Creative Technology: Sandblasting

Sandblasting is a form of surface treatment for a material or workpiece. In this process, an abrasive (glass beads, plastic beads, sand) is blown onto objects using compressed air or a centrifugal wheel in order to remove rust, paint or similar substances, or to roughen their surfaces and enhance their appearance. The pressure is generated by a compressor, whilst the blasting material itself is drawn in through a hose and accelerated via a Venturi nozzle system.

In practice, sandblasting is used in a wide variety of fields.
Cleaning metal components and electronic parts, or removing rust, paint residues, dirt or old plaster, are common but rather routine examples of its use.

In addition, sandblasting can be used for many creative applications of this technology, such as matting and finishing surfaces, and marking glass, stone, tiles and other hard surfaces.

By using sandblasting films or masking films, lettering or graphics can be sandblasted onto objects quickly and easily – the areas beneath the film are not affected by the blasting material and therefore remain undamaged.

Before you can sandblast a specific motif, lettering or pattern onto materials such as glass, the following steps are required: Firstly , you need to create the design for your finish, as well as the plotting files. Next, a negative stencil must be produced, which is created, for example, using a cutting plotter.

Once the stencil has been plotted and weeded, it can be stuck onto the object to be sandblasted. It is important to ensure that the part of the surface that is not to be sandblasted is properly masked off.

The sandblasting is then carried out in a special sandblasting booth. This process does not usually take very long; for a 0.3-litre glass, you should allow around 1 minute. Afterwards, the film is peeled off and the sandblasted object is thoroughly cleaned – and that’s it.