Thin Aluminum Blasting

Using abrasive blasting for auto restoration can be a very challenging process due to potential warping of the thin metal panels. Many different blast media can be used such as Walnut Shell Grit, soda, Plastic Abrasive Media, sand and Crushed Glass Grit. While each of these media have different benefits, Crushed Glass Grit is growing in popularity for this application.

While the abrasive media being used is critical, the blasting procedure itself is just as important. The soda can -used to simulate a thin car body panel- on the left was blasted with Fine (70/100 mesh) Crushed Glass Grit at 60 psi. Notice the excellent stripping of the printing but also the warpage and deformation on the thin aluminum. The can on the right was blasted with the exact same media but at 30 psi. The stripping result was also excellent but there is no indication of damage to the metal.

While Crushed Glass Grit is a media generates heat during blasting (like coal slag, sand, garnet and others) which can warp thin metal, the process used by the operator to provide a quick strip rate -typically faster than Walnut Shell Grit and soda- is as important to achieving successful results.