Which Vapor Blasting Media is Best?

There are many vapor blasting media options available in today’s market, but glass beads are a very common choice. This is because glass beads are the ideal vapor blasting media for achieving a smooth, polished finish. These are especially desirable in applications like automotive restoration. Other suitable abrasives include ceramic beads, silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, and plastic media. Choose your vapor blasting media based on desired finish, surface preparation requirements, and material being worked on. It’s also important to choose the wet blasting model that fits the DDC required. 

Check out a related blog post: “Do Quality Media Blasting Abrasives Matter?”

Five Common Vapor Blasting Media

Here’s a more detailed look at five common vapor blasting abrasives and what makes them a great choice for wet blasting applications. 

• Glass beads: Known for their smooth, round shape, they are ideal for producing a high-luster finish without etching or roughing up the surface, and the water cushions the beads helping them to remain round for maximum polishing. 
• Ceramic beads: More aggressive than glass beads, ceramic beads offer a more effective peening action used to strengthen parts. This vapor blasting media is suitable for harder parts. 
• Silicon carbide: A hard, angular abrasive, this is good for removing powder coats or other tough coatings and prepping surfaces. The water cushion helping to prevent this type of abrasive from breaking when blasting harder parts.
• Aluminum oxide: Another hard, angular abrasive, this one is used for etching, cleaning, and finishing various surfaces not as hard as Silicon carbide but almost. 
• Plastic media: Plastic is seldom used with wet machines because of its low density and non-aggressive nature. All wet blasting cabinets are 5 to 6 times slower than dry blasting, using plastic makes cleaning very sloooooooow!.

To Sum It Up

Media Blast & Abrasives, Inc. sets the gold standard in surface preparation with its cutting-edge in all media blasting cabinet categories – not just vapor blasting we have been making for 5 centuries. As a pioneer in the abrasive blasting industry, our company combines decades of engineering expertise with a relentless commitment to innovation, safety, and precision. 

Our vapor blasting cabinets are renown for superior quality, advanced moisture control systems, and unmatched dust containment. These factors and others make us the preferred brand for manufacturers, automotive restorers, aerospace professionals, and more. We also offer two DDC models, Light Duty for lower usage and Industrial models for High DDC, Daily Duty Cycles using larger gun sizes.

Media Blast & Abrasives continues to lead the way in vapor blasting technology by offering customizable solutions tailored to the needs of both small shops and large industrial operations. This makes us trusted by professionals in all industries.