Little off topic but maybe you guys knwo the answer?

[fosgate99]

I just bought a small abrasive cabinet to blast some small parts on my car. What i did was go to the beach and filled a 5 gallon pail with sand. I use that to blast a steel turbo exhaust housing that was rust color. It took the rust color off of it but it did not give it that silver finish. It kinda looked yellow like the sand. I tried washing it but that did not work either. I then used this very white fine sand from the sandbox in the backyard. It was finer and dryer than the beach sand. When i did it with this it made the piece look silver, the finish i wanted. So my question is this. What made the difference in color? Was it the grit size, color of the sand, or the fact that it was perfectly dry and the the beach sand was damp that affected the color? Should i be using a differnet type of media? Like i said a little off topic but maybe someone can help me out?

[DALE]

I have used many kinds of media and they all produced different colors on different metals, and moisture makes a difference in how well they work. Be sure to use a good dust collector and a dust mask.
Many medias contain silica which is found in sand and if inhaled over a period of time is known to cause silicosis of the lungs. I use a slag byproduct and it's cheap.

[mcaswell]

SALT!!!!!!

The beach sand was probably loaded with salt. Causing it thepart to oxidize much faster.

[marsfrogie]

Originally Posted by DALE

I use a slag byproduct and it's cheap.

Where do you purchase this slag byproduct?