Choosing the proper abrasive blasting media in your mission relies upon closely on the outcomes you need. One media kind can present vastly totally different finishes relying on the fabric you’re blasting.
One among our favourite all-purpose abrasives for eradicating paint, rust, and oily buildup is EpiX Medium Profile superoxalloy abrasive. We use it regularly to arrange components for paint and powder coating on metal and forged iron components. However as we work by aspect initiatives on our Vary Rover restoration, we questioned about its effectiveness on solid aluminum.
Prior to now we’ve used glass bead on solid alloy components like valve covers and consumption manifolds. And whereas the end at all times seems to be nice, glass bead leaves the store ground a bit slippery across the blast cupboard. The powdery, microscopic glass orbs appear to get all over the place.
To ease our curiosity, we grabbed the consumption manifold from our mission and masked off part to check each supplies. Our giant Eastwood B120 blast cupboard was already loaded with EpiX, because it normally is. We just lately introduced a benchtop blast cupboard into the store for one more mission and loaded it with glass bead for our check. The outcomes are evident within the footage.
EpiX MP
To our shock, the EpiX MP was milder on the aluminum than we anticipated. It did an important job of eradicating the previous Cosmoline, minor floor corrosion, and engine grime making it look derelict. The solid aluminum floor held up with out dropping its authentic look, and it labored quick, taking solely a pair minutes. It additionally generated little or no mud within the cupboard.
Whereas the end seemed clear and new, it didn’t have the identical pop of brilliance we’d seen from different abrasives. Nonetheless, we had been utterly glad with outcomes on our half. It was an unlimited enchancment over the way in which it went into the cupboard.
Glass Bead 70-100 Grit
After testing the EpiX, we remasked the manifold and moved it to the B40 modular cupboard for its flip with the glass bead. This superb https://www.eastwood.com/glass-bead-blast-media-100-170-grit-50-lbs.html70-100 grit formulation took barely longer to take away heavier buildup, and naturally discovered its means out of the cupboard in a number of locations. However the end was wonderful. The glass beads have a sprucing impact that leaves the metallic wanting shiny and new.
We left a bit of the half masked all through each processes for comparability as nicely. It’s clear that each of those abrasives had been efficient at restoring the naked aluminum to a like-new look. Whereas both could be superb, our desire for this mission has us leaning towards the glass bead for remaining solid aluminum components.