Corn Cob Blaster Renews Log Homes

Corn Cob Blaster Renews Log Homes 34-1-7 Sandblasting is a powerful restoration tool, but sometimes it's a little too powerful - especially when it comes to refinishing wood such as the outside of a log home. That's where corn cob blasting excels. "Corn cob grit is gaining more popularity," says Jacqui Weber, owner of ProBlast, which sells a blaster that works with all media from sand to soda to corncobs. "Cob blasting grit is made from the woody ring of the cob. It's quite gentle yet opens the grain and makes it rustic looking. It gives wood a rough, hewn look." Besides refinishing log homes and wood siding, corn cob grit is ideal for electric motors and hydraulic cylinders because it doesn't etch glass or foul bearings. It can also be used on aluminum, fiberglass, masonry, plastic and other materials as well as to remove flaking paint and to do general plant maintenance. It leaves no residue and is absorbent. "Corn cob is very low in dust. It's worker and environmentally friendly, compostable and the residue doesn't harm grass or plants. It's a good media for thin metals, because it doesn't require pH neutralizing after blasting, as is the case with soda," says Weber. Corn cob grit sells for $15 to $30 for 40 lbs. "We don't sell franchises, but we help people as if we were," Weber says. "We provide product support and help customers with their blast businesses." The decade-old company is unique in that it has one blaster that uses all kinds of media, some of which are very unusual. For example, mussel fisherman on the East Coast use sea salt to blast eel-like pests off their equipment. The multimedia blasting package sells for about $8,000. Prices vary in the U.S. and Canada. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, ProBlast Inc., 91 Ontario Street, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada L1C 2T2 (ph 866 750-9876 or 905 926-1262; www.problastusa.com).

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