A Primer on Abrasive Blasting for the Custom Coater

What you should know about Abrasive Blasting and Profiles, and more!

Chris McKinnonAegis Industrial Finishing Ltd.

May 2-3, 2016

What’s in it for me?

• Thank you to PCI for allowing me to participate in this event.

• Aegis Industrial Finishing started in 2009

• Family business with history of metal finishing going back to 1948.

• Opportunity to become leaders in our market with emphasis on service, quality, and education.

• Fulfill my objective to share what I’ve come to learn and hopefully help you in your business in some small way.

What’s in it for you?

• Understanding and appreciation of the benefits of abrasive blasting

• Working knowledge of the equipment required to do it right

• Safety considerations

• How to ensure quality

• Coating performance gains

• Step in the right direction to see if it is right for you

Where are we going today?

• How to talk to the talk (Standards and Associations)

• Is it a good fit for your business?

• Safe Production with Abrasive Blasting

• Equipment required to do the job (startup equipment, PPE, quality tools)

• Types of blast media and specific application equipment

• Demonstrated and repeatable quality

• Learn from my failures and observations

• 10 Minutes at end for Q&A

Talk the talk

• Associations• NACE (National Association of Corrosion Engineers)• SSPC (Society for Protective Coatings)• Sa (Swedish Standard)

• Key terms• Deadman• Media• T-Valve• Blast Profile (Peaks and Valleys)• Mesh• Adhesion• Mill Scale• Hot Rolled / Cold Rolled• Peen vs. Cut

Is abrasive blasting a good fit for your facility?

Some questions to consider:• What does our market require?

• Do I have the space, power, and air volume?

• How much am I willing to invest?

• What size parts do we handle?

• Who will my competition become?

• Do we have the technical expertise to be successful?

• Do we want to grow our business into a new market?

Is abrasive blasting a good fit for your facility?

Some other options you may consider:

• Can I partner with a blasting shop to handle the work?• Does this limit me from securing the type of business I want to pursue?

• Quality is critical, but some customers don’t require a white metal blast every time.

• Will a small blast cabinet meet my needs or do I need to invest in a proper blast booth?

Safe Production

• PPE Required• N95 paper mask at a minimum• Helmet• Gloves• Coveralls

• Proper breathing air• Silicosis

• Training of your operator

• Preventative Maintenance

Equipment Required to do the job• Compressor• Filters• Blast Room

• Clean, dry, and contained• Material Handling equipment

• Overhead crane• Forklift• Carts

• Safety Equipment• Helmet• Gloves• Coveralls• Steeltoed Footwear• Dust masks (for reclaim / moving parts in and

out)

• Dust collector• Media Reclaim• Disposal method

• Dust• Galvanized media and zinc content

Blasting Media

• Not sand, never ever sand

• Starblast (staurolite) – great multipurpose blast media, uniform shape and size, peens instead of cut.

• Walnut Shells – great for removing paint

• Aluminum Oxide – aggressive media, high cost, angular

• Steel shot – hard, good for steel, peens

• Copper slag

• Steel slag – cuts

• Garnet – readily available, 2 – 3 turns, cuts.

Repeatable Performance

• Salt Spray Testing

• Adhesion Testing

Quality Tools

o Needle gauge – test velocity of air speed in your blast hose

o SPG – Surface Profile Gauge

o Pull off adhesion tester – Verification tool for coating bond strength

o Tape test w/ Anvil Micrometer – Measure blast profile like it’s 1979

o VIS-1 Visual Standard Guide – NACE/SSPC certified visual guide for degrees of

blast cleanliness

o Sand paper – knock down blast profile when doing single coat

Substrates

• Aluminum

• Steel

• Stainless Steel

• Galvanizied Steel

Learn from my mistakes….

• Grease

• Light gauge material (oil canning)

• Welds

• Shadows

• Adhesives

• Multi Metal Blasting

• Material Handling

• Pressure differential / blockages / couplers etc

Learn from my mistakes….

• Brush blast on mill scale

• Bar stock with tears in it

Questions?

If you are too shy to raise your hand please feel free to talk to me afterwards or contact me at chris@aegisfinishing.com