In an ideal world, every material that you need to work with would be in pristine condition and you would be able to pick it up and get straight on with your job, but that isn't the way things work in the real world. If you have spent much time in industry, you have probably have to work with metals that are contaminated in various ways, perhaps with dirt, rust or even grease. Contamination often makes it difficult or impossible to weld or join metals together, so you need to clean the surface of the metal before you can continue working.

Preparing your surface

There are several ways you could clean your metal, depending on how it is contaminated. Washing the metal in water or a chemical solution can be effective, but there are many types of contamination that washing will not fix. If you are dealing with rust, casting materials or a similar problem, then you need a better solution. One technique that is effective for preparing metal surfaces is abrasive blasting.

How can abrasive blasting help?

Abrasive blasting involves forcing thousands of tiny, grain-sized particles through a nozzle and firing them at the metal surface you need cleaned. The force at which these particles impact the metal surface removes the contamination and polishes the metal surface. One of the advantages of abrasive blasting is that by choosing different blasting materials, you can change the effect of the abrasive blasting on your surface. The ability to use a wide variety of materials has increased the usefulness of abrasive blasting beyond simply cleaning contaminated metal. It is now often used to clean tools and the outside of properties, and even on more delicate materials. Abrasive blasting doesn't just excel at cleaning and removing contamination. It frequently serves to profile a surface for further work. Whether you want to paint a metal surface or add some other coating before the metal undergoes a further process, abrasive blasting is the quickest way to get the job done.

Getting started with abrasive blasting

Abrasive blasting is a specialist job, and it does involve an element of risk. It should not be attempted by anyone who has not received the appropriate training. If you want to use abrasive blasting to clean or prepare any surfaces, then you should talk to a professional today. An abrasive blasting expert can show you how to make the best use of abrasive blasting techniques in your business.