Selected Answers

From AJ van Rijsbergen of solublesaltmeter.com on August 13, 2012:
     The lungs of the human bo ...read more      The lungs of the human body cannot absorb the dust from glass abrasives. Silica and sand blast media will stick to lung tissues if inhaled.

From Charles Williams of kurbtblast on August 14, 2012:
     I agree with Dan on the d ...read more      I agree with Dan on the dust issue. The claims of heavy metals in coal slag are not appealing, but the cost of crushed glass versus coal slag are not appealing to us. It cost $.03-.05 more than coal slag. I have found that using crushed glass on municipal projects like fire hydrants, light poles, school work, etc is beneficial due to the eco-friendly approach. Coal slag is a sustainable too, but the words coal and slag are not appealing. If you need to remove thick coating crushed glass isn't the best option. Crushed glass is cleaner; coal slag is cheaper. I recommend trying coarse or x-coarse on multiple projects to get a feel for its limitations.

From Dan Ruark of IDS Blast on August 8, 2012:
     While it may work satisfa ...read more      While it may work satisfactorily and yield a necessary profile, I'm not sure I like companies using crushed glass like they would coal slag, or Starblast, or corn cob. Leaving crushed glass on the ground after a surface has been blasted with it just does not seem like it would be a good decision. If I had to say something positive about crushed glass, it would be the color of the dust is lighter and will not draw the attention that blasting with coal slag will.

From Simon Ling of riverland abrasive blasting on August 17, 2012:
     The very fine grade is an ...read more      The very fine grade is an excellent alternative to soda blasting. It can be gentle enough to strip timber but aggressive enough to remove rust from thin auto steel. It is also excellent at removing chlorinated rubber  coatings. The coarse grades are very angular and cut well. I can also blast in contamination-sensitive areas because it is chemically inert.

From Joe Greiner of Odle, Inc. on September 10, 2012:
When working for a customer who is eco-centric, th ...read more When working for a customer who is eco-centric, the "green" qualities of blasting with glass are very appealing. It dusts less than slag and, when working in tight spaces, it improves visibility, thus improving production. The disadvantages are that it is more costly, and I do not believe it cuts as well when blasting medium to thick film coatings.