Cold Jet Dry Ice Blast Cleaning Systems Help Restore Minnesota Landmark

PRLog (Press Release) – May 14, 2008 – CINCINNATI – Cold Jet, LLC, the global leader in dry ice blast cleaning and production solutions, and Veit & Company, a Minnesota-based specialty contractor and waste management company, recently partnered to help restore Split Rock Lighthouse, one of Minnesota’s best known landmarks. Veit used several of Cold Jet’s dry ice blast cleaning systems to remove cracked and peeling paint from inside and outside the Split Rock’s lantern room, as well as clean the case iron deck and remove old Titanium putty used to fill pits in the lighthouse’s cast iron roof. The project was managed by the Collaborative Design Group (CDG) under the direction of the Minnesota Historical Society.

Dry ice blast cleaning removed the paint and putty from the interior and exterior of the lighthouse by accelerating recycled CO2 in the form of solid dry ice particles through a hose and high-velocity nozzle to create mini explosions on the surface.   The combination of the kinetic and thermal shock effects of dry ice blasting breaks the bond between the surface and the residue, which is blasted away and easily removed.  The dry ice particles vaporize upon impact, leaving no other cleaning by-product, and eliminating the added cost and inconvenience of secondary waste treatment and disposal – key reasons why the CDG selected dry ice blast cleaning for the project.

“Prior to cleaning the lighthouse, the Collaborative Design Group was very thorough in reviewing possible cleaning applications for the project,” said Dan Gotz, Project Manager for Veit & Company. “We were able to demonstrate that Cold Jet’s dry ice blast cleaning systems were the most effective solutions for the project. The goal was only to remove the loose and flaking paint, mold and surface containments, and putty, and we were able to do so without damaging the interior or exterior of the lantern room. Because dry ice blast cleaning does not produce secondary waste, we simply used a shop vac to vacuum the paint and debris which had fallen to the floor after the blasting process.”

Split Rock’s previous restoration took place in 1991 when maintenance crews used soda blasting to remove old paint. While the blasting process, which uses a fine sodium powder, removed the paint, it was messy and left residue on the cast iron and also on the insides of the lighthouse and inner workings of the rare and expensive Fresnel lens components.  As a result, crews were cleaning remnants of the soda blasting from the lighthouse for several years after the restoration project. Soda residue also did not allow the paint to completely bond to the surfaces of the lighthouse roof or lantern room.

“Dry ice blast cleaning has proven to be an effective solution for a variety of restoration projects, from smoke damaged books and dinosaur bones in the West to landmark bridges in Europe,” said Gene Cooke, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cold Jet, LLC. “Our breadth of dry ice blast cleaning systems provides solutions to a number of cleaning and restoring challenges, and we were able to demonstrate to the Minnesota Historical Society that we have the best solution to care for one of the state’s prized possessions. More and more dry ice blast cleaning is being recognized as an effective, reliable and affordable alternative to conventional cleaning processes.”

About Cold Jet
Cold Jet, LLC is the world leader in dry ice blasting and production technology and green cleaning solutions.  For more than 22 years, Cold Jet has been developing innovative cleaning solutions from fully automated systems and handheld devices to high-volume dry ice production equipment and customized engineered solutions that solve a variety of cleaning challenges around the world. Cold Jet offers the largest selection of environmentally responsible dry ice blasting machines, including the award-winning Aero Series and the i3 family of systems, which features the company’s patented shaved ice and feeder technologies. The company’s CO2 Pelletizers are used by every major gas company worldwide to produce the highest density extruded dry ice available. Cold Jet is a private company with headquarters in Loveland, Ohio and international operations in Belgium, Canada, China, Germany and Mexico. For more information, visit www.coldjet.com.