Blasting Media

[ChiScouter]

I bought a cheap HF pressure blaster about 5 years ago and it has been sitting because my air compresser is a POS and I am in a forever search for a nice one to fall in my lap for cheap :rolleyes: At work we have a 5hp which will work nicely, and the boss is a gearhead with stuff to be blasted, so Im in business. Its been well over 10 years since I did any serious blasting, we used to have 2 cabinets, one with glass beads, and one with walnut shells, or plastic media. I have lots and lots of stuff to blast, some of it is crap that I will just use sand for, and for much of it I will want to use a better media. Ill be outside with this unit, .........school me guys on what kinds of media you are using for different tasks.

[Gen. Nonsense]

I typically use playsand or the ground glass



Glass Bead— Spherical beads remove carbon and surface residues. They clean, deburr, peen, and finish a surface without changing its tolerance. This media is inert, contains no free silica, leaves no residue, and can be recycled many times. Coarse beads (40-60 and 60-120 mesh sizes) remove heavy material and produce a glossy finish. Fine beads (100-170 and 170-325 mesh sizes) clean faster in light applications and produce a matte finish.

Ground Glass— An alternative to sand and slag where a rough surface is desired. Aggressively removes paint, scale, and rust. Effective for cleaning, finishing, and tough deburring. Contains no free silica and is not recyclable.

Glass/Aluminum Oxide— This mixture of 80% glass bead and 20% aluminum oxide (unless noted) removes tough corrosion and finishes surfaces in applications where 100% aluminum oxide is too aggressive. Grit size shown is for the aluminum oxide content. Media can be recycled.

Aluminum Oxide— Sharp, hard, and durable, it prepares surfaces for recoating. Use to frost glass, letter stone, and remove heavy contaminants. It's inert to alkalies and acids, contains no free silica, and can be recycled many times.
Silicon Carbide— Quickly cuts granite, ceramics, silicon, quartz, cemented carbides, and other tough materials. Effective for cleaning, finishing, and etching. New cutting edges are continually exposed during use. In addition, it's recyclable.

Silica Sand— Typically used outdoors, this fast-cutting abrasive is suitable for cleaning applications where the surface profile is not a concern. It's softer than black beauty slag, but can be used in many of the same applications. It's not recyclable.
Caution: Contains free silica. When working with this media, use protective equipment, including an air-supplied helmet. Do not use in cabinet-style sandblasters.

Black Beauty Slag— Also known as black diamond and black blast, this media cuts faster, produces less dust, and lasts twice as long as silica sand. Contains only 0.1% free silica, is inert, and is moisture free. Use it to remove rust, scale, and paint from bridges, steel tanks, and machinery. It's not recyclable.

Steel Grit— Sharp, angular grit quickly removes surface contaminants from steel and other cast metals. Leaves a textured surface to enhance the bonding ability of paint and other coatings. Can be recycled many times in a closed-blasting environment
Steel Shot— The round shape and heavy weight of this abrasive generates a high impact force that cleans and peens heavy forgings and removes heat-treated scale. Use it on steel and other cast metals. Media can be recycled.

Cast Stainless Steel Shot— Outlasts aluminum oxide, glass beads, and slag by a ratio of 1000 to 1. The high density and great weight of each particle speeds the cleaning process by creating a high impact force on the work surface. Nonhazardous and contaminant free, it produces minimal dust. Use it to descale, deburr, and remove casting sand from nonferrous metals. Can be recycled many times.

Walnut Shells— These soft-grit shells clean, polish, and deburr soft metals, fiberglass, plastic, wood, and stone. Nontoxic and biodegradable, they can be recycled and produce minimal dust. Also used in tumbling and vibratory equipment.

Corn Cob— Biodegradable, nontoxic, soft-grit media cleans metal, wood, fiberglass, plastic, masonry, and electric insulators. Won't frost glass, pit aluminum, or damage surfaces.

[JeepinDoug]

Aluminum Oxide is the sh1t, just don't use it on flat aluminum surfaces that need to stay flat. It cuts really fast and work great for rust removal.

[Hammerlock]

I've been wanting to try that Aluminum Oxide but it's spendy and would make a mess in my yard.

Who has seen or tried soda blasting? It would be nice to just wash the residue away with a hose. Not sure how fast it would work on old rusty axles and the like.

[JeepinDoug]

I've been wanting to try that Aluminum Oxide but it's spendy and would make a mess in my yard.

Who has seen or tried soda blasting? It would be nice to just wash the residue away with a hose. Not sure how fast it would work on old rusty axles and the like.

As in baking soda?
Baking soda is for polishing when used in a blaster cabinet. I used to use it to clean carbide form tools from wire EDM cutting, the wire would leave a brown burn color and the soda would brighten it up.

[ironpig70]

couple more questions

1) where can you buy this stuff from

2) how do you reuse it. i mean do you filter it or just vacum it up and go again.

[PAToyota]

As in baking soda?

Look for "washing soda" in the laundry aisle of the grocery store. Cheaper and coarser than baking soda. Could probably find it in larger quantities someplace other than a grocery store, though...

[Hammerlock]

No. I'm talking about the soda media sold for the soda blasting machines..not something you buy in the grocery store. Northern tool has it as do others.

[Hammerlock]

couple more questions

1) where can you buy this stuff from

2) how do you reuse it. i mean do you filter it or just vacum it up and go again.

Buy what? Sand? You just sweep it up and filter through a screen.

[ironpig70]

buy glass bead or aluminum oxide or slag

[JeepinDoug]

2) how do you reuse it. i mean do you filter it or just vacum it up and go again.

Yes, sweep it up and filter it through a window screen or mesh to get twigs and scale out of it. Just gotta shop around for a screen or collander that will pass the sand.
As for media (other than playground sand) I go through local abrasive suppliers. I live close to Colma CA, the largest city of dead people, alot of headstones means alot of media suppliers.

[PAToyota]

No. I'm talking about the soda media sold for the soda blasting machines..not something you buy in the grocery store. Northern tool has it as do others.

Check out the "washing soda" and you'll find it is pretty much the same stuff. I'll admit that buying it in bulk would be a heck of a lot better than the little boxes in the grocery store... :D

[Hammerlock]

Thanks for the tip. So I take it that you've used it. How fast did it cut? Did you use in a machine designed for soda or in a sand blasting machine?

[PAToyota]

I tried some in my cabinet to clean up some brass and bronze pieces. Definitely not something coarse enough to take off rust. As JeepinDoug said, more for a final polishing than for removal of paint, corrosion, etc.

[Hammerlock]

I'm not an expert, but if you look at the websites selling soda blasters you will see videos of them removing paint and rust very rapidly. I think you need the right equipment though - the right media and an actual soda blaster.