Blasting Media For Sheet Metal

It can be found in applications ranging from anti slip surfaces industrial applications as a blasting media and as a raw material in refractories.

Blasting media for sheet metal. I media blast cars. On hoods i tend to lower the pressure to 50psi. Be aware of the danger of using silica. It s important to understand the different advantages and disadvantages of abrasive types.

Just one of two of the above suggestions can prevent your sandblaster from warping sheet metal. For thin metal like old coach style bodies i use 105 or walnut shell and 50psi. Steel grit offers a more angular shape and sharper texture. But if you plan your projects accordingly the money you lay out for equipment now will pay huge.

Size shape hardness and density. In fact aluminum oxide is so gentle that it is used on skin for microdermabrasion. Despite this soft touch however aluminium oxide is more than capable of removing relatively thin coatings of rust on metal components. It can be used to remove rust paint or scale from steel surfaces.

Media blasting has a variety of uses from removing a layer of paint to deodorizing a countertop to eliminating fire damage. However many companies are moving away from sand as a blasting medium for a number of reasons. Blast media properties knowing the surface characteristics and the profile depth you need to achieve you are ready to select your abrasive. With a high pressured system and the right abrasive this process can produce both a cleaning and finishing action for your surfaces.

I use 70 silica or crushed glass 5 nozzle 70psi for most of the vehicle. Aluminum oxide is characterized by its superior hardness and strength. There really isn t a way to get down to bare metal more efficiently than media blasting. Crucially it does very little damage to the unmarred metal beneath the rust layer making aluminium oxide an ideal media for blasting thin sheet metal and other relatively fragile metal objects.

There are four properties of abrasives that contribute to profile depth. I have 1 body shop and 2 custom shops that i do regular work for. If there isn t a lot of rust on the sheet metal softer abrasives like walnut shell soda blast crushed glass or plastic beads are sometimes used to reduce warping of sheet metal. Aluminum oxide is another gentle abrasive.

Every other method of stripping is an attempt to get around the major disadvantage of media blasting namely the investment in rather costly equipment.