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While many in the dry ice blasting business have come before us, until we further refined the process and methods beginning May of 2019, it simply wasn’t effective enough for most discerning vehicle owners.

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In the air and eventually on every horizontal surface surrounding the work! Including the floor of course.

Without the use of water, very effectively! There are 3 main factors which can effectively be leveraged to clean most surfaces.

• Kinetic energy of the dry ice pellets
• The -109 degree temperature which causes unwanted particles to shrink and lose adhesion
• The thermal expansion of solid CO2 from a gas which is literally like a miniature bomb going off on the substrate or surface!

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The results of Dry Ice Cleaning are directly attributable to the car you are cleaning along with the techniques and equipment.  Generally, cars that lived in dry climates, and less salt have less corrosion and turn out best from Dry Ice Cleaning.  Where cars are built also impacts how “dramatic” a cleaning will turn out:

• German cars are typically covered in Cosmoline a wax coating. The good side of this is they are sealed and protected, the downside is the wax coating attracts dirt, so they turn black on the bottom. Dry Ice removes this coating to reveal an essentially new car underneath
• Japanese cars typically have tar coatings in areas of the underbody. Similar to wax, tar preserves finishes and can be removed with dry ice.
• American cars are typically free of undercoating, but maybe were coated early in their life by a dealer or aftermarket shop. They typically have more surface corrosion and therefore do not have as dramatic a response to cleaning. They will clean up and look much better but just not as visually pleasing as say a Benz or Porsche.

Acceptable

• Metals, Aluminum, Steel, Stainless, Brass, Bronze
• Painted surfaces, body and other painted or powder coated surfaces
• Wiring / Electronics
• Rubber parts, hoses, belts, wiper blades, gaskets, tires, CV boots
• Plastic Parts, most, some plastics can whiten
• Interior, vents, carpets, vinyl, Alcantara, nylon

Unacceptable

• Foam
• Foil Parts (if they have voids behind the foil)
• Leather
• Electrical Tape

Dry Ice is safe on many surfaces and can be used in sensitive areas such as a car interior. The key is that your provider have the right equipment and training to ensure they are capable of controlling the Dry Ice process given all the different types of materials in a car interior.

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A qualified Dry Ice Cleaning shop with the proper equipment can use Dry Ice to remove dust and debris off the paint of a car with no damage. In addition, the unique Dry Ice Cleaning properties are perfect to restore rubber and plastic trim and remove old wax and other contaminants from all the cracks and crevices in vehicle trim, glass, badges and other complex areas.

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Yes, our process of Dry Ice Cleaning is safe on many surfaces and environmentally friendly.  The materials we clean off drop to the floor and can be swept up and disposed of properly.

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While each project and car are different and providers set their own pricing, in general, under car cleaning starts at $2,000.  Most of our cleaners work on an hourly rate and can work with you on your project goals and budget.

Our equipment enables us to control the amount of dry ice that is being sprayed. The volume of ice coming out of the machine will determine how fast or slow the process can move and is another way our cleaners can control the cleaning to get the best result. In general, we spray about 1 lb per minute.

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Dry Ice is frozen CO2.

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CO2 is a byproduct of the petroleum refining process. Our suppliers capture the gas and convert it to a liquid for transportation and storage. When Dry Ice is needed, they convert the liquid into a solid and ship it to our provider locations.

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Dry Ice Cleaning can only uncover the surface that is underneath the contaminant.  While it can remove some surface rust and it can clean away scaley rust on metal, it cannot reverse the rusting process if it has damaged the underlying metal surfaces.

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Yes and no.  It is true the factory coatings applied to many older cars have done a great job at preserving their OEM finishes.  But most of these cars lived a hard life, driving in rain, snow and on salted roads.  Typically, our clients are using cars we clean in a very different way, stored in climate controlled garage, and driven in more forgiving weather.  Therefore, cleaning off these coatings lets the original beauty shine through with little risk.  If the car will be subjected to more harsh environments, many of our providers offer new, fresh coatings that can preserve a newly cleaned surface and look fresh and new.

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Dry Ice Cleaning or Dry Ice Blasting uses no water. While pressure washing can be an effective cleaning method, it creates risk to electrical and sensitive areas of automobiles. Dry Ice on the other hand, is moisture free and can be used to clean those tricky electronics, wiring and other sensitive surfaces. Additionally, Dry Ice does not require any drying time, so once something is cleaned, its done right then and there.

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All “Blasting” processes are similar in that the operator uses compressed air to blast a media against a surface to remove a contaminant.  Dry Ice is a form of media that can be used, while other processes use silica/sand, oxides, slurries, and even walnut shells.  The main advantage of Dry Ice is the media sublimates and turns to gas whereas all other forms of media go into the blasting area and thus must be captured or cleaned up.  In addition to sublimation, Dry Ice is unique in that the sublimation process creates a mini explosion on the surface helping to remove contaminants and the cold temperature introduces thermal shock, the third element in Dry Ice Cleaning advantage.

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Yes, with proper disassembly and a mechanically knowledgeable shop, Dry Ice Blasting is a great option to clean carbon deposits from the intake and valves of a modern car.  Care will need to be taken to ensure no carbon enters the engine itself.

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