Hydrojetting, or waterjetting, has a fairly wide application and is a hit on the industrial, construction and urban infrastructure development markets. Sooner or later, every surface requires cleaning. These can be old buildings, halls or bridges that require renovation, but they are often new, just created objects that need to be secured. In each of these cases it is necessary to apply protective coatings, but not on defective or dirty surfaces. This is where hydrojetting comes in handy.
With the use of high or very high pressure water jet, it is possible to clean the concrete or metal substrate from any contamination. What’s more, you can tear off the remnants of the old concrete from the steel structure in order to rebuild or cut concrete elements. Waterjetting is also used for cleaning ships and their holds, industrial and sanitary installations, pipelines, furnaces, reactors and heat exchangers.
Hydrojetting in cleaning metal surfaces
When cleaning surfaces and objects with the use of hydrojetting, it is necessary to know what material is to be washed and how to handle different materials so as not to damage them. Examples:
- Aluminum substrate. Before a protective layer is applied, the substrate must be clean, dry and degreased and any corrosion products must be removed. A reactive preparation is initially applied, which should become light yellow to brown in color. Often, however, such a reaction is not obtained and the action must be taken again hydrojetting because the surface needs to be cleaned again with a special solution.
- Galvanized steel. The key here is to know whether the steel has been fitted in the tinning process or whether it has been seasoned. The point is that the etching of the substrate should bring the appropriate results and that hydrojetting should not destroy it.
Hydrojetting in cleaning concrete surfaces
Contrary to appearances, concrete surfaces are also exposed to corrosion and efforts are made to protect them against this destructive phenomenon. Special paints, preparations, heat-shrinkable bands and cold tapes are used. All this is effective and protects all kinds of concrete elements of various structures and buildings for years, but before it happens, it is necessary to professionally clean the ground. This is possible thanks to hydrojetting , i.e. waterjetting. Thanks to the use of high and very high pressures in delivering a stream of clean water to a given surface, waterjetting perfectly cleans the concrete, even in cracks or micro-cavities.