Can Garnet Abrasive Blast Away Powder Coating?

Abrasive garnet blasting is a method used to remove powder coating by blasting a surface with abrasive media (in this case, garnet)  using compressed air, which then erodes the powder coating to remove it.

Other common methods used for removing paint or powder coating include using chemical strippers or a burn-off oven, but those methods can be dangerous or hard to execute.

Some powder coat strippers, like Benco B17, have strong odors, can burn your skin on contact, and are very difficult to handle safely, requiring a lot of special equipment. On the other hand, the high temperatures emitted from burn-off ovens may alter the underlying metal surface, warping the piece being worked on or making it difficult to apply a new coating.

Why abrasive blasting? 

Blasting the surface with garnet — or other abrasive media like aluminum oxide — will remove the coating without as much hassle or complication as chemical processes. 

Compared to some of its alternatives, however, garnet isn’t the strongest or most durable type of blast media—it’s between six and 7.5 on the Mohs scale, whereas aluminum oxide is at around 9. This means that, although it’s a effective abrasive, it won’t remove the layer as quick 

Additionally, garnet may produce high amounts of dust in the workspace, making it messy or difficult to work in, or even leave embedded particles in the surface. 

The Best Alternative to Blasting Powder Coating with Garnet

10X Engineered Materials’ line of superoxalloy blast abrasives are clean, strong, and durable. The EpiX and KinetiX abrasives will blast the powder coating off in one easy step, without altering or damaging the surface underneath. The piece will be clean and free of embedded particles so that the next coating will adhere properly.  

This is possible because of the polymorphous nature of the superoxalloy abrasives, which can deliver impact energy to the coating more effectively, making it more efficient. 

On top of all that, it can be much safer than blasting with garnet or aluminum oxide. Superoxalloy abrasives are low consumption with no beryllium, free silica or heavy metals. They can even 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.