In brief: In June 2019, Cactus Industrial Ltd., the licensed UK and Ireland distributor of MontiPower® Bristle Blaster® technology, received a purchase order from the UK Ministry of Defence after extensive trials at HM Naval Base Portsmouth. The Royal Navy uses the tools to prepare sea-water-exposed metal surfaces on surface vessels and submarines, and Cactus trained Navy personnel and contractors.
Great news from our partner in the UK: Cactus Industrial Ltd. has won a significant contract to supply our Bristle Blaster® technology to the Ministry of Defence. Having gone through extensive trials at Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth, the Royal Navy will use the Bristle Blaster® to treat metal surfaces exposed to sea water on both its surface vessels and its submarine fleet.
The contract and the trials
The purchase order followed a programme of trials at HM Naval Base Portsmouth, where the tools were tested on the kind of corroded, sea-water-exposed steel that naval maintenance crews deal with every day. The purchase order has been placed and more orders are expected to follow.
Our colleagues from Cactus Industrial gave training to Navy personnel and contractors on the effective use of the Bristle Blaster® in preparing surfaces affected by the marine environment.
What Cactus Industrial and the Royal Navy said
Jamie Gallagher, Chief Executive of Cactus Industrial, said: “We have now trained and educated Royal Navy personnel in how to use the Bristle Blaster® for optimal surface preparation for maintaining the UK’s sea-going fleet. Blasting without grit technology is one of the most effective ways to ensure that Royal Navy ships and submarines are prepared to face the harsh marine environment with as little downtime as possible.”
Paul Waugh, Warrant Officer Class 1, Royal Navy, said that the Bristle Blaster® technology will considerably reduce time and make preservation efforts during a base maintenance period (BMP) more effective.
About Cactus Industrial
Cactus Industrial Ltd. is the sole licensed UK and Ireland distributor for Bristle Blaster® technology. The company already deploys the technology and coatings in a range of sectors, particularly in the upstream oil and gas industry. The contract with the British Ministry of Defence marks a significant move into military applications of the Bristle Blaster®. Tools, belts, training and support in the region are available through MontiPower® UK & Ireland.
What the Bristle Blaster® does
The Bristle Blaster® is a hand-held power tool with a rotating belt of hardened, forward-bent wire bristles. An accelerator bar holds the bristle tips back and releases them so they strike the surface and immediately rebound. Each impact removes corrosion and leaves a small crater, so the tool cleans and creates an anchor profile in the same pass, without any loose abrasive.
In documented tests on standard steel, MontiPower® reports cleanliness comparable to ISO 8501-1 Sa 2½ (SSPC-SP 10) and an anchor profile of 65–85 µm Rz (2.6–3.3 mil). Results vary with steel grade, rust grade, belt and technique. The tool is available with electric, cordless and pneumatic drives; the pneumatic version has no electrical parts and has been evaluated for ATEX zone 1 gas and zone 21 dust atmospheres.
Why it suits naval maintenance
Ships and submarines face constant sea-water exposure, and much of the corrosion work during a maintenance period is localised: weld seams, fittings, edges, hatches and areas around damaged coating. On this kind of work, abrasive blasting brings containment, abrasive supply, clean-up and waste disposal that can take longer than the repair itself.
A grit-free tool changes that balance:
- No abrasive to supply, contain or dispose of, so work can proceed with far less set-up around the repair area.
- A single operator can clean and profile a spot repair and hand it straight over for coating.
- The prepared surface has both the cleanliness and the anchor profile that marine coating systems need for adhesion.
Grit-free is not dust-free: the rust and old coating that are removed still become particles, so extraction where available and the right respiratory protection remain part of the job. More on how the method fits hull, deck and offshore work is on our marine and offshore page, and the wider case for alternatives to blasting is set out in What to Know About Blasting Alternatives for Steel.
Sources
- ipcm® International Paint & Coating Magazine, Cactus Industrial, partner of MONTI – Werkzeuge, has landed a contract with the UK Ministry of Defence (12 June 2019). ipcm.it
- MontiPower, Bristle Blaster® technical data sheets (cleanliness and anchor profile results on API 5L steel).
