14 Most Common Abrasive Blasting Projects
The 12 Most Common Abrasive Blasting Projects
May 09, 2023When you're dealing with a surface or object that needs finishing or cleaning, the first step is always preparation. This involves getting rid of any buildup and smoothing out imperfections. Abrasive blasting is a go-to method for surface preparation, cleaning, and maintenance. Its versatility allows it to be adapted for numerous applications across various industries, from food service products to marine components and warehouse equipment.
There's a wide range of applications for abrasive blasting, each requiring a specific blasting material. The most common types include air, wet, vacuum, and centrifugal blasting. These processes can clean, shape, and smooth surfaces to accommodate evolving designs, materials, and technologies. Understanding when to use abrasive blasting can significantly benefit both manufacturing and surface finishing. It promotes adhesion, enables custom finishes, delivers efficient results, minimizes damage risks, and helps protect the environment.
Read on to learn more about abrasive blasting and its most common applications within the industrial and commercial sectors.
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1. Preparing Surfaces for Painting
Abrasive blasting is widely used in the manufacturing and preparation of steel components prior to painting. By blasting away debris and smoothing the surface, you ensure better and longer-lasting paint adhesion. This process removes potential contaminants and defects, resulting in a more even finish. It also helps prevent rust and eliminates other elements that might interfere with paint adhesion.
2. Cleaning and Maintaining Food Processing Equipment
In the food service industry, abrasive blasting is crucial for keeping stainless steel food processing equipment and baking components clean and well-maintained. Since the process must be safe for use around food, operators often opt for natural or organic abrasives like dry ice. This method is particularly effective at removing baked-on food stains or grease deposits.
3. Preparing Architectural Components
Architectural components, such as beams, columns, and design pieces, demand meticulous attention to detail and quality. Abrasive blasting cleans and prepares steel and aluminum surfaces for coatings, if needed. It can also assist in architectural restoration. Materials like glass impact beads can swiftly clean objects without removing significant amounts of metal.
4. Restoring Concrete and Wooden Surfaces
Gentler materials, such as wood, concrete, and brick, require softer restoration techniques. Mild forms of abrasive blasting, like soda or dry ice blasting, can restore these surfaces and prepare them for painting, staining, or finishing. Abrasives offer a cost-effective way to prepare these specialty surfaces while preserving the integrity of the underlying material. Walnut shells, a soft abrasive, can deliver excellent results while leaving the undercoating intact.
5. Deep Cleaning Warehouse Interiors
Dry and wet abrasive blasting techniques can be used to deeply clean warehouse interiors, including structural struts and joists. High-speed blasting with materials like glass beads or dry ice allows operators to control abrasion levels while removing residue from equipment, walls, and machinery. Portable blast equipment makes cleaning routines much simpler by enabling operators to move around the warehouse and focus on the items or surfaces that need the most attention.
6. Railway Car Maintenance
Railroad cars carry various hazardous and non-hazardous materials, which can sometimes result in spills and leaks. Abrasive blasting plays a key role in railway maintenance by keeping cars clean and free of potentially dangerous residue between shipments. It is also used to prepare railroad cars for painting.
7. Bridge Maintenance
The nature of bridge construction, cleaning, maintenance, and painting demands a fast and thorough abrasive blasting technique to minimize downtime and keep critical components intact. Abrasive blasting is commonly applied to concrete and steel bridges, though it can be used on other materials as well. Aluminum oxide abrasives are useful for lapping, refractory coating, polishing, non-skid applications, and decorative purposes. This abrasive can also be used in bonding applications for non-slip walkways.
8. Surface Preparation and Etching of Components
Abrasive blasting is employed to prepare surfaces, such as glass, for etching textures or designs. It can also be used to prepare steel products for powder coating, which requires a smooth surface for optimal bonding. Silicone carbide is rougher than aluminum oxide and is the hardest blasting media. In addition to etching applications, it can be used for polishing, lapping, and general-purpose heavy-duty applications.
9. Cleaning Plastic Injection Molds
Plastic injection mold cavities accumulate significant buildup over time, which includes hardened debris and materials that can deform the mold mechanism or interfere with machine performance. Abrasive blasting is a gentle yet effective method for cleaning and removing this residue. Plastics are a great choice for mold cleaning and are also ideal for paint stripping. These materials are less abrasive than others and work well for cleaning anti-corrosion coatings, deflashing plastic components, and cleaning molds.
10. Foundry Sand Applications for Casting
Foundry sand is used to create, clean, and maintain sand-casting molds. Starblast offers increased visibility and can reduce labor costs through more efficient cleaning capabilities. This material has uniform blasting patterns, and Starblast Ultra is suitable for more heavy-duty applications, such as paint removal and heavy rust.
11. Extending the Lifespan of Bearings, Shafts, and Gears
Businesses and warehouses looking to extend the lifespan of machine and equipment bearings, shafts, and gears can use abrasive blasting for shot peening, a highly controlled form of blasting for metal parts.
12. Removing Graffiti
Many property owners turn to organic abrasive blasting methods, such as those using corn cobs or walnut shells, to remove graffiti and clean surfaces. These natural abrasive materials offer a safer, more public-friendly alternative to other blasting methods. They may also help preserve the integrity of certain materials and are ideal for commercial use. Corn cobs are especially effective for removing graffiti and can also be used for polishing, deburring, tumbling, and deflashing applications.
Contact Finishing Systems to Learn More
Abrasive blasting is an effective, versatile method for cleaning, maintaining, and preparing equipment and surfaces across various industries and applications. Discover more about abrasive blasting solutions at Finishing Systems, the leading provider of finishing solutions for companies throughout the United States. Reach out to a Finishing Systems representative to find the right blasting equipment or schedule your blast finishing project today.
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