Sand blasting is a common term for the use of specific types of media and pressurized air to remove surface paint, coatings, or other types of surface treatments from metal surfaces. Today, thanks to better products that offer increased safety and performance, sand is rarely used in the process to follow NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety) recommendations.
There are several factors that must be considered when choosing any sand blasting media. Working with media suppliers is often the best way to choose the right media for any given project or specific sand blasting need.
Type of Metal
The metal thickness, as well as the type of metal or alloy, is the central factor in choosing the ideal sand blasting media. The thinner and softer the metal, the more essential it is to choose a softer blasting media to avoid damaging the surface of the metal during the process.
While aluminum has a terrific strength-to-weight ratio and is ideal for aircraft for this reason, it can also be an alloy that is easily damaged with aggressive types of blasting media.
Requirements by Industry and Process
Various sand blasting media options are customized to meet specific industry requirements. For example, aircraft and other military types of equipment typically require media that meets the applicable US MIL-SPEC requirements. For the use on aircraft, plastic media is the best choice providing it meets the certification requirements for MIL-P-85891.
Reduction in Costs
Choosing plastic blasting media offers the added advantage of being reused multiple times. Reusing and recycling the plastic provides cost savings to the customer while still delivering quality blasting media.
