Wet sandblasting rates, published for the Ark-La-Tex.
Surface prep pricing deserves to be readable before anyone drives to your site. The table below is the sheet our own quotes come from: hourly and day rates, per-piece equipment ranges, structural rates, and the adders, all in the open.
The rate sheet
| Scope | Typical rate | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly, rig and operator | $200 to $300 per hour | Media choice, access, two-hour minimum; the default for mixed and small scopes |
| Full day rate | $1,800 to $2,600 | The better math once a scope passes six hours; media included at standard consumption |
| Equipment attachment (bucket, forks, grapple) | $250 to $600 each | Size and coating thickness; batches of attachments price at the bottom |
| Skid steer / compact machine, full strip | $900 to $1,600 | Masking scope, coating layers, rust depth |
| Excavator / loader class machine | $1,400 to $2,500 | Machine size, boom and undercarriage scope, condition |
| Trailer frame and deck | $800 to $2,000 | Length, corrosion depth, whether deck boards come off for crossmember access |
| Pump jack or lease unit | $700 to $1,800 | Unit size, corrosion, batching along a lease road |
| Separator / treater / skid vessel | $900 to $2,500 | Vessel size, appurtenances, live-pad logistics |
| Structural steel, blasted in place | $3.50 to $8.00 per sq ft | Prep standard (SP 6 vs SP 10), height and access, containment class |
| Fab-shop batch prep | from $400 per lot | Lot size and profile spec; standing schedules drop mobilization to near zero |
| Rust-inhibitor rinse | included on every strip | Standard finish; same-visit primer instead where the coating plan calls for it |
| Same-visit primer application | $0.80 to $1.60 per sq ft | Primer system specified; applied inside the flash-rust window |
| Lead-paint test and containment adder | test $75; adder $1.50 to $4.00 per sq ft | Suspect coatings tested first; positives run contained with documented disposal |
| Mobilization, metro (Bossier/Shreveport) | $100 to $250 | Rig and containment loadout; parish-edge trips $150 to $250, stated per quote |
2026 labor and media for the Bossier-Shreveport service area. Topcoat systems beyond primer quote with the coating specified.
How a job runs
- Photos first. The steel, the worst rust, and where it sits, to (318) 666-4671. Most jobs get a working number off this sheet the same day.
- Method and media matched to the metal. Garnet or crushed glass in the water stream, pressure set for the substrate, suspect old coatings tested for lead before anything flies.
- Containment down, water on. Tarps catch the falling media, the wet stream keeps the air clear, and the work runs next to whatever has to keep running.
- Profile verified. The blast reaches the standard your coating calls for, SP 6 commercial or SP 10 near-white, checked with a gauge and written down.
- Protected before we leave. Inhibitor rinse or same-visit primer inside the flash-rust window, media bagged and hauled, invoice matching the quote.
The rules behind the method
Wet blasting is the industry’s answer to a federal rule: OSHA’s respirable crystalline silica standard is why modern abrasive work suppresses dust, and water at the nozzle is the most direct suppression there is. Surface prep grades come from AMPP, the association formed from SSPC and NACE, whose SP 6 and SP 10 definitions are what coating warranties reference. And spent media and stripped coatings leave in a documented waste stream consistent with Louisiana DEQ expectations, never a storm drain. Published rates plus named standards means this page can be checked, which is the point of publishing it.
Budget it, then call
Rough out your scope from the sheet, then call (318) 666-4671 or use the form. The method itself is explained on the wet vs dry page, equipment work on the equipment page.
Cost questions, answered straight
How much does wet sandblasting cost in Bossier City?
The rig runs $200 to $300 per hour with a two-hour minimum, or $1,800 to $2,600 for a full day. By the job: attachments $250 to $600, trailer frames $800 to $2,000, machines $900 to $2,500, and structural steel at $3.50 to $8.00 per square foot. Every quote is built from this table and the invoice matches it.
Is wet blasting more expensive than dry blasting?
Rate for rate they land close, and wet usually wins on the whole-job math: containment is lighter because there is no dust cloud to tent against, cleanup is faster because the media lands wet at the work, and jobs that would be impossible dry, live pads, occupied blocks, working yards, do not carry shutdown costs. The line wet adds is the inhibitor step, and it is included.
What moves a job to the top of a range?
Coating thickness and rust depth do most of it: multiple paint generations or deep scale slow the nozzle down. Access does the rest, height, tight quarters, or masking-heavy machines. Both get named at the look or from your photos, so the range narrows before you commit.
Why does every strip include a rust-inhibitor step?
Because wet-blasted steel starts damp and Louisiana air is unforgiving: bare steel blooms with flash rust in hours. The inhibitor rinse holds the surface clean until your coating goes on, or we apply primer the same visit when the plan allows. Skipping this step is how good blasting gets blamed for bad coatings.
Bossier Sandblasting publishes this sheet for the whole territory, from Shreveport and Haughton to Minden and Vivian. Start at the homepage for everything the rig strips.