Excavator and skid steer sandblasting at your yard
Hardpan Equipment Blasting takes working iron to bare metal and primes it the same day, machine by machine, at the yard where it already sits. Ranges below come from the published table.
The machine list
Excavators, 12 to 25 tons
The most common full machine job. Boom, stick, house, counterweight and track frame to bare metal in one yard day, with cab glass, cylinder rods and hoses masked. Counterweight rust depth and undercarriage clay set where the quote lands in the range.
Dozers and large excavators over 25 tons
A full day per machine and thirty feet of clearance. Chatham County mass grading and clearing iron is the usual call. Pressure washing the undercarriage the day before matters more here than on any other machine.
Skid steers and compact track loaders
Three to five hours to bare metal and primed before we leave. Rental returns, landscape fleets and subdivision pad crews book these two or three to a yard day, which spreads the mobilization line across all of them.
Mini excavators
Rubber tracks get masked, the boom and blade get blasted. Utility contractors and rental branches are the regular customers. Rides well on the same visit as a skid steer.
Wheel loaders and backhoes
Pit loaders working sand and clay come in with rust under packed material that never dries. Blasting shows what steel is left, and any thin spot is flagged before primer so a welder can fix it first.
Buckets, attachments, plows and spreaders
The cheapest lines on the table and the ones that make a repainted machine look finished. Batch them with the machine they belong to and they cost less than a trip to a shop.
Why the undercarriage sets the price
Track frames, rollers, and belly pans are where Piedmont clay lives. It packs in wet, dries hard, and holds moisture against the steel through the winter, so the rust under it is always worse than the rust you can see. Blasting time on a machine is mostly undercarriage time, which is why a pressure wash the day before is the single best thing an owner can do for the bill, and why the range on a 20 ton machine is as wide as it is.
What same day primer actually protects
Freshly blasted steel has a profile primer grips and nothing else protecting it, and in ninety percent summer humidity flash rust starts within hours. Every machine gets a rust-inhibitive primer coat the same afternoon so the topcoat, whenever it goes on, bonds to primed steel instead of to a new film of oxide. Skipping primer is how a good blast turns into a second blast.
The resale case, in plain math
A machine going to auction is judged by its paint before its hours. Buyers discount rust as neglect, and a blasted and repainted unit sells faster and higher, typically by more than the refinishing cost on a mid-size machine. Dealers on a standing refurb program see it on every trade-in, which is why the fleet and dealer programs exist.
Price your machine
Make, model, condition, and where it sits. The quote comes off the published table.
Machinery questions, answered straight
Do I need to bring the machine anywhere?
No. The rig comes to your yard or job site with the compressor, blast pot, media and containment on the truck. You need a level pad, twenty to thirty feet of clearance, and truck access.
How long is the machine out of service?
One day for anything up to a mid-size excavator, including same day primer. Machines over 25 tons take a full day each. Park it the night before, pressure washed if possible.
What gets masked before blasting?
Cylinder rods, hoses and fittings, cab glass, mirrors, lights, electrical connectors, serial and safety plates, telematics boxes, and any decal you want to keep. Masking is part of every quote.
Do you paint the machine too?
We blast and prime with a rust-inhibitive primer the same day. Topcoat is a separate trade, and we can point you to fleet painters who do manufacturer colors. Primer is the part that has to happen the same afternoon.
Is it worth blasting a machine before an auction?
Usually yes. A documented blast and repaint typically moves a mid-size machine several thousand dollars at sale, and the blast is a fraction of that. Buyers read rust as neglect even when the service history says otherwise.
Holly Springs campus fleets, Pittsboro mass grading iron, and Morrisville rental returns each have their own page under service area.