave an example of a cost study his firm recently did for the Coast Guard. It's hard to argue with numbers like that, but then one must look at the equipment cost. But you can afford it if the job dictates it, because everybody's going to be looking at it the same way. Hitzrot doesn't deny the big upfront money, but said that the industry is now looking at downsizing the equipment to make it more compatible with smaller-size jobs. The Gateway Co.'s Bob Herold, who makes use of recyclables, said that all things being equal, blasting with sand will be a minimum of a one-third cheaper.
Moisture creates serious problems.
Condensation carried to the blasted surface causes flash rusting or blushing. In addition, wet steel grit conglomerating in the bottom of the blasting pot soon becomes impossible to remove. Otherwise you're blasting with rust. Steel abrasive will pick up oil, grease, or salts, and transfer them to the reclaim unit. Thorough precleaning of the surface prior to blasting is necessary to save the cost of new abrasive.