FAQs

Hardness

How can 10X superoxalloy abrasives work more efficiently than abrasives rated higher on the Mohs hardness scale?

It is generally accepted that harder abrasives are more effective in removing coatings. But other material attributes, like particle shape and toughness, also play significant roles in abrasive performance. Traditional blasting media has a crystalline structure with fracture planes. When those particles break on impact with a surface, blasting energy behind the particle is lost. The amorphous particles that make up superoxalloy abrasives form no fracture planes, allowing them to outperform harder particles more prone to breaking.

Surface quality

How are 10X superoxalloy abrasives able to create a clean, finished, ready-to-coat surface in one step?

10X abrasives have a unique distribution of particle shapes. Abrasives that are primarily angular or sub-angular, or that are friable (prone to shatter), tend to embed in surfaces and can often require subsequent preparation steps after the initial blast to achieve a desired surface finish. 10X abrasives do not embed in surfaces.

Blasting pressure

How can 10X abrasives survive and continue to be more effective at nozzle pressures of 120 PSI+?

Every abrasive will begin to shatter upon surface impact as the pressure is raised above some threshold. Harder abrasives tend to have higher pressure thresholds. The amorphous, random molecular arrangement of superoxalloy particles, along with the fact that the particles are formed in a tempering process by rapid cooling of a high-temperature liquid melt, gives the 10X particles extra toughness and a significantly higher pressure threshold. 10X particles are uniformly strong throughout and can withstand higher impact forces before they begin to break down.

Rust bloom

How are superoxalloy abrasives able to delay rust bloom on steel, even when parts are left out in the rain?

Believe it or not, rusting of clean, bare steel is a slow process. It can only happen quickly if there are iron-based or ionic (charged) residues like chlorides present on the surface to initiate the electrochemical corrosion reaction that forms iron oxide (rust). Legacy abrasives tend to cause the embedment of abrasive particles in the surface. When particles containing iron compounds or water-soluble salts become wedged in the anchor profile (rather than bouncing off), flash rusting will start around those embedded particles in a matter of minutes or hours and spread from there. Because of the unique shape distribution of 10X superoxalloy abrasive particles and their ability to resist breaking, there is virtually no embedment in a finished surface, preventing rust from taking root.

Clean abrasive

“Clean” is how you describe your abrasives. What does that mean?

For our superoxalloy abrasive products, clean means ultra low-dust, pristine finished surfaces and no harm to people and the environment. There are no crystalline domains in the material, let alone the regulated forms of crystalline free silica. Our Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Protocol (TCLP) is clean and our products are California Air Resources Board (CARB) certified.

Consumption

Why are 10X superoxalloy abrasives referred to as “ultra low-consumption?”

With 10X superoxalloy abrasives, you can get the job done while using less product for three main reasons:

1) The amorphous structure and toughness of superoxalloy particles allows for delivery of particle energy to the surface with much higher efficiency. Because a greater percentage of particles are delivering their energy and doing more work, you won’t need nearly as much abrasive as you are used to needing to complete a single-pass job.

2) The combination of angular and rounded particles in superoxalloy abrasives creates a mixture with better flowability. In many cases, customers can dial back the metering valve significantly compared to legacy abrasives and still achieve best results.

3) 10X superoxalloy abrasives are less dense than other abrasives like garnet, aluminum oxide, staurolite or silicon carbide. If you fill a certain pot with10X abrasives, there will be as many particles as a denser abrasive with about 1/3 less weight. That means just as much (and in most cases more) blasting power in a lighter (and therefore less expensive) amount of abrasive.