Glass bead blasting SS ?
Hi guys. I have bead blasted some SS project, however using the glass beads from Harbor Freight I am not happy with the finish. It is a very soft satin finish, but I would like to get a more aggressive bead blasted finish.
Aluminum oxide does not work as it tends to produce a very ugly deep grey. I really like the finish on some factory SS guns. Any pointers on glass media available that will give me a more aggressive finish ? Thanks
The only thing I can think would be to get a lower grit bead. I used to mix glass and Aluminum Oxide 1:1 and got decent results.
The larger the mesh of the media used, the more aggressive it will look. What PSI are you blasting at? Like the poster above stated you could mix them or do ALOX first and then go back over it with beads. Make sure you use clean media so as not to get carbon steel imbedded in the SS.
Hardened steel shot. Expensive for certain if you are DIY.
