Blast cleaning abrasives for sandblasting | Sandblasting Nozzle Media
Blast Cleaning Media types.
Media Type | Aluminum Oxide |
Silicon Carbide |
Steel Shot |
Steel Grit |
Garnet | Glass beads |
Description | Long lasting, extremely aggressive media. Cleans and creates a profile or anchor pattern. | Hardest commercially available blast media. Fast cutting. Used for glass or stone etching. | Round carbon steel balls for peening, polishing and creating a profile/anchor pattern. Different shot hardnesses effect results. | Angular, sharper carbon steel particles for aggressive cleaning and surface profiling. Different hardnesses effect results. Can be mixed with steel shot. | Low dust, fast cutting, inert and recyclable hard mineral for blast cleaning many different surfaces and creating profiles on steel. Fine grades can be used on aluminum and fiber glass. | Made from lead free soda-lime glass. Shape round. Does not contain free silica. Can be recycled up to 30 times. Used for cleaning surfaces without applying too much stress to part or damage to underlying metal layer(s). |
Hardness | 8-9 MOH | 9 -9.5 MOH | 40-51 HRC | 40 - 65 HRC | 7.5 - 8.5 MOH | 5 - 6 MOH |
Suggest using carbide nozzle with: | Boron carbide liner | Boron Carbide liner | Silicon or Tungsten | Silicon or Tungsten | Silicon or Tungsten | Silicon or Tungsten |
- Above examples of sandblasting carbide nozzles using a specific liner are suggested only. Operators may have special requirements that use a different sandblasting nozzle material.
- Actual performance and results are determined through testing and calibrating to achieve desired results.
- Nozzle suggestions are for production style blast cleaning with short, medium and long venturi nozzles.
- Light blast cleaning set ups e.g. cabinet blast cleaning might use ceramic inserts with a pressure feed gun.
Media Type | Crushed Glass | Bicarb of Soda | Plastic Abrasive | Pumice | Corn Cob | Walnut Shells |
Description | Angular shape of glass grit permits aggressive surface cleaning. Reduced surface embedment issues. Can be used in both dry and slurry blast cleaning. | Soft surface and environmentally friendly abrasive. Fractures on impact into micro sized particles that clean surface without damaging substrate. Excellent for cleaning softer surfaces. Can be used for graffiti removal, stone and building cleaning. Industrial machinery cleaning - on site. | Used for cleaning softer surfaces including aluminum and plastics. Typically used in automotive or aerospace applications. | Very soft blast cleaning media. Can be sued for cleaning wood surfaces. | Biodegradable soft media. Used widely for blast cleaning log homes. | A slightly more aggressive angular, soft, biodegradable grit that can be used for stripping/cleaning without effecting substrate. |
Hardness | 5 - 6 MOH | 2.5 MOH approx | 3 - 4 MOH | 6 -7 MOH | 4 - 4.5 MOH | 4.5 - 5 MOH |
Suggest use carbide nozzle with | Silicon or Tungsten | Silicon or Tungsten | Silicon or Tungsten | Silicon or tungsten | Silicon or tungsten | Silicon or tungsten |
- Above examples of carbide nozzles made with a particular liner are suggested only. Operators may have special requirements that use a different nozzle material than we suggest.
- Actual performance and results are determined through testing and calibrating to achieve desired results.
- Nozzle suggestions are for production style blast cleaning with short, medium and long venturi nozzles.
- Light blast cleaning set ups e.g. cabinet blast cleaning might use ceramic inserts with a pressure feed gun.
MOHS Hardness scale:
Material | Hardness |
Talc | 1 |
Gypsum | 2 |
Calcite | 3 |
Fluorite | 4 |
Apatite | 5 |
Orthoclase | 6 |
Quartz | 7 |
Topaz | 8 |
Corundum | 9 |
Diamond | 10 |