Anyone using dry ice blasting? No chemicals, no abrasion, only cleanup is from the paint dust. Also a great way to clean wires, hoses, remove adhesives, etc..

wirsig wrote:Anyone using dry ice blasting? No chemicals, no abrasion, only cleanup is from the paint dust. Also a great way to clean wires, hoses, remove adhesives, etc..

Please share the wisdom…

I’ve seen it used in automotive, not aviation & I’ve been considering getting into it. It works similar to sandblasting but with a couple of big differences. The dry ice pellets aren’t abrasive, so it won’t smooth a surface with lots of rust etc.. so rivet heads should be safe. The work is done by the pellet making a penetration in the paint then the solid pellet instantly turns to a gas expanding around 800 times, which along with the forced air, peels the paint up from the underside. Since the dry ice pellet turns to a gas the only thing to sweep up is the paint and dirt that came off the part. It’s supposed to also cause embrittlement in materials like adhesives allowing them to be removed. Lots of videos on YouTube. Big initial investment but the time savings, reduced cleanup, and no volatile chemicals are a great selling point.

I have never used a dry ice blaster but I know people who have used them to strip aircraft interiors. Apparently they work well and cleanup is indeed quite easy. It is my plan to rent one to strip out the interior on my plane soon. Soon being relative, it could be next summer or 10 years down the line.

Regarding the discussion of rivets and seams. I think it is interesting that there has been talk about the perils of pressure washing seams and rivet heads. Yet when reviewing the described process on all three of the recommended paint shops listed in this posting they all clearly list pressure washing as the means of removing stripper and residue. I went down the rabbit hole of curiosity and looked up pretty much every highly regarded paint shop I could find and evey one that listed their process listed using a pressure washer. Not to say it probably isn't a perfect method but it can't really be a bad method given the prevalence of it's use and the number of older paint jobs I see that still look pretty darn good.

Helio295 wrote:I have never used a dry ice blaster but I know people who have used them to strip aircraft interiors. Apparently they work well and cleanup is indeed quite easy. It is my plan to rent one to strip out the interior on my plane soon. Soon being relative, it could be next summer or 10 years down the line.

Do you know of anybody renting one in Alaska? I did some checking of paint shops a couple of years ago and didn't find anybody that rents them. Ebay is listing a new one for just over $2000 which is a lot cheaper than they have been in the past.

SkyLarkin wrote:

Helio295 wrote:I have never used a dry ice blaster but I know people who have used them to strip aircraft interiors. Apparently they work well and cleanup is indeed quite easy. It is my plan to rent one to strip out the interior on my plane soon. Soon being relative, it could be next summer or 10 years down the line.

Do you know of anybody renting one in Alaska? I did some checking of paint shops a couple of years ago and didn't find anybody that rents them. Ebay is listing a new one for just over $2000 which is a lot cheaper than they have been in the past.

Backcountry pilot tool library?

I’ve also thought that as a group I think we could deliver pretty much anything that would fit anywhere across the continent in small steps.

Per pressure use at painting. Had a TBM with $35k of corrosion due to paint chemicals that were forced through the riveted seams with what they said was pressure washing, post stripping. But as you said..its apparently standard practice.