User:QUINTEK/sandbox

The QUINTEK ROTEC® VORTEX technology  Micro abrasive cleaning that you can use.

Façade cleaning technology that is gentle on the building and the environment. By QUINTEK Corporation

Introduction

As we become more aware of our environment the subject of properly cleaning our surroundings, buildings, monuments, and structures gains greater significance. Several years ago these cleaning tasks would have been performed almost exclusively with chemical cleaning agents with a minimal amount of thought devoted to environmental protection issues. A fundamental change has been brought about by newer and more refined environmental standards. The use of chemical cleaning agents that may be harmful to the environment are being subject to greater scrutiny along with the additional concerns over water consumption. These concerns have placed pressure on the cleaning industry to develop an alternative physical cleaning method to reduce the impact of these activities. In order to become widely accepted physical cleaning methods, not dependent on chemicals, must meet the rigorous requirements of cleaning the structural surfaces while gently protecting it. An environmentally friendly physical cleaning system known as the ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning system has the ability to accomplish these task and has been making a difference in facade cleaning since 1988. This cleaning system has been used successfully on high profile and historic structures showing that the system is extremely gentle to the sub strait, cost effective, and environmentally friendly. The process completely eliminates the need to use hash or environmental questionable chemicals. A major research and development study and years of practical experience has shown that the ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning system cleans and protects the sub strait without harming the environment.

Requirements of the Cleaning Process

The definition of cleaning is “to remove dirt from a place or object”. This statement although not complex appears to mainly focus on the visual aesthetic of the place or object being cleaned. Cleaning is the key function for a successfully restoration or renovation of any building, monument or facade. Generally during facades cleaning substances that are harmful to the substrate are removed like atmospheric soiling, encrustation or old layers of paint. In the past most facades cleaning was performed to remove the soil with little or no concerns for the condition of the surface or the long term effects the cleaning methods would have on that surface. Consultations from experts specializing in the field of restoration about the negative effects of harsh chemicals on the substrate were minimal or even non-existent. As a result of the lack of understanding of the affects of harsh cleaning methods countless facades of stone, brick, terra cotta, concrete, and stucco have been irreversibly damaged. In many cases what first appeared to be an economical method of cleaning the substrate was discovered to have severely damaged the substrate at a greater cost to the owner, client.

Facade cleaning is now viewed in a different way. It is no longer driven by the desire to clean the facade to an extremely clean or bright surface that would erase many of the historic character of the substrate. The improved process of restoration is now focused on simply remove the pollutants from the surface of the structure or substrate to prevent any long-term damage. This removal opens the pores of surfaces like stone or brick enabling them to breathe naturally hence preventing the subsurface build-up of moisture that can create long term damage. The new objective of cleaning is to remove unsightly stains and soiling that interfere with the original visual perception of the structure established by the architects or sculpture. The ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning system has proven to meet these high standards set by the top preservation and consultants in the field. This new philosophy is not only established from a purely scientific stand point but it is also enhanced by practical experience.

The ROTEC® Vortex Technology

The ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning system is a system that creates a rotating wet jet micro abrasive media. This process converts or transforms the energy from a wet jet stream of micro abrasive media into a rotating form of this energy by means of a specially constructed ROTEC® VORTEX nozzle. This cleaning process is based on a low pressure rotating vortex technology. The ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning system uses extremely low air pressure from 10 to 40 psi, mixes it with water that can be precisely regulated within the range of 1 to 15 gallons per hour and mixes it with extremely fine micro abrasive powders, selected exactly to suit the low-pressure technique. In the patented ROTEC® VORTEX nozzle, compressed air is used to create a rotating vortex of air, water and micro abrasive powder. The unique feature of this technique is that the vortex emerging from the nozzle expands rapidly and as a result, the pressure of the compressed air diminishes in proportion to the square of the distance, while the rotation of the vortex continues unabated creating a cleaning method that is perfect to clean the substrate without damaging it.

FUNCTION OF THE ROTEC VORTEX

PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION

By reading the chart to the left one can determine that the force of compressed air, at approximately 40 psi is reduced to approximately 10 psi, if the material being cleaned is about 12 inches away from the nozzle. The ROTEC® VORTEX nozzle projects a finely dispersed vortex of air, water and micro abrasive powder to the substrate at an oblique angle, gently scouring the surface clean. This is in contrast to the conventional sandblasting methods or to the high-pressure water methods. The sandblast or high pressure water method projects the force used to clean directly at the surface producing a cleaning effect by impact this process tends to remove a parts of the surface. The advantage of the ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning system is that this technique can be used almost without limitation on different kinds of materials. The degree of cleaning can be adjusted to suit the individual requirements of each object being cleaned.

QUINTEK Micro Abrasive Powders

The ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning system uses inert, micron sized abrasive powders specifically selected and certified for the individual cleaning requirements, and this micron abrasive powder is matched to it low-pressure cleaning technique. The combination of QUINTEK micro abrasive media and the principle of the ROTEC® VORTEX rotating vortex make it possible to achieve a superior cleaning result efficiently and without damage to the substrate. This cannot be achieved with any other physical cleaning technique.

QUINTEK MICRO ABRASIVE MEDIA PARAMETERS The QUINTEK certified micro abrasive media listed above are each selected to provide different cleaning properties. The selection of your media type depends on the type of material being cleaned, the nature of the substance to be removed and the degree of accumulation. Neither media present a danger to the environment nor do they present a danger to the user so long as they are used properly. QUINTEK certified micro abrasive media is environmentally friendly. The Micro Abrasive Glass Powder contain NO FREE SILICA or heavy metals, is environmentally safe and inert, not listed by NTP, IARC, or OSHA as a carcinogen, contain no toxic components, and contain no potentially damaging soluble salts. Review each MSDS sheet for more information.

The Range of Application

The ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning system has already shown its value to many thousands of buildings all over the world. It has been used because of the gentle way in which it cleans to clean historical and culturally significant buildings as well as typical city buildings and sculptures. The ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning system unlike any other method of cleaning can be adapted individually to suit the requirements of different kinds of building material, even priceless sculptures.

Cleaning Natural Stone

One application that ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning process is particularly well suited for the cleaning of natural stone such as sandstone, limestone, marble, granite and many others. The difference in the materials and the characteristics of the various kinds of natural stone mean that severe demands are imposed on the cleaning process. The surface of the stone often displays encrustation on its surface resulting from the effects of the weather and the environment. Generally encrustation is very difficult to remove without damage to the substrate or the texture of the stone. The ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning system is able to address this cleaning problem without damage to the surface and revealing the original tool marks as the stone carver intended them to be seen.

Cleaning Terra Cotta, Tile and Brick

Terra cotta, tile, brick and ceramic building materials with obstinate encrustations cannot normally be cleaned with physical cleaning methods. The thin fire-skin or glazed surfaces on these building materials are very vulnerable to damage. With the use of ultra fine crystalline Stone Powder, the soiling can be gently removed, leaving the fire-skin or glaze unharmed and their protective function intact.

 Removing Paint (emulsion, mineral, lead) 

Natural stone, brick, terra cotta, concrete and stuccos are often covered over with many different types of painting materials. It is often impossible to remove these layers even with chemical paint strippers. In many of these cases it is possible to use the ROTEC ® VORTEX cleaning system successfully.

Graffiti Removal

The removal of graffiti often represents a particularly difficult problem and there is no satisfactory solution using conventional methods. The ROTEC® VORTEX Cleaning system has proven a great value here. ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning system can remove graffiti from almost any building material and can achieve the best results. The paint pigments are removed right down into the pores. The only prerequisites are that the graffiti must be completely dry and that no one has previously attempted to remove the graffiti using solvents.

Cleaning Fire Damage

Heavy accumulations of soot often form during a fire. This accumulation contains many different kinds of harmful substances such as chlorides, furans, dioxins, and many others. These accumulations must be completely removed from the various surfaces because of their toxicity. The ROTEC® VORTEX cleaning process is extremely valuable in removing these toxicities and this method is preferred over other methods because of its thoroughness in cleaning and the low consumption of water.