Media Blasting

Media blasting uses high-velocity abrasive media to clean, deburr, or texture surfaces, ideal for uniform finishes and coating prep on metals and plastics.

Overview

Media blasting (bead blasting, sandblasting, shot blasting) propels abrasive media at high speed to clean, roughen, or uniformly texture a surface. It removes rust, scale, oxides, light burrs, and cosmetic defects while creating a controlled surface profile for coatings, plating, or bonding. Media type, pressure, nozzle size, and stand-off distance control aggressiveness and surface roughness.

Use media blasting when you need consistent, line-of-sight surface preparation on small to large parts, from brackets to frames and castings. It handles a wide range of materials and geometries but requires masking for critical features and cannot hold tight dimensional tolerances. Expect some material removal and edge softening, especially on sharp corners and thin walls. It is fast, scalable, and cost-effective for low to high volumes, but it is not a precision marking method and won’t produce fine, high-resolution graphics or deeply controlled micro-features.

Common Materials

  • Aluminum 6061
  • Stainless steel 304
  • Mild steel
  • Titanium Grade 5
  • ABS plastic
  • Glass

Tolerances

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Applications

  • Steel weldments before painting or powder coating
  • Aluminum cast housings prior to anodizing or coating
  • Deburring and matte-finishing machined aluminum panels
  • Rust and scale removal from steel brackets and frames
  • Blending machining marks on visible cosmetic surfaces
  • Surface roughening for adhesive bonding or overmolding

When to Choose Media Blasting

Choose media blasting when you need uniform, line-of-sight surface preparation, cleaning, or cosmetic texturing across larger areas. It suits parts where minor material removal and edge softening are acceptable, and where consistent roughness or matte finish is more important than tight dimensional control. Best for prepping parts for coatings, bonding, or visual appearance improvements at low to very high volumes.

vs Chemical Etching

Pick media blasting instead of chemical etching when you need bulk surface cleaning or texturing on 3D geometries, not precision depth control on flat profiles. Blasting is faster to set up, easier to scale for large or welded assemblies, and avoids wet chemistry handling and waste treatment.

vs Laser Etching/Engraving

Choose media blasting over laser etching/engraving when you care about overall surface finish or coating prep, not fine-detail logos, barcodes, or serial numbers. Blasting covers large areas quickly, produces an even matte or roughened surface, and works well on parts that don’t need high-resolution graphics or localized marks.

vs Vibratory Tumbling

Use media blasting instead of vibratory tumbling when you need controlled, directional surface prep on specific faces or when parts are too large or delicate for bulk tumbling. Blasting lets you target certain areas, preserve masked features, and handle welded structures or assemblies that cannot freely move in a bowl.

vs Hand Grinding/Polishing

Select media blasting instead of hand grinding/polishing when you need repeatable, uniform results across many parts or complex geometries. Blasting reduces labor, improves consistency, reaches into accessible recesses, and avoids grinder marks while still removing rust, scale, and light defects.

vs Shot Peening

Choose media blasting instead of shot peening when your goal is cosmetic finish or coating prep, not controlled compressive stress for fatigue life. Media blasting uses a broader range of media types and pressures to prioritize cleaning and texture, without strict coverage and intensity control requirements.

Design Considerations

  • Avoid placing tight dimensional tolerances or critical fits on surfaces that will be blasted, or specify these as no-blast and call out masking clearly on drawings
  • Specify target surface roughness (e.g., Ra range) or qualitative finish (e.g., uniform matte) and indicate which faces require blasting to help shops quote accurately
  • Include robust fixturing or hanging features (holes, tabs, edges) so parts can be held securely and fully exposed to the blast stream
  • Avoid very thin walls, sharp edges, and fragile features in blasted areas; expect some rounding and material removal, especially with aggressive media
  • Call out areas that must remain free of media (threads, sealing surfaces, bores) so shops can plan plugs, caps, or masking tape and estimate masking time
  • Group similar material types and desired finishes in your BOM or prints so the shop can choose appropriate media and process parameters per batch