okely dokely..... for basic steel prep you can't beat a good aluminum oxide. The trade names for this are many but "black beauty" and "00-grit" come to mind. This is good for removing heavy scale and rust, smoothing out major surface scratches and the like. I use this on my intakes,hood hinges,headers,etc. The stuff that gets really nasty and needs to be worked on from the most basic metal. Glass bead is good for things from the machine shop in "cleaning it up" after a basic process of honing, decking, etc. I've also found it useful to prepare the surface for removing minor casting flash,small imperfections,etc. While not a profile creator like the black oxide...it's a good all around general purpose blasting media. Next we have walnut shells,plastic media and the like. Good for removing paint and past coatings of the liquid variety, but not anything to write home about on the prep area for powder coating. I'd have to say that would be best used in metal interior parts like kick panels and such for older cars. Removes the pain and doesn't chew away at that thin gauge metal from yesteryear. After that the next grade is baking soda. While it's not really a fantastic blasting media, it has it's purpose. Delicate parts requiring very little to no rough treatment is where this product excels. Let's say vintage white metal script and ornametal pieces on a car is where this belongs in your applications?
I've touched on this in the Tips and Tricks thread a bit...but basically that's about the jist of it. I know there's millions of other media types and thier purposes out there...but maybe somewhere in there you found the basics to get you started as far as surface prep for powder coating is concerned. Hope that helped a wee bit.....Russ
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