Glass beads provide the softest touch to blasted surfaces. Unlike other abrasive materials, glass beads are an affordable surface cleaning and shot peening solution that is rounded and made from lead-free recycled glass. It is an environmentally friendly material that contains no free silica, poses no health hazard to human health, is chemically inert, and can be reused up to 30 times, depending on the process and the surface being worked on.
Glass beads are available in a variety of sizes. Larger particles produce a deeper textured effect, while smaller particles produce an extremely bright and smooth surface. In addition, the particle size of glass beads is much smaller than other metal shots, making them ideal for cleaning and peening metal parts with complex geometries and fine angles without damaging their shape or removing the substrate.
Glass beads are a stable non-ferrous material that will not contaminate the blasted surface and can be successfully used on stainless steel, aluminum, stone, cement, wood, fiberglass, and plastics. As a blasting material, glass beads can be used for light deburring and cleaning, effectively removing rust, corrosion, dust and dirt deposits without scratching or damaging the surface when used with air or water-based propellant equipment.
Shot peening with glass beads has significant advantages for the treated surface as it improves the fatigue performance and stress corrosion cracking resistance of metal parts. Glass beads are a medium hardness (Mohs hardness of about 6) and a relatively light weight abrasive, so they are able to form a significant layer of compressive residual stress on the surface while leaving the metal surface smooth.
In the automotive industry, glass beads are used to remove rust and paint from car bodies. Due to their fine nature, they are also used in the pharmaceutical industry for cleaning and sterilizing precision medical devices. In the aviation industry, glass beads are used to clean and peen specific parts, such as propellers and aircraft engine blades.
Another successful application area for glass beads is road markings. Glass beads with retro-reflective properties for vehicle headlight beams are embedded in road marking paints, ensuring that road markings are clearly visible at day and night, thereby improving driver safety. Glass beads can be mixed with the paint before the road marking is applied, or added later to the freshly applied paint.
Mayjoy Abrasives offers a wide range of high-quality glass beads for any type of cleaning, deburring or blasting job. Our engineers will provide full support and assistance to help you choose the best solution for any surface cleaning and blasting application.
