Glass Bead Blasting Abrasive Grit
Glass Beads are a round, spherical media that produce a softer and brighter finish angular medias. Glass Beads are used for blasting, peening, honing, cleaning, and light deburring.
Glass Bead Blasting Abrasive Grit
Glass bead blasting media is a unique force in the world of surface refinement. Unlike blast media that cuts aggressively, these gentle, lead-free soda lime spheres offer a smoother, brighter finish. They are ideal when finesse matters more than brute strength.
With no free silica and made into perfectly round shapes, they’re the gold standard for finishing without distortion, especially when you want peened, satin brilliance with no dimensional change. Glass bead media can be recycled up to 30 times, making them not only economical but environmentally friendly too.
Glass bead blasting media creates a clean, bright surface. There are no gouges or stress fractures here. In a world of angular abrasives, glass bead blasting is the soft professional who is refined and efficient. They produce a much smoother and brighter finish than angular abrasives. Glass bead blasting is ideal for medical components, engine parts, and stainless applications.
Chemically inert and environmentally friendly, glass beads are an acceptable method of metal cleaning or surface finishing when properly controlled. Available in a wide range of sizes, glass bead abrasives are primarily used in blasting cabinets for honing, polishing, peening, blending, finishing, removing light burrs, and cleaning most light foreign matter. For delicate thin-walled parts and thin welds, peening with glass bead abrasive material provides the right balance of stress relief without over-stressing and causing damage.
Benefits
- Precision Finishing on Metal Parts
- Highly Durable and Reusable
- Round Shape
- Lighter than for Peening Applications
- Available Meet MIL-9954D
- Silica Free
Applications
- Peening and Cleaning of Metal Surfaces
- Surface Preparation
- Food Service, Hospital / Medical, and Engine Blasting
- Honing
- Light Deburring
- Creating a Uniform Surface Finish / Profile
- Paint Additive to Create Reflective Properties
Sandblasting with glass beads provides the flexibility to eliminate many types of surface imperfections, including burrs, corrosion, and paint elimination resulting in a peened bright to matte surface finish.
Glass bead blasting media does work differently from other abrasives. It smooths, polishes, and subtly peens surfaces to enhance durability. Plus, glass bead blasting keeps your workspace cleaner by producing minimal dust due to lower PSI requirements.
Reduced dust levels enhance operators’ clarity during the blasting process, allowing them to operate more efficiently. Less dirt and dust also save time and decrease the costs associated with maintaining the work area, which can have a definite impact on the long-term operating costs.
Use and Size Matter
- Fine beads deliver smooth, satin-matte finishes.
- Medium beads are your go-to for aluminum or stainless steel. They blend out scratches and machine marks effortlessly.
- Large beads are great for cleaning and deburring heavy castings and auto parts. They offer a brighter, peened look.
Advantages of Glass Bead Media
Deburring: Say goodbye to sharp edges—glass beads round them off cleanly.
Cleaning: Ideal pre-treatment for plating or painting, especially where other types of blasting may be too aggressive.
Peening: Add stress resistance and stability without risking part integrity.
Finishing: Choose your texture—from a smooth polish to a subtly brightened surface.
Conclusion
Glass bead blasting offers a delicate yet powerful approach to surface preparation. Glass beads are relevant when elegance and precision are paramount. Whether you’re prepping a turbine blade or refinishing a surgical instrument, glass bead media does the job without hassles. Looking for the right abrasive? Kramer Industries carries a full line of glass bead blasting media solutions. Let’s smooth things over and blast smarter with Kramer.
Specifications
Glass Bead Specifications |
||
|---|---|---|
Grade |
Average Particle Sizethe smaller the mesh number, the coarser the grit |
Spec Sheet |
| Extra Coarse | 20/30 Mesh (560-850 micron) |  |
| 30/40 Mesh (425-560 micron) | ||
| Coarse | 40/50 Mesh (325-425 micron) | |
| 50/70 Mesh (212-325 micron) | ||
| Medium-Coarse | 60/80 Mesh (165-250 micron) | |
| Medium | 70/100 Mesh (150-212 micron) | |
| 80/120 Mesh(125-165 micron) | ||
| Medium-Fine | 100/170 Mesh (90-150 micron) | |
| 120/200 Mesh (75-125 micron) | ||
| Fine | 140/230 Mesh (65-105 micron) | |
| 170/325 Mesh (45-90 micron) | ||
Glass Bead Specifications
|
||
|---|---|---|
Grade |
Average Particle Sizethe smaller the mesh number, the coarser the grit |
Spec Sheet |
| Extra Coarse | Mil-3 (560-850 micron) | |
| Mil-4 (425-560 micron) | ||
| Coarse | Mil-5 (325-425 micron) | |
| Mil-6 (212-325 micron) | ||
| Medium-Coarse | Mil-7 (165-250 micron) | |
| Medium | Mil-8 (150-212 micron) | |
| Mil-9 (125-165 micron) | ||
| Medium-Fine | Mil-10 (90-150 micron) | |
| Mil-11 (75-125 micron) | ||
| Fine | Mil-12 (65-105 micron) | |
| Mil-13 (45-90 micron) | ||
Note: Images are for comparison purposes only.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. What is glass bead blasting media?
Glass bead blasting media consists of spherical beads made from lead-free,soda-lime glass. It is a non-aggressive, reusable abrasive used for cleaning, peening, deburring, and finishingmetal and other hard surfaces.
Q2. What are the common uses of glass bead blasting?
Glass beads are ideal for:
- Cosmetic surface finishing (satin/matte finish)
- Light cleaning and deburring
- Blending tool marks
- Peening to improve fatigue resistance
- Surface prep before painting, plating, or bonding
Q3. Is glass bead blasting safe for delicate surfaces?
Yes. Glass beads are non-cutting and ideal for aluminum, stainless steel, brass, plastics, and delicate alloys where surface integrity must be preserved.
Q4. How does glass bead media differ from other abrasives like aluminum oxide?
- Glass Beads: Round, non-aggressive, for finishing and peening
- Aluminum Oxide: Angular, aggressive, for heavy stripping and etching
Q5. Can glass beads be reused?
Yes. Glass beads are highly durable and can be reused 20–30+ cycles in a blast cabinet, depending on pressure and contamination levels.
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