Blasting-Glass or Other?

[Ratrodder]

I’ve got a little fabrication shop in southern Illinois. Most of the time I’m working with mild steel signage. Sometimes the paint doesn’t come out, we’ll let’s say....just not right . I’ve picked up a HF blast cabinet and made a few modifications to it so I can clean up the signs and start over. My question is should I use glass media or another type of abrasive?
Thanks for the help.

 

[MarineScott]

I am currently using coal slag in my HF blast cabinet. It is cheap, but I am thinking about switching to glass beads. Different media will give you different textures. Check on YouTube, and see what you might want, due to your application.

 

[joe_padavano]

I use recycled crushed glass media. It's more aggressive than glass beads, but I'm primarily using it for rust removal on steel. Work's really well. I've been buying mine from Brut, but Tractor Supply seems to be less expensive so I'll try them next.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

I use 80 grit aluminum oxide media for rust and paint removal on steel and aluminum. It is kind of slow when removing powder coating.

 

[ducatithunder]

All depends on what you want to do. I have two cabinets. One with Aluminum Oxide and the other with Crushed Glass.

- Alum oxide but its expensive and aggressive. Lasts pretty long.
-Glass bead isnt super aggresive but works for light blasting. Not as expensive. I prefer walnut shell over glass bead.
-Crushed glass. Less aggressive then AO but super cheap. Lasts alittle longer then glass bead. I think a 80# bag cost me $4 last time I bought it.

 

[BillK]

Just want to add that there are different grades and quality of glass beads. I ran out of them at the shop a couple of years ago and got a bucket from Tractor Supply and they were pretty useless compared to the stuff we normally get. They sort of fell apart and turned to dust

 

[qdvuu]

Try crushed walnut shells.

 

[p00p]

coarse walnut shells is what i use on powder coated wheels, brackets, small panels.

 

[sweetk30]

You be amazed what plastic can and will peal off . Almost no heat . And no damage to special surfaces .

 

[ghnl]

And if you spill some glass beads it'll be like walking on grease...

 

[dmftoy1]

Just want to add that there are different grades and quality of glass beads. I ran out of them at the shop a couple of years ago and got a bucket from Tractor Supply and they were pretty useless compared to the stuff we normally get. They sort of fell apart and turned to dust

Yup - add harbor freight media to the list. For same price got media from Amazon and was amazed at how little dust and how well it held up


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Gunfixr]

Paint does not adhere well to smooth surfaces, a roughened surface works much better.
Glass beads more polish than dig in, and while i've not used walnut media in a blast cabinet, I imagine it would be the same.
If you are looking for a good prepped surface for paint, you're better off with something that digs into the surface, so the paint has something to hold onto. Aluminum oxide works very well, anywhere around 60-80 grit. Finer 120 grit works ok. Idk about crushed glass, as i've not tried it.

If you're just stripping off paint, I guess it all works, but some might be faster that others.

 

[CraigStu]

In my experience having stuff blasted over the years, new glass bead gives a very nice finish especially to aluminum parts. Like gunfixr says 'more a polish'. I had a friend that had a blast cabinet and he said he used beads but the result looked more like it was done w/ sand. Turned out that he re-cycled his beads so they really weren't beads anymore. I think I'd buy small quantities and experiment. My concern is that in most cabinets the 'gun' only blasts a 1/2 inch wide path so cleaning off a whole sign it might be difficult to have an even surface pattern over the whole area. Maybe one of the more aggressive media would allow you to hold the gun a little further away for a wider pattern.

 

[rburke65]

Like sand paper, different blast media differs in aggressiveness. Good le ‘blast media’ or there is a list on TP Tools

 

[txvwnut]

I use garnet in mine as I am mainly blasting aluminum cylinder heads and glass will embed into the metal.