Using Garnet Abrasive to Blast Steel 

Garnet is a popular abrasive blast media that will give your steel surfaces a new profile. This is done through a process called abrasive blasting. Abrasive blasting makes use of an air compressor to propel blast abrasive grains through a nozzle at high velocity onto your chosen project surface. It has various applications, including the treatment of steel surfaces.

Bags of garnet sand can most likely be found at your local hardware store, or online from a specific manufacturer’s site. While garnet is a classic blast media to use, it doesn’t perform as well as superoxalloy. 

Steel is stronger than garnet sand particles, which lowers the chances of damaging surfaces while blasting. Granted, it’s still a good practice to begin blasting at a low PSI and then increase as needed.   But, due to its distinct fracture plane, garnet will break down more and more after each blasting job. This leads to less efficiency for future projects. 

If you’re looking for a cost-effective, long-lasting blast media that’s compatible with steel surfaces, then superoxalloy is the best choice.

The Best Blast Abrasive for Steel Surfaces

Superoxalloy is a rising star in the world of abrasive blast media. It has all the strengths of other blast media while eliminating many of the weaknesses. 

10X Engineered Materials has created a line of superoxalloy abrasives that are strong and durable, and won’t leave embedded particles in your steel surfaces. 

The EpiX and KinetiX abrasives are made up of polymorphous particles that perform multiple steps of the blasting process at once, making it possible to remove coatings faster and for less. They also resist breakage and can also be reused many times, and are virtually dust-free. 

Currently, KinetiX and EpiX are available from abrasive distributors around the US. If you don’t see a distributor near you, contact 10X and we will work with you to get you what you need. EpiX abrasive, which is best for precision applications such as powder coating and medical applications, is also available to purchase directly from the 10X Engineered Materials website.