Walnut Shell Grit is a fascinating material for blasting. The hardness of Walnut Shell puts it in between the soft medias like Plastic and soda and the more aggressive, common media like Crushed Glass Grit and coal slag. The combination of this hardness (MOHS - 4.5) and the angular shape provides for a decent strip rate with little to no affect on the sub-surface being blasted.
Applications such as aircraft, automotive and boat stripping can be accomplished successfully without risk of etching or warping the metal or fiberglass. Removing paint from brick, steel, aluminum and even wood can be accomplished with very low probability of damage to the underlying substrate. And if kept clean, Walnut Shell Grit can be re-used a number times increasing its value as a blasting media.
Sourced from the leftovers after extraction of the walnut meat, the shells are crushed and graded to a large variety of size distributions. This organic and biodegradable media is ideal in environments where safety and waste disposal are an issue. While the larger grit sizes (+60 mesh) are used in blasting, the finer 'flour' grades are used in a variety of applications including cosmetics and personal care products.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
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All abrasive blasting operators must be required to wear necessary respiratory protective gear. Because of potential pulmonary health issues that can be caused by the inhalation of fine abrasive media, respiratory protection is almost always a must in grit blast departments. If face masks with breathing air supply are required to be used, then periodically check the breathing air tank for sufficient supply as well ensure that operators are properly trained to use these pieces of equipment properly.
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