Cleaning

Cleaning Applications for Surface Preparation

Industrial cleaning is one of the most common applications in abrasive blasting and surface treatment. Different cleaning processes require different abrasive media depending on the material condition, contamination level, required surface profile, and production efficiency.

At Shandong Zhongxing Metal, we provide metallic and non-metallic abrasives for various industrial cleaning applications, including:

Desanding Descaling Rust Removal Deburring

1. Desanding

Desanding is the process of removing residual molding sand from castings after the casting process. Efficient desanding improves surface quality and prepares castings for further machining or coating.

Typical Desanding Process

➜ Castings enter shot blasting machine
➜ Abrasive impacts casting surface
➜ Residual molding sand is removed
➜ Dust collection system separates waste
➜ Recycled abrasive returns to blasting system

Recommended Abrasives for Desanding

high carbon Steel Shot

For desanding applications, steel shot is the most recommended abrasive media. Its strong impact force helps remove molding sand, burnt sand and residual sand from casting surfaces efficiently, while maintaining stable cleaning performance and good recyclability.

Best for:

▪ General foundry cleaning
▪ Medium and large castings
▪ Automatic shot blasting lines

Low Carbon Steel Shot

Low carbon steel shot is recommended for customers who require more stable desanding performance, lower breakage and reduced dust generation. Its excellent toughness helps the abrasive maintain a more stable particle shape during repeated blasting cycles, resulting in longer service life, lower media consumption and more consistent cleaning results.

For automatic shot blasting lines, continuous foundry cleaning and applications with higher requirements for dust control, media life and surface consistency, low carbon steel shot is a high-performance option.

Best for:

▪ Low-dust desanding
▪ Low breakage requirements
▪ Long blasting life requirements
▪ Automatic shot blasting lines
▪ Stable surface cleaning performance

steel grit:

For heavy desanding or hard bonded sand removal, steel grit can be used when stronger cutting action is required. It is especially suitable for rough castings or surfaces where sand is difficult to remove by steel shot alone.

Best for:

▪ Heavy sand adhesion
▪ Rough casting surfaces
▪ Difficult desanding applications
▪ Fast removal of burnt sand and scale
▪ Strong cleaning and surface profiling requirements

Cut Wire Shot

Steel cut wire shot is recommended for customers who require more consistent desanding performance, lower breakage and reduced dust generation. Its uniform particle size helps achieve stable blasting results during repeated use.

Best for:

▪ Precision castings
▪ Low-damage cleaning
▪ Long blasting life requirements

2. Descaling

Descaling is the process of removing mill scale and oxide layers formed during hot rolling, forging, or heat treatment. Proper descaling improves coating adhesion and prepares steel surfaces for painting, welding, or further processing.

Steel Grit

Steel grit is the first recommended abrasive media for heavy descaling applications. Its angular shape provides strong cutting action, helping remove oxide scale, mill scale and hard surface contaminants efficiently. It is especially suitable for steel structures, forged parts, hot-rolled steel, castings and surfaces that require a clean profile before painting or coating. For customers who need fast descaling speed and strong surface preparation performance, steel grit is a highly effective choice.

Best for:

▪ Heavy oxide scale
▪ Rough steel surfaces
▪ Fast scale removal
▪ Surface preparation before coating
▪ Strong cutting and profiling requirements

Low Carbon Steel Shot

Low carbon steel shot is recommended for customers who require more stable descaling performance, lower breakage and reduced dust generation. Its excellent toughness helps maintain particle integrity during repeated blasting cycles, resulting in longer service life, lower media consumption and more consistent cleaning results. For automatic shot blasting lines, continuous steel cleaning and applications with higher requirements for dust control, media life and surface consistency, low carbon steel shot is a high-performance option.

Best for:

▪ Low-dust descaling
▪ Low breakage requirements
▪ Long blasting life requirements
▪ Automatic shot blasting lines
▪ Stable surface cleaning performance

High Carbon Steel Shot

High carbon steel shot is suitable for light to medium descaling applications where strong impact force is required. Its round shape helps remove surface scale through repeated impact while keeping the surface relatively smooth compared with steel grit. For customers who need an economical and efficient abrasive media for regular descaling and surface cleaning, high carbon steel shot is a practical solution.

Best for:

▪ Light to medium scale removal
▪ General steel surface cleaning
▪ Casting and forged parts
▪ Economical descaling operations
▪ Shot blasting machine applications

Stainless Steel Shot

Stainless steel shot is recommended for descaling applications where ferrous contamination must be avoided. Compared with carbon steel abrasives, stainless steel shot helps reduce the risk of iron contamination on stainless steel, aluminum, zinc, copper and other non-ferrous metal surfaces. It is suitable for removing light to medium oxide scale, heat treatment marks and surface discoloration while maintaining a clean and uniform surface finish. For customers with higher requirements for corrosion resistance, surface appearance and material cleanliness, stainless steel shot is a reliable abrasive media option.

Best for:

▪ Stainless steel parts
▪ Non-ferrous metal surfaces
▪ Anti-contamination blasting
▪ Light to medium oxide scale removal
▪ Clean and uniform surface finishing

3. Rust Removal

Rust removal is the process of removing corrosion, rust layers and oxidation from metal surfaces before painting, coating, welding or further processing. Proper rust removal helps improve coating adhesion, surface appearance and long-term corrosion protection.

Steel Grit

Steel grit is the first recommended abrasive media for heavy rust removal. Its angular shape provides strong cutting action, helping remove thick rust layers, corrosion and old surface contaminants efficiently. It is especially suitable for steel structures, shipyards, tanks, pipes, machinery parts and surfaces that require a rough profile before painting or coating. For customers who need fast rust removal and strong surface preparation performance, steel grit is a highly effective choice.

Best for:

▪ Heavy rust removal
▪ Steel structures
▪ Shipbuilding and repair
▪ Surface preparation before painting
▪ Strong cutting and roughness requirements

High Carbon Steel Shot

High carbon steel shot is suitable for light to medium rust removal where strong impact force is required. Its round shape removes rust through repeated impact, while keeping the surface smoother compared with steel grit. For customers looking for an economical and efficient abrasive media for regular rust removal, high carbon steel shot is a practical and reliable option.

Best for:

▪ Light to medium rust removal
▪ General steel parts cleaning
▪ Castings and forged parts
▪ Economical blasting operations
▪ Shot blasting machine applications

Low Carbon Steel Shot

Low carbon steel shot is recommended for customers who require more stable rust removal performance, lower breakage and reduced dust generation. Its excellent toughness helps maintain particle integrity during repeated blasting cycles, resulting in longer service life, lower media consumption and more consistent cleaning results. For automatic shot blasting lines, continuous steel cleaning and applications with higher requirements for dust control, abrasive life and surface consistency, low carbon steel shot is a high-performance option.

Best for:

▪ Low-dust rust removal
▪ Low breakage requirements
▪ Long blasting life requirements
▪ Automatic shot blasting lines
▪ Stable surface cleaning performance

Garnet

Garnet is recommended when customers need a natural non-metallic abrasive for rust removal. It provides good cutting performance and is widely used for open blasting, steel structure maintenance, ship repair and coating preparation. For customers who do not use recyclable metallic abrasive systems, garnet is a suitable option for removing rust and preparing a clean surface profile before painting or protective coating.

Best for:

▪ Open blasting
▪ Outdoor rust removal
▪ Steel structure maintenance
▪ Low-dust non-metallic blasting
▪ Surface preparation before coating

4. Deburring

Deburring is the process of removing burrs, sharp edges, flash and small metal protrusions from cast, forged, machined or cut parts. Proper deburring helps improve product safety, surface appearance, assembly performance and coating quality.

Steel Cut Wire

Steel cut wire shot is recommended for customers who need stable deburring performance, longer blasting life and lower media breakage. Its uniform particle size provides consistent impact force, helping remove burrs and sharp edges more evenly than ordinary cast abrasive. It is suitable for precision castings, forged parts, machined parts and automotive components where customers require controlled deburring and stable surface cleaning results.

Best for:

▪ Precision castings
▪ Controlled deburring
▪ Low media breakage requirements
▪ Long blasting life requirements
▪ Stable particle size requirements

Conditioned Cut Wire Shot / Grinding Shot

Conditioned cut wire shot, also called grinding shot or rounded cut wire shot, is recommended when customers need smoother blasting performance and lower surface damage. After conditioning, the sharp edges of cut wire shot are rounded, reducing the risk of scratches or excessive cutting on the workpiece surface. It is especially suitable for precision parts, stainless steel parts, aluminum parts and components with higher requirements for surface finish, dimensional accuracy and fatigue performance.

Best for:

▪ Low-damage deburring
▪ Smooth surface finishing
▪ High-value precision parts
▪ Shot peening applications
▪ Strict surface consistency requirements

Low Carbon Steel Shot

Low carbon steel shot is recommended for customers who require lower breakage, reduced dust generation and more stable deburring performance. Its better toughness helps maintain particle integrity during repeated blasting cycles, resulting in longer service life and more consistent cleaning results. For automatic shot blasting lines, continuous production and applications with higher requirements for dust control and surface consistency, low carbon steel shot is a high-performance option.

Best for:

▪ Low-dust deburring
▪ Low breakage requirements
▪ Automatic shot blasting lines
▪ Long blasting life requirements
▪ Stable surface cleaning performance

Stainless Steel Cut Wire Shot

Stainless steel cut wire shot is recommended for deburring applications where ferrous contamination must be avoided. Compared with carbon steel abrasive media, stainless steel media helps reduce the risk of iron contamination on stainless steel, aluminum, zinc and other non-ferrous metal surfaces. It is suitable for customers who need clean, uniform and low-damage deburring results, especially for parts with higher appearance or corrosion resistance requirements.

Best for: