What Shot Blasting Entails and Why It Is Beneficial

Shot blasting is a process which is widely used in nearly every industry dealing with metal, and has many uses around the home, garden and in hobbies such as car restoration and maintenance too. It entails removing an array of impurities by using an abrasive material, like tiny steel beads, propelled at high speed against a range of metallic surfaces. But why is it so effective and what are the advantages over other cleaning methods? Here, we look at just a few of the benefits.

When Shot Blasting Is Used

As well as for cleaning a surface, shot blasting techniques can be used to roughen a surface, to help subsequent coatings such as paint to adhere better to it. It can also be used for cosmetic reasons, to improve the appearance of the metal surface, for example. Shot blasting can even be used to strengthen a metal surface in a process known as shot peening, making it more resistant to corrosion and external degradation.

A More Environmentally Friendly, Cleaner Method

There are other materials used in cleaning metal surfaces, such as sand or chemicals – but none of these are regarded as being as clean as shot blasting. For one thing, the beads used are recyclable, so there’s no resulting waste. Because there aren’t any harsh chemicals used, there’s no impact on the environment either. And unlike sand blasting, which creates dust, shot blasting leaves no residue remaining on the metal surface, so there’s less chance of any debris being left behind to interfere with any subsequent coating you intend to apply to it, such as paint or a protective covering.

Flexibility of Finish

The shot blasting process can be altered to achieve practically any type of surface that’s needed. The resulting finish can be matte, smooth or polished; roughened or patterned. This is generally achieved by altering the dimensions of the spherical pellets used. Typically, they come between 1mm and 6mm in diameter. The smaller the shot, the smoother and more polished the finish will be. Larger sized pellets will create a rougher surface finish. If the purpose of the process is to remove persistent or deep-set contaminants, then a more angular type of shot, known as steel grit, can be used.

Speed and Efficiency

Another reason for shot blasting being one of the most efficient forms of cleaning is that it is fast, far more so than manually trying to clean paint, rust or other contaminants from surfaces. It’s also far easier to get into nooks and crannies on machined parts than using manual tools as the airflow containing the pellets can be controlled and diverted into small areas.

Applications

Shot blasting is used in countless industries, but here at H J Kirk & Co, we particularly specialise in agricultural and plant machinery, lorry and truck wheels, aluminium and steel car wheels as well as motorbike frames and vintage cars. Additionally, we can shot blast gates, steelwork, steel pillars and roof supports.

As a local company, we operate in the Shropshire area, and alongside shot blasting, we also offer digger, water tanker and skid steer loader hire, along with repairs and maintenance to such agricultural and construction equipment, specialising in Bobcat repairs and Bobcat service schedules.