Grit-Blasting or Sand-Blasting is a surface preparation method mostly used in a number of different industries with a variety of project scopes. Grit-Blasting is one of the processes for the surface preparation by which an Grit-Blasting media is accelerated through a nozzle by means of compressed air. The Grit-Blasting used varies depends on the process treatment required.
Material selection is of paramount importance decision in the process of Grit-Blasting methods.The various material types have different characteristics namely, hardness, shape, and density, and each is available in a wide range of particle sizes.
Grit-Blasting is a crucial process used not only to remove rust, but to prepare surfaces for high performance coatings, high resistance (temperature) coatings etc.
The range of areas for Grit-Blasting include:
- Surface preparation prior to painting, bonding or other coating operations.
- Removal of rust, scale, sand, or paint from fabricated components.
- Roughening of industrial gas turbine engine component surfaces in preparation for thermal spray coating.
- Removal of burrs or edge profiling machined components.
- Providing a matte cosmetic surface finish.
- Removal of mold flash.
- Surface texturing of tooling, and molds to alter the appearance of surface.