Good day steemians!
(Sandblasting work done for South Africas power supplier)
When struck with a loss on what to write about, I always revert to what I know.
Today I will tell you about what I do for a living.
WHAT I DO
We do sandblasting and Spray-painting for the industrial business sector in South Africa.
In this blog post I will explain in detail with photos.
TOOLS WE NEED TO DO OUR WORK
- We use a 310 CFM(cubic foot per minute) mobile compressor
- 200kg sandblasting pot
- Personal protective equipment (Safety shoes, safety glasses, safety gloves, earplugs, and a dustmask.)
- Airless Spray painting machine + Spray gun
(Me with my safety gear under a ventilation tower)
WHAT IS SANDBLASTING?
Sandblasting occurs when fine bits of material(platinum blast grit) are shot at a very high velocity in order to clean or etch a surface. Typically, sand is the most commonly used material, but any small, uniform particles will be effective. Often times this is used to remove rust or paint.
(Sandblasting a tipper truck to be re-sprayed)
Sandblasting can be dangerous due to the potential inhalation of sand and other materials. For that reason, sandblasting is carefully controlled. An alternate air supply is used,personal protective wear, and a good ventilation system.
WHY SANDBLASTING?
Sandblasting removes any and all materials like rust, paint, primer or stickers ect. from a steel surface .
The 0.002mm of the top layer of the steel is also removed, leaving a clean, raw steel surface ready for painting.
(Rust and paint to be sandblasted off)
(Almost done)
ABOUT MY BUSINESS
We started the business late 2014. We are 2 directors that own the business.
It has been to say the least, a very tough road to grow a business in a failing economy and with so much pressure from our government requiring BEE.(BEE as an acronym for Black Economic Empowerment. Basically the government expects business owners to give away 52% of your business to a black partner to be able to get work.)
It has been a massive uphill struggle but we are seeing the light on the other side.
I can trueley say that you get to know yourself when you own a business , and you quickly find out what your strengths are and what areas you need to work on.
Myself, I am the creative kind, I find quicker ways to do our work quicker and I also do all the marketing for the business as well. It is a nice challenge with a million things to learn.ALWAYS A CHALLENGE!
WHAT WE ARE BUSY WITH CURRENTLY
(Spray-painting in progress)
We are doing a contract for the King of Zulu land sandblasting and painting shipping containers to be used in a 100% self sustainable multi-purpose Business center with shops, a clinic and doctors rooms for rural areas.
I hope you enjoyed the introduction to what I do for a living.
I will be posting follow up segments of other work we do.
Thank you for reading
@rslabbert