In looking at getting three beams blasted they are 500mm x 500mm and 6 meters long anyone know the rough cost i was thinking of maybe buying a blaster as i already have a compressor I’m in Pays De La Loire near the border with Lower Normandy
I know they often stock the sand blasting gun for compressor & media in Lidl - but I don’t know how effective these are - cheap so may be worth giving a try.
Always fancied playing with one of these.
Got one from Lidl a while back it would take me years there ok for cleaning minor bits like rusty hinges etc.
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Our neighbour hired a sand blaster to do a room in a house. The compressor was huge, mounted on a trailer. I think you need huge volumes of air so a small compressor will not be enough for the job. They also had a “spacesuit” to protect themselves. Made a huge mess!
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From distant memory there was a company doing this and no mess, special equipment.
Sand blasting is a messy business come what may.
I have no recomenations for a company but plenty of experience of work completed on many projects. If it isnt done at the appropriate time during restoration it can destroy so much more than it enhances.
Reading the companies blurb that is posted above makes interesting reading but had to smile at the following intro
Our cleaning systems strip away the coatings that hide the natural hardwood that was originally intended to be on display. If you’re lucky, it will expose original carpentry tool marks, beautiful PATINA in the wood, and often the one-off individuality of the specific tree used to make the beam.
Patina is a ‘coating’ on a materials surface built up over years of use and ageing, Sandblasting will literally blast away any trace of it.
I remember particularly when we had our house interior sandblasted (it is actually done with fine grit) during renovation. I had finished all the structural work and the hose was a shell, no windows doors or internal fitments in sight so the perfect time to blast.
It took the contractors 2 days to blast all the internal walls and beams and even with an empty house it took another 2 days to clean out the house of all the sand/grit and the debris it had removed. Also used compressed air gun to clean down as dust everywhere.
You have to choose your moment or be prepared for more than you bargained for.
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Our cottage was sand blasted on the outside to reveal the stone work. The workmen did not cover the windows which had just been fitted. All the glass in the windows had to be replaced. 
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I do hope they bore the cost of that… and not you !!
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They did. Though it took a long time to sort out as they were trying to get it back from their insurance company.
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An expensive lesson learnt, thankfully not from your pocket 
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Dozy buggers!
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I’ve cleaned more than twenty big, long 600 year old+ chestnut beams in our place just using a drill and those red nylon wire cup brushes, wouldn’t take that long to do three beams and probably hugely cheaper. The brush gets in all the crevices and burnishes the flat areas to a nice sheen.
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Tried that the problem i have is the last elderly owner was having open fires for years so they are black with soot which is obviously very oily so wont clean from some of the grain, i was thinking of jet washing them but probably not a great idea
Having sand blasted the beams what are you going to do I painted my old beams in old black engine oil
No just leave natural after some woodworm treatment
Why do people immediately go to pressure washers when gentler less messy options will do. Sugar soap or the french equivalent and a bucket with a brush will do.
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Clear beeswax is one to consider - brings the wood ‘alive’ in a way that’s much more subtle than varnish.
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There are three main components that determine a properly sized air compressor for abrasive blasting.
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Blast Nozzle Size
Abrasive blasting nozzles are sized by orifice (Inside Diameter or ID) - and done so in increments 16ths of an inch. The numerator of each 16th of an inch is the nozzle number. For example, a No. 6 nozzle equals a 6/16ths inch diameter orifice; a No. 8 equals an 8/16ths inch diameter orifice. Note that as nozzle orifices change (or wear) , so does the air requirement. -
Blast Pressure
Units of measurement of pressurized gas used in propelling abrasives to the substrate are expressed as PSI (Pounds per Square Inch) or Bar (the metric unit of pressure) . Most abrasive blasting nozzles provide optimized abrasive flow and velocity between 90 and 100 psi (6.2 and 6.9 bar) of blast pressure. -
Compressed Air Volume
Compressed air volume is expressed as Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) or a metric equivalent of Cubic Meters per Minute (m³/min) . The two inputs (Blast Nozzle Size and Blast Pressure) help to determine the consistent required volume of compressed air.
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