“Double D” Jimmy Darrell Davis stands beside his Dustless Blasting truck. The service can handle just about any job safely, from homes and decks to car bodies and even pipe lines and propane tanks. (Photo by Mike Steely)
By Mike Steely
steelym@knoxfocus.com
Jimmy Darrel Davis, better known as “DD” or “Double D,” has found a business that goes very well with his hobby of restoring early Ford cars. A professional driver for show buses that carry celebrities like Martina McBride and Jimmy Buffet, the Corryton resident started DD Dustless Blasting back in February and is busy with restoring things back to their original state.
Davis discovered the unusual business while visiting a body shop in between driving tours and, although he still drives occasionally, is finding he is busy with the mobile blasting business. His initial interest in dustless blasting came as he discovered how he could use it on his own collection of Model T and Model A Ford Cars.
“Dustless Blasting will strip paint and stain from anything including decks, fiberglass boats, car bodies and frames, even gas pipes and gas tanks. It doesn’t produce any friction heat and is safe and effective,” Davis said.
“Many people didn’t know what the blasting was or that it is available right here in Knox County,” he said. He decided to get into the business after viewing a dustless blasting machine operate and decided to make his service mobile so he can provide service where ever it is needed.
DD Dustless Blasting uses a high pressure mixture of water, glass beads and a rust inhibitor that Davis pulls with his equipment on a flatbed trailer behind his truck. He takes extra water for larger jobs and is getting busy with requests for his service. He said he has two car haulers to do, the front end of a 1955 Chevy, and several old cars in South Knoxville. He recently blasted some metal lawn furniture and always has requests from body shops for his service.
“I’d love to get into the restoration of historic homes,” he said, noting that the special blasting service is ideal for removing layers of paint without damaging the wood or brick beneath the surface coat.
“I can help with all your restoration projects in a fraction of the time,” he said, “and we can also erase graffiti without using chemicals. The system completely removes paint, grease, mold, weather build-up but it is gentle enough to keep concrete, brick, stone, granite and masonry block looking new.”
Davis said that one of the most interesting requests he’s had is to dustless blast tombstones and monuments, which he said he can easily do. He also said that he can use soda blasting for cleaning up fire damage inside homes and businesses.
“Using dustless blasting on propane tanks creates no heat and means no shutdown during the cleaning,” he said.
DD Dustless Blasting can be reached at 310-3371 or you can email JimmyDarrell@aol.com. He’s mobile and will be happy to talk to you. You’ll be surprised what Dustless Blasting can do!
