Pauli Systems Blog

Considering a new system?  The following 6 fundamental sub systems will help you understand the basic fundamentals of most dry stripping systems.

All Dry Paint Stripping Facilities (DPSF) consist of the following sub-systems:

• Enclosure: Enclosures fall into four general size categories:
  • Very large, sized to fit an entire aircraft or railroad car.
  • Large, generally known as a blast room, into which both Operator and work piece enter.  The blast room enclosure is sized to fit the work piece.  A popular size is 15’ wide by 12’ high by 20’ long.
  • Medium, with a cabinet sized enclosure into which a work piece is placed while an Operator stands or sits outside, arms and hands in gloves while manipulating the nozzle. A popular size is 5’ wide by 4’ deep by 3’ high.
  • Small, dust-free vacuum-return closed-cycle equipment in which the blast nozzle is surrounded by a vacuum return chamber that collects the blast media at the point of impact. The collection device surrounding the blast nozzle varies in size from a man’s fist to a hard bound book.
  • An enclosure that is well lit and ventilated increases Operator productivity by illuminating the work piece and removing dust from the working environment.

• Recovery: The recovery sub-system, usually pneumatic, collects spent media and debris and transfers it from the enclosure to the reclaim system. 
• Reclaim: The reclaim sub-system treats spent blast media and removes debris to make it suitable for re-use. An effective reclaim system is important to the economics of a dry paint stripping systems by ensuring every pound of stripping media is recycled the maximum number of times. 
• Stripping/Blast Cleaning: The stripping/blast cleaning sub-system accepts particles of clean media from the reclaimer and accelerates them against the surface to be cleaned or stripped. The working force is accomplished by the use of compressed air in a converging-diverging venturi nozzle, a device that accelerates air to supersonic speeds and media particles to sub-sonic speeds.
• Ventilation of Enclosure: The ventilation sub-system circulates air through the stripping/cleaning enclosure, thus ensuring good operator visibility.
• Operator Safety Equipment: Each operator is supported by a NIOSH approved breathing air safety helmet and clothing.

Not mechanical systems or sub-systems, but vitally important are well trained Operators and a regular preventive maintenance program.

Future blogs will describe details of each system, and how the right equipment and Operator training will maximize an operation's ROI.

Royal Air Force Corporal wins groundbreaking court decision against the UK MoD after being exposed to chemical paint strippers.

An RAF Corporal who was left with a devastating degenerative neurological condition after he was exposed to dangerous toxins while working in ‘Victorian conditions’ has won a groundbreaking decision after the Court of Appeal dismissed the Ministry of Defence’s case.

Shaun Wood, 52, from Northallerton, was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy-P (MSAP), a Parkinsonian condition that affects the nervous system, after exposure to a lethal cocktail of solvents as a painter and finisher at RAF sites across the world.

There is no cure for the condition, which has left him needing to use a wheelchair.
Today (Thursday, July 7, 2011) the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the MoD bringing to an end Mr Wood’s 18-year-battle for justice. It ruled that on the evidence presented – which was not rebutted by the MoD – that there was in legal terms a “probable connection” between heavy solvent exposure and neurological damage.

The decision paves the way for other people who develop neurological conditions in similar circumstances to pursue compensation.

His job involved painting aircraft and motor vehicles.

Shaun, whose father served as a Lancaster Bomber Navigator in the Second World War, joined the military from school in 1975 signing up as a painter and finisher in the belief it would provide him with an interesting career, which would lead onto further employment opportunities after he was discharged.

He worked in RAF sites across the UK and abroad, including RAF Abingdon, RAF Bruggen and RAF Leeming.

Mr Wood’s job involved painting aircraft and motor vehicles and through that exposure to solvents, now banned by the European Union for consumer use as known carcinogens (including trichloroethylene and dichloromethane), for sometimes in excess of 12 hours a day - particularly in the lead up to the first Gulf War - he contracted his illness.

At the time he had no idea the exposure to the cocktail of chemicals would damage his health in the long term.

Protect your work force by using the safe and efficient Pauli Systems dry media paint removal method utilizing starch and plastic grit. Eliminate hazardous waste considerations from your paint stripping operation.