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Home / Abrasive Blasting Media Grit Buying Guide

SANDBLASTING MEDIA FOR ABRASIVE BLASTING

We are able to provide bulk shipments of sandblasting abrasive sand media all over the USA from California to Ohio. If you are unsure of which sandblasting grit, media or abrasive is best for your application, contact us today and a customer service representative will assist you.

When searching for a sandblasting abrasive and media supplier, or selecting the best abrasive sand for your application, talk to BlastOne’s team of technical consultants. Their consultive process will analyze your requirements, including productivity, finish, specification, and budget, and provide a recommendation. No single sandblasting abrasive media, will be the best option for every blasting task. The right choice of abrasive for a particular application is the difference between profitability and unprofitability for a project.

High Quality Sandblasting Sand, Abrasive, and Grit for sandblasting is essential for quality surface preparation — “Your finished coating will only be as good as the Surface Preparation”. Contamination in your abrasive will contaminate your surface – any contamination could be detrimental to the quality of the coating.

We can group the classification of sandblasting abrasives in several ways. A common method is by where they are sourced from – natural resources or manmade. Natural sandblasting abrasives include GMA Garnet, Staurolite, Corn Cob and Walnut Shell. Manmade sandblasting abrasives include steel grit, steel shot, aluminium oxide, Armex soda, coal slag, copper slag, bi-carb soda, aluminium oxide, glass bead, crushed glass, and stainless steel shot.

GMA Garnet

Aluminum Oxide

Armex Soda

Coal & Copper Slag

Corn Cob

Glass Crushed & Beads

Stainless Steel

Staurolite

Steel Grit

Steel Shot

Walnut Shell

When selecting an abrasive, consider the following …

What production rate do I want out of my sandblasting abrasive? While one abrasive may be cheaper than another, does the more expensive abrasive work faster? An abrasive with a slightly higher cost but a much higher removal rate will be more economical to use.

How efficient is the sandblasting media I am considering using? While one abrasive may be cheaper than another, does the more expensive abrasive media blast the same area with less material? An abrasive with a slightly higher cost but a much lower consumption rate will be more economical to use.

What type of surface finish do I require from my sandblasting abrasive? Am I blasting to prepare the surface prior to being coated? Or am I blasting to create a surface finish?

What is the material being blasted? Is it soft? Or is it hard? Will my preferred abrasive media stain it?

Each abrasive has a specific advantage which will weight the purchase decision in its favor. Want a regular consistent profile with no rogue peaks? Choose GMA Garnet. Want a sharp angular profile for hot metal spray to lock into? Choose aluminium oxide. Wanting to blast food processing machinery and don’t want any rust stains? Choose stainless steel shot. Got a 100% recovery blast chamber and want to blast at the fastest possible rate? Choose steel grit.

Standard packaging for sandblasting media includes 55lb (25kg), 2200lb (1 tonne) and 4000lb (2 tonne) bags. Delivery is also possible in bulk from a blower truck. BlastOne has 13 distribution facilities throughout the United States for rapid fulfillment of your abrasive blasting media needs.

Sand Blasting Warning: Crystalline silica is a known Class 1 Carcinogen. Using Silica Sand as an abrasive blasting media has been identified by OSHA as causing Silicosis (lung condition), leading to severe illness and death. For more information please refer Silica Sand Warning

Sandblasting Abrasives Videos

Understanding Abrasive Sizing for Sand Blasting

ANGULARITY: A Growing Sandblasting Spec

Abrasive Particle Size Testing

Is silica sand safe to use as a blasting abrasive?

Check for salt in abrasives to avoid contamination

GX-GMA GARNET vs. SLAG ABRASIVE

Knowledge & Learning

Videos from the Experts

How to | Primed Insights | Safety Tips

3 Tips for recycling abrasive on jobsites

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Abrasive Contaminants Left on Blasted Surface

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How Using The Correct Abrasive Grade Improves Nearly Everything

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Performance 3 Master Class – Step 8

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ABRASIVE CONTAMINANTS LEFT ON BLASTED SURFACE

TRANSCRIPTION: "Today I’m going to reveal one thing you should definitely add to your job spec to guarantee the integrity of your project and to maximize your ROI. Hello, I’m Pete Mitchell with the GMA Garnet Group. I’m the Vice President of Technical Management. So, what we're going to talk about today is the classifications [...]

Dangers of Silica Sand

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ACCURATE DATA = SUCCESS

BACK YOUR BUSINESS DECISION UP WITH DATA More often than not, contractors and project managers are “guesstimating” or going off of their gut feelings when making decisions. We often will say things along the lines of: We got roughly 17 panels done We blasted for about 5 hours today. We put maybe 12 pails of [...]

Customer Testimonials

Your #1 Abrasive Supplier!

BlastOne® USA, supplies quality sand abrasives for Sand Blasting, Surface Preparation and Corrosion Control in many different industries including Oil & Gas, Mining,
Structural Steel Fabrication, Water Infrastructure, Marine and Bridge Refurbishment work.

Global Supplier

BlastOne® supplies quality abrasives for Sand Blasting, Surface Preparation and Corrosion Control in many different industries including Oil & Gas, Mining, Structural Steel Fabrication, Water Infrastructure, Marine and Bridge Refurbishment work.

As a global supplier of abrasives, BlastOne is able to provide all EPA legal materials used in commercial blasting surface prep. The most popular and safe abrasives for “sand blasting” include steel shot, steel grit, and Australian garnet — with these products available in various mesh sizes and drum capacities.

Major Considerations

First and foremost, what is the PURPOSE of the blasting? Is it to simply remove the existing coating and clean the surface? – Or are you required to also prepare the substrate profile for a new coating material? If you are simply cleaning the surface of contaminants without imparting a surface profile, a rounded abrasive like steel shot or glass beads are trusted standard sandblasting sand media. To produce a viable profile, however, you will would to employ a sub-angular shape abrasive.

The Second consideration involves PRODUCTIVITY which directly affects profitability. The size, strength, and shape of the abrasive particle all have a bearing on blasting speed. And these three attributes vary from media to media. Completing your project on time (or ahead of time) will have a positive impact on your company’s success.

The ability to recycle an abrasive also varies widely among medias and can have a huge impact on your productivity and costs.

The Third consideration involves ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT; is it safe for the workers and environment? Levels of dust are dependent upon variables like particle strength and friability. Less dust is safer and requires less clean up – which also increases productivity and profitability.

High Quality Sandblasting Sand Abrasives are essential for surface preparation — “Your finished coating will only be as good as the Surface Preparation”. Contamination in your abrasive will contaminate your surface as you blast – this means that any contamination in your abrasive could be detrimental to the quality of the coating.

When it comes to selecting the best sandblasting sand abrasive for your application, BlastOne’s team of technical engineers will help you analyze your requirements, including production and budgetary constraints. You will be amazed how the right choice of abrasive for a particular application can dramatically affect your bottom line on the project.

BlastOne offers Superior Abrasives and Superior Know-How to advise you of the optimal media for your project.

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