Buyer’s Guide to Abrasives for SABIX 8 & Pressure Base

2. Crushed Glass – Best General-Purpose Abrasive

Best for: Rust, paint, metal, aluminium, stainless steel, wood, brick and stone.

Crushed glass is one of the most versatile abrasives for the SABIX 8 and is a good starting point for many general blasting jobs.

Its angular particles provide a useful cutting action without being as aggressive as aluminium oxide.

It can be used for:

• Removing light to moderate rust

• Paint and coating removal

• Cleaning steel components

• Aluminium and stainless steel

• Timber

• Brick and masonry

• Stone cleaning

For customers wanting one abrasive capable of handling a wide variety of jobs, crushed glass would normally be our first recommendation.

3. Sodium Bicarbonate – For Delicate Cleaning

Best for: Automotive components, engines, aluminium, delicate surfaces and light paint removal.

Sodium bicarbonate – commonly known as soda blasting media – is a considerably softer abrasive than mineral blasting media.

Rather than aggressively profiling the surface, it is particularly useful where contamination or coatings need to be removed while minimising damage to the underlying material.

Typical applications include:

• Engine components

• Aluminium components

• Automotive restoration

• Industrial moulds

• Light paint removal

• Delicate stone and restoration work

Sodium bicarbonate is also water soluble, making residue easier to remove in suitable applications.

It is not generally the first choice where a strong surface profile is required before applying a protective coating.

4. Corn Cob – For Timber and Restoration

Best for: Timber beams, furniture, wooden boats, fibreglass and delicate restoration.

Ground corn cob is a soft, biodegradable blasting medium particularly useful for timber restoration.

Because it is much softer and more elastic than mineral abrasives, it can remove coatings and surface contamination while reducing the risk of aggressively cutting into the timber.

Typical applications include:

• Oak beams

• Timber frames

• Doors and furniture

• Removing old finishes

• Cleaning weathered timber

• Wooden boats

• Fibreglass

• Delicate aluminium

For restoration contractors working extensively with timber, corn cob is one of the most useful abrasives to consider with the SABIX 8.

5. Nut Shell – Gentle Cleaning with More Bite

Best for: Engines, carbon deposits, moulds, wood and sensitive components.

Ground nut shell is another natural blasting medium suited to applications where conventional mineral abrasives may be too aggressive.

It is particularly useful for removing deposits without significantly affecting the material underneath.

Applications include:

• Carbon deposits

• Engine components

• Industrial moulds

• Sensitive metal components

• Timber

• Statues and restoration work

• Plastic deburring

As a simple rule, we would generally favour corn cob for timber restoration and nut shell for components, carbon deposits and industrial cleaning.

6. Olivine – For Stronger Cleaning

Best for: Rust, coatings, steel, machinery, concrete, stone and heavier restoration work.

Olivine is a natural mineral abrasive offering greater cutting ability than softer media such as bicarbonate or organic abrasives.

It is useful where more material needs to be removed but an aggressive specialist abrasive such as aluminium oxide is not necessarily required.

Typical applications include:

• Rusted steel

• Machinery

• Agricultural equipment

• Paint and coating removal

• Stone

• Concrete

• General surface preparation

It makes a useful step up from crushed glass where a stronger abrasive action is required.

7. Garnet – Heavy Rust and Surface Preparation

Best for: Steel, heavy rust, coatings and preparing surfaces before painting.

Garnet is a hard natural mineral abrasive with strong cutting performance.

It is particularly useful for:

• Heavy rust

• Mill scale

• Thick coatings

• Steel preparation

• Machinery

• Structural components

• Preparing steel before protective coatings

Garnet is more durable than many expendable blasting abrasives, which can also make it particularly attractive for applications where abrasive can be recovered and reused.

8. Glass Bead – Cleaning and Finishing

Best for: Aluminium, stainless steel and metal components where a smooth satin finish is wanted.

Glass bead works differently from angular abrasives such as crushed glass.

The rounded particles provide more of a peening and cleaning action rather than aggressively cutting the surface.

This makes glass bead particularly useful for:

• Aluminium components

• Stainless steel

• Engine components

• Cleaning machined parts

• Cosmetic finishing

• Producing a uniform satin finish

Glass bead is particularly well suited to recovery blasting with the Pressure Base, where the abrasive can be collected, separated from debris and reused.

It would not normally be our first choice for removing heavy rust or thick coatings.

9. Aluminium Oxide – The Aggressive Option

Best for: Heavy rust, tough coatings and producing a surface profile before coating.

Aluminium oxide – also known as corundum – is one of the hardest abrasives commonly used for blasting.

Its aggressive cutting action makes it suitable for:

• Heavy corrosion

• Removing stubborn coatings

• Steel components

• Deburring

• Surface preparation

• Creating a profile before paint or protective coating

Its durability also makes aluminium oxide particularly suitable for machines where the abrasive is recovered and reused.

For general restoration work it can be unnecessarily aggressive, so crushed glass, olivine or a softer abrasive may be preferable.

10. SABIX 8 or Pressure Base?

Both machines can perform a wide variety of surface treatments, but they are designed around different ways of working.

SABIX 8

The SABIX 8 is a portable free-blast machine particularly suited to restoration, maintenance and jobs where you need flexibility over the area being treated.

It is ideal for:

• Timber

• Stone

• Brick

• Metal components

• Machinery

• Restoration

• Irregular surfaces

• Larger areas

Its adjustable blasting pressure also allows the operator to start gently and progressively increase the cleaning action.

Pressure Base

The Pressure Base combines pressure blasting with abrasive recovery and dust extraction.

A brush surrounding the blasting head sits against the surface while the machine recovers abrasive and debris.

This makes it particularly useful for:

• Indoor work

• Workshops

• Localised repairs

• Weld cleaning

• Metal components

• Stone and architectural features

• Areas where abrasive spread needs to be minimised

• Jobs where reusable abrasive can reduce consumption

Because the recovery head needs to remain against the surface, the Pressure Base is generally better for localised and reasonably accessible surfaces, while the SABIX is more versatile for irregular shapes and larger free-blasting jobs.

11. Match Pressure to the Surface

The abrasive is only part of the equation.

Blasting pressure has a major effect on how aggressive the process becomes. The same abrasive can behave very differently at low and high pressure.

For delicate surfaces:

• Start with a softer or finer abrasive

• Begin at low pressure

• Test a small area

• Increase pressure gradually until the required result is achieved

This is particularly important when working with:

• Timber

• Historic brick

• Natural stone

• Aluminium

• Thin metal

• Decorative surfaces

More pressure is not always better. The aim is to find the lowest pressure and least aggressive abrasive that achieves the required result efficiently.

12. Abrasive Recovery

The SABIX 8 is normally used as a free-blast machine, meaning the abrasive is discharged into the working area.

The Pressure Base is different. Its extraction system recovers the abrasive, separates reusable media from the removed material and feeds suitable abrasive back into the process.

Durable abrasives such as:

• Aluminium oxide

• Garnet

• Glass bead

are particularly attractive for recovery applications because they can survive repeated impacts better than softer or more friable media.

Recovery can considerably reduce abrasive consumption on suitable jobs.

13. A Note About 'Sand' Blasting

Despite the common term sand blasting, ordinary sand containing free crystalline silica should not be used as blasting abrasive in the UK.

Modern blasting uses purpose-made media such as crushed glass, garnet, olivine, aluminium oxide, bicarbonate and organic abrasives instead.

Always check the abrasive Safety Data Sheet and carry out the appropriate COSHH assessment before use.