Tip #6 Benefits of Garnet Abrasive Grit

There are many different options for wet and dry blasting, with garnet being one of the most effective and efficient abrasives out of them all.

Garnet is a relatively hard mineral with a hardness that ranges between 6.5 and 7.5 on the Mohs Scale. This allows it to be used as an effective abrasive in many types of manufacturing and fabrication. When crushed, it breaks into angular pieces that provide sharp edges for cutting and sanding.

When it comes to paint systems, adhesion and corrosion reistance are determined by the cleanliness and profile of the substrate. Using garnet abrasive grit to clean the substrate before paint application will provide the highest quality end results.

Industrial Qualities of Garnet

Low Dust
Garnet produces very low dust when blasting in comparison to other traditional abrasives. This provides benefits in the areas of surface profile, clean up as well as health and safety.

High Productivity
In speed trials, it has been proven time and time again, that with a good quality garnet you can blast nearly twice as fast as you can with many other traditional abrasives.

Low Consumption
Garnet is a classic example of 'less is more'. If your valve is set correctly to an economic 'blue haze' of abrasive coming out, you will be able to blast much quicker than if there is a 'brown cloud' of abrasive coming out. Therefore you will end up using less abrasive kg per m² than with other abrasives.

Superior Surface Quality
A good quality garnet will not only clean fast, but it will also leave a good ‘anchor pattern’ with more peaks per square inch than with other abrasives, whilst easily achieving a 50-75 micron profile with a 30/60 grade.

HSE Credentials
Garnet is a non-toxic, natural material and therefore carries excellent health, safety and environmental credentials.

Recyclability
Despite being an expendable abrasive, a good quality garnet can actually be recycled more than five times, greatly increasing cost efficiency of your projects.

Surface Preparation Applications

• Oil & gas, petrochemical industry maintenance, refineries, storage tanks, onshore and offshore installations
• Shipyards and superstructures including antimagnetic steels, aluminium and fibre glass hulls
• Construction and maintenance of chemical plants, nuclear and fossil power stations, gas and sewage plants, desalination and industrial plants
• Road & rail, Bridges, weir locks and stainless steel structures
• Building industry and structural steel
• Renewable industry, non-ferrous surfaces and turbine structures/blades

At RS Blastech we have Garnet in stock ready for dispatch for your project or application. Enquire about Garnet for your project here. 

To discuss how much tonnage of garnet your require for your project, please get in touch with our technical team who can work this out for you. Thanks for reading this week's tip!