Tank sandblasting rates for the Ark-La-Tex, in writing.
Tank work deserves numbers you can read before anyone visits your site. Here is the sheet: per-square-foot rates by prep standard, per-tank ranges for common sizes, and mobilization as its own line. Quotes come off this table and invoices match quotes.
The rate sheet
| Scope | Typical rate | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior blast to SSPC-SP 6, coat with 2-coat system | $4 to $9 per sq ft | Coating condition, access and staging, containment level, system applied |
| Interior blast to SSPC-SP 10 for lining | $6 to $12 per sq ft | Ventilation and dehumidification needs, access manways, existing lining removal |
| Blast only (your painter follows) | $2.50 to $5 per sq ft | Standard specified, holding primer if the window demands one |
| 500-barrel production tank, exterior | $2,500 to $6,000 | Rust depth, coating system, ladder and appurtenance masking |
| Tank battery (4+ tanks), per tank | $2,000 to $4,500 | Shared mobilization; tanks rotated out of service one at a time |
| Frac tank exterior | $1,800 to $4,000 | Condition, customer color system, yard batching |
| Aboveground fuel tank (AST) exterior | $4 to $9 per sq ft | Gas-free scope, bonding and spark-safe staging, fire-code documentation |
| Water tank exterior program | quoted after inspection | Elevation and rigging, containment class, AWWA system specified; typical range discussed at the walkdown |
| Potable interior lining prep and application | quoted after inspection | NSF-listed system, dehumidification, confined-space setup |
| Plant and structural steel | $3 to $8 per sq ft | Complexity of shapes, live equipment nearby, shutdown window |
| Lease and pad steel (jacks, treaters, catwalks) | $3 to $7 per sq ft | Batched with tank work on the same mobilization |
| Mobilization, metro (Shreveport/Bossier) | $500 to $900 | Rig and containment loadout the job needs |
| Mobilization, parish ring (Minden, Mansfield, Oil City...) | $600 to $1,200 | Distance; batching neighboring jobs splits it |
| Lead-paint containment adder | $1.50 to $4 per sq ft | Test result, containment class, disposal as documented waste |
Labor and materials for our 2026 season. Coating products are quoted per the system specified; steel repair, when a tank needs it, is scoped with a welding contractor before blasting money gets spent.
How a tank job runs
- Photos first. Shell, roof, worst corrosion, and any spec you have, texted to (318) 708-2091. Most quotes go out from the sheet the same day.
- Walkdown before mobilization. Condition confirmed, access planned, suspect coatings tested for lead, anything that moves a number said out loud.
- Blast to the written standard. SP 6 or SP 10 per the coating system, profile checked with a gauge and recorded, containment running the whole time.
- Prime inside the flash-rust window. Same day, every time, or a holding primer when another applicator follows.
- Documentation with the invoice. Standard achieved, profile readings, products and batch numbers. Your file gets the proof, and the invoice matches the quote.
The standards behind the numbers
None of this is our invention. Surface preparation grades come from AMPP, the association formed from SSPC and NACE, whose SP 6 and SP 10 definitions are what coating warranties reference. Storage tank inspection and repair practice follows API 653, which is why we flag wall-thickness questions to your inspector instead of blasting past them. And abrasive blasting safety, silica, containment, and worker protection, runs under the OSHA abrasive blasting rules. Published rates plus named standards means every claim on this page can be checked.
Budget it, then call
Rough out your job from the sheet, then call (318) 708-2091 or use the form. Battery work lives on the production tank page, linings on the interiors page.
Cost questions, answered straight
How much does it cost to sandblast and paint a tank?
For a typical industrial tank around Shreveport, exteriors run $4 to $9 per square foot blasted to SSPC-SP 6 and coated with a two-coat system, which puts a standard 500-barrel production tank at $2,500 to $6,000. Interior lining prep runs $6 to $12 per square foot to SP 10 near-white. Batteries and yards price better per unit because one mobilization covers the set, and every line above is what our quotes are actually built from.
Why do blast standards like SP 6 and SP 10 change the price?
Because they are different amounts of work with different inspection bars. SP 6 commercial blast removes most coating and rust and suits weathering exteriors; SP 10 near-white removes nearly everything and is what immersion linings require to bond and warranty. SP 10 takes more abrasive, more time, and profile verification, and the rate sheet prices that honestly instead of quoting one number and delivering the cheaper prep.
What moves a quote off the published range?
What the walkdown finds: rust deep enough to need steel repair (that goes to a welder before us, and we say so), coatings that test positive for lead (containment adder on the sheet), access that needs rigging or scaffold, and weather windows that demand dehumidification. Every mover gets named at the walkdown, never discovered on the invoice.
Do I need the coating done at the same time as the blast?
Yes, or within hours, and it is not upselling, it is chemistry: blasted steel in Louisiana humidity flash-rusts the same day, and coating over flash rust fails at the profile. We prime inside the window on every job, or apply a holding primer when your painter takes over. Blast-only pricing on the sheet assumes that handoff is planned.
Caddo Tank Blasting publishes this sheet for the whole territory, from Bossier City and Haughton out to Mansfield and Springhill. Start at the homepage for everything the crew blasts.