THE sandblasting PROCESS

Central Minnesota Sandblasting

Sandblasting is a process in which sand, glass beads or some other medium is shot at high speed through a machine across the surface of a hard material until it is sanded smooth.

Sandblasting is often done to remove a previous finish on an item, to remove rust, or to prepare a surface to receive a new coat of paint. The kind of medium used to blast the surface depends on how difficult the removal is and how much impact the material can withstand.

How to Choose Sandblasting Media:

  • gentle medium
    gentle medium

    Start with a gentle medium if you are uncertain. If you are unsure how the material will withstand sandblasting it is best to choose the gentlest medium and work your way up. Walnut shells are one of less abrasive sandblasting media you can use and are completely biodegradable, so there are no concerns about environmental impact.

    Corn cob is also biodegradable and will not etch the material being blasted. Pumice is the softest of all the blasting media. It is often used to remove paint from soft wood.

    Sodium Bicarbonate or Soda blasting is our preferred process for delicate surfaces like fiberglass and thin aluminum such as airplanes. This is a very mild method and creates no heat so warping is not an issue!

  • glass beads
    glass beads

    Consider glass beads as a medium. Glass beads give a soft, bright finish due to there round shape and are primarily used to give a finished look. Glass beads can be recycled up to 30 times.

  • crushed glass
    crushed glass

    Crushed glass grit is made from 100 percent recycled bottle glass and another preferred medium of ours. We use it for stripping car body sheet metal and many other products in addition to Log Home Restoration. Since it is available in many grits, it is an very versatile blasting medium. We have the ability to blast with this either wet or dry with our mobile blasting system in case dust is an issue, plus the water cools sheet metal to prevent warping.

  • coal slag
    coal slag

    Coal slag is used for blasting outside when removing heavy rust and paint but recycling the media is not an option. Large trailers, tanks and heavy equipment would benefit from this method of sandblasting. We can blast this medium either wet or dry, whichever is better for the situation and cuts extremely fast.

  • steel medium
    steel medium

    We have a complete steel grit blasting reclaim system in our 14' x 24' indoor blast room, that allows us to blast heavy rust and coatings off quickly for any heavy industrial applications. Since we can re-use the steel hundreds of times, this method is very cost effective.

sandblasting Gallery

Our Recent Sandblasting Projects