Best Sandblasting Abrasive for Wood

When blasting on a soft substrate like wood that could be altered or etched by the blasting, it’s often best to use a soft abrasive. The stronger the underlying material is, the harder and stronger the abrasive can be before presenting an issue for the surface.

Because wood tends to be soft, many blasters choose to use baking soda to clean the surface and sometimes to remove old mostly failed paint off of wood. Other common options for blasting media include crushed walnut shells and corn cob. However, superoxalloy abrasives are the best all-around option for sandblasting wood.

Benefits of Baking Soda for Blasting Wood

Sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, is one of the softest blasting media options available. It can be used to remove dirt, some failed paints and other coatings from a surface and can be one of the best options for cleaning material with a blaster.

However, because it’s a gentler abrasive, baking soda won’t remove layers as efficiently or cover large areas as quickly as other options. Harsher blast media like aluminum oxide and garnet will effectively clean wood, but they are also likely to leave embedded material behind and damage the wood’s profile.

If you are working on untreated surfaces, there are other factors to consider, like your finish and whether you want a matte or glossy surface. Wood surfaces that respond well to sandblasting include parquet floors, wood furniture, wood workbenches, outdoor wood furniture and more.

Superoxalloy Abrasives: The Best Option for Wood

With superoxalloy abrasives, there’s less to worry about. This type of blast media combines the best of tough and strong abrasives which has been specifically engineered for optimal performance on a wide range of surface materials.

This kind of abrasive is made of polymorphous tempered particles, so it doesn’t leave embedded particles on the surface material. This makes it easier to recoat the surface afterward. Superoxalloys are also safer for blasters and the environment because our abrasive is biosoluble and causes no long-term harm if inhaled.

While superoxalloy partices  are a hard abrasive, superoxalloys also work really well when blasted at a lower PSI. Because they’re so durable, this kind of abrasive can be reused many times. You can use superoxalloys for future wood projects or other industrial abrasive blasting projects.

Choose Superoxalloys From 10X Engineered Materials

10X’s superoxalloy abrasives are produced from the byproduct of mineral wool insulation, making it the industry’s most safety-tested abrasive material. No other blasting abrasive has achieved our superoxalloy’s validated high level of safety for people, air, water and wildlife.

At 10X Engineered Materials, we have developed three lines of superoxalloy abrasives, EpiX, DynamiX, and KinetiX. To find out more about these products, contact us through our online form or call us at 260-253-2278. You can find our products at distributors across the U.S. or order EpiX directly from our website.