Normally, corn cob blasting is the top overall method of dealing with many log related problems. Some other techniques for elimination of failing finishes, sun-burned wood, mold and mildew problems, and so on., are sand blasting or chemical stripping. Sand blasting is a process that is still commonly used, but this system is very harmful to the wood, blowing away too much fine wood and profiling the logs! Chemical stripping needs the use of acid chemical’s, and the EPA has made illegal the generally real ones because of how unsafe they are to not just the ecosystem, but also the individuals applying them and the group in the neighboring range. There are many log home and deck renewal companies that still rely a lot on chemical stripping. There are still selected period that we feel some of the medium chemical stripper’s are fine to apply. A lot of the log homes that we restore on are in close proximity to lake and river system’s, making cob blasting the most workable option of qualifying the logs as the chemicals for stripping are apparently very damaging to our lakes and rivers.

Cob blasting is related to sand blasting in that you utilize a blasting pot, in mix with vastly compressed air. Cob blasting machinery use the compressed air jointly with the ground up corn cob. The corn cob is not heavy, and works vastly expertly to strip the wood. The air pressure and the amount of media (corn cob) can be adjusted correctly to no more than remove as much of the log as is required to clear away the failing complete, bad wood, and so on. Corn cob that is used is bio-degradable, and really works as a good mulch. With chemical stripping, the chemical is useful, then permitted a “dwell” period. The dwell period changes, according on the complete to be cleared away, and so on. Then a pressure washer is used to clear away the chemicals. This is one more purpose that we favor cob blasting. It is a dry method. With a lot of the renewal jobs we go to work on, there are not just problems with the finish, but the sealants are regularly in bad form too. A lot of times there are gaps in between the logs, and the caulk or chinking. When you chemical strip, and then pressure wash, many times you would be blasting high pressure water into the family unit, and in the interior of many log homes these days, there is drywall walls, and so on. Cob blasting is a dry system, and worst case scenario, the inside of the household gets a a small amount dust and cob in it. Much easier to clean and not as much of harmful than water. With chemical stripping, most strippers that are valuable then need a neutralizer used following the stripper. Then the neutralizer also needs to be pressure washed off.