I do have a number for a guy down wicklow way that does soda blasting which is a lot less harsh then sand/bead blasting and leaves the surface ready for painting with no prep work required. If we can get some numbers together I'll call him to see if we can get a group rate!
Gonna DIY refurb my own at some stage soon and wanna take them back to metal, sick of looking at the sh!t work done by Collins .. So would be ideal to get them sand blasted or soda blasted.. If soda is less harsh, then i'd go for that if it was a decent price