What is shot blasting?

Blasting cleaning uses grit, beads or sand in order to clean wall surfaces, metal parts and machinery. Blast cleaning can remove built up fungi, rust and chemicals that, if left, can damage the surface, appear unsightly, and present health and safety issues.

Shot blasting equipment uses a variety of materials to clear away surface debris. Harsher materials, like glass beads, sand or grit are better for removing undesirable surface contaminants quicker, on stronger materials. For weaker materials, such as soft or thin metals, hydro-blasting might be more appropriate for cleaning away built up grime. Very fragile materials, such as paint work, can be cleaned using air pressure blasters, which will remove build up, with less chance of damage to the surface beneath.

Dust extraction and cleaning up after blasting is also an essential to preventing shot blasting from becoming hazardous, and the safe disposal of material is essential for any and all dangerous substances, such as moulds, fine grit and asbestos.

Abrasive blasting

Abrasive blasting uses various materials to strip imperfections, paint, rust and other contaminants from a surface. It’s an important step in surface coating preparation, as it cleans a substrate and creates a surface that will hold a protective coating. Blasting takes the place of more labor-intensive cleaning methods like wire brushing or sanding, and can speed up the surface preparation process by up to 75 percent.

Blasting Oily Parts?

Many operators make the mistake of blasting parts contaminated with oil, grease or water in a cabinet not designed handle those soils.  The majority of blasting is done in a dry cabinet, airless or wheel blast machine and contaminating media will gum up hoses and guns causing down time and lost production.   Added time and money to a down operation is unfortunate however avoidable, with proper review of your parts and blasting operation prior to production.

Although majority of blasting is done with a dry abrasive or glass media there is equipment and media that, when necessary, have the capabilities of blasting oily or greasy parts.  Wet blast applications use a mixture of water and abrasive or non-abrasive media to
clean or prep the part and can only be used with special equipment designed for this process

Another option would be to use sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda.  This media has many unique properties, one being removing grease and oils without causing problems for the equipment. This like wet blast, is used in equipment specially designed to handle this type of application.