Abrasive blasting with steel grit, shot, aluminum oxide or garnet removes rust, scale and old coatings and cuts an anchor profile for the powder to grip. Shops blast heavy structural steel, castings, refinishing work and anything with mill scale, which no washer removes. Parts should be coated soon after blasting, before humidity starts flash rust on the fresh steel.
These trailer frames have mill scale, send them to blast before they go anywhere near the booth.
Blast and coat the same shift; humid nights put a fresh rust bloom on yesterday's blasted steel.
Also heard as
- sandblast
- media blast
- blast room
Related terms
Anchor profile
The peak-to-valley roughness that blasting cuts into steel, giving the coating something to grip.
Pretreatment
The cleaning and chemical conditioning a part gets before powder, which decides most of its adhesion and corrosion life.
Strip
To remove cured powder from a rejected part or rack so it can be recoated.
Flash rust
A thin orange rust bloom that forms within minutes on wet, freshly cleaned steel.