What is Aluminum Oxide?
Want an abrasive that can cut debris from your surface, but not sure which to get? You might want to consider aluminum oxide. So, what is aluminum oxide? Our definition of aluminum oxide is an angular abrasive that is great at removing contaminants from your part and prepping your part’s surface. Today, we will focus on what aluminum oxide is and all that it can do for your parts.
The Properties of Aluminum Oxide
So what makes aluminum oxide such a great abrasive? Aluminum oxide is an angular media with a sharp edge. This sharp edge is used to cut debris off your parts quickly. We will discuss more on what all this edge and its aggressive ability can remove later. Beyond being aggressive, Aluminum Oxide is also hard, ranking at 9.2 out of 10 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. Due to its aggressiveness, it is very effective at removing hard-packed contaminants. The aggressiveness and the cutting edge of aluminum oxide allow it to do a multitude of tasks.
Creates Surface Profiles
Aluminum oxide is great at creating surface profiles thanks to its sharp edge and aggressive nature. With this abrasive, you can create a smooth finish or a rough finish depending on what mesh size you use.. We typically use 70, 120, or 220 mesh. For more on these aluminum oxide meshes, check out the video below.
Removes Grease and Oil
Aluminum oxide removes grease and oil from your parts. If you perform any sort of mechanic work and want to get grease and oil off your parts, you should use the fine 220 mesh aluminum oxide. The cutting edge of this abrasive will wash them off your parts but won’t damage its surface value because the fine mesh isn’t aggressive enough. It’s worth mentioning that you don’t need warm water to rid your parts of these fluids. Instead, you can use any temperature of water. Warm water will just do it faster, which is why we offer a heater on machines like our VH800 FL. A fine aluminum oxide will remove grease and oil from your parts, varying the roughness value slightly depending on the material.
Of course, aluminum oxide in all its different mesh sizes will remove grease and grime, but let’s not skim over how much of an advantage this gives wet blasting. With traditional sandblasting, this step in the cleaning process would have to be accomplished by a lot of handwork or with a separate machine. With vapor blasting, you can combine these two steps into one, as the water cleans the parts as the abrasive strips it.
Deburrs Your Parts
Aluminum oxide is great at deburring your parts with its sharp edge. To do this, you will want to use around 120 mesh. The 120 mesh opens your parts pores. It also roughens your parts surface with its sharp edge. However, it is great at removing contaminants as well as coatings.
Deburring is very useful in the re-manufacturing business, where the goal is to be able to reuse old parts. It takes off rust and other contaminants that can block or change how your part’s function within your machine. For example, a rusted piston won’t transfer the heat or energy that is needed to start something like a motorcycle as well because the areas that the energy needs to pass through is obstructed. With a clean piston, the energy is able to flow through the piston to where it needs to go to start your motorcycle. A 120 mesh aluminum oxide can deburr your parts, leaving you with a smoother, usable part.
Removes Rust
Not only does 120 aluminum oxide remove burrs, it also gets rid of any rust on your parts. Rust can be very difficult to remove because it eats away and etches into your metal.To get rid of this rust, you need an aggressive media. As mentioned above, aluminum oxide is one of the most aggressive medias we offer. It is also the most effective at removing rust due to this aggressiveness, as well as its sharp edge. Rust removal is beneficial to people who wish to restore an antique or bring a part back to its original form. Aluminum oxide is capable of removing heavy rusting off your parts, thus restoring them to what they once were.
Removes Paint and Coatings
Aluminum oxide can strip your parts of any coating. To remove paint from your parts, you can use any mesh size. The 220 mesh will strip your parts of these coating while barely affecting the part’s surface roughness value. The reason for this is it only removes a small portion of the debris on your part’s surface.
You can also use 70 aluminum oxide to take the coating off your parts. While some might think that the 70 mesh is gentle, that is quite wrong. As a rule of thumb, the smaller the mesh size, the larger the particle size and the tougher it will be on your parts. 70 mesh gets the coating off and provides you with a roughened surface. This roughened surface is great if you are planning on coating your part again. We will discuss that more in the next section. Coating removal once again is beneficial to the restoration business because it brings the piece back to its original form. Using any form of aluminum oxide to remove coatings on your parts.
Preps for Coating
Aluminum oxide not only removes coating, but it can also prep the surface for coating. To do this, you can use either 70 or 120 aluminum oxide. The 70 mesh will roughen your parts surface the most. As mentioned above, the smaller numbered abrasives are also the toughest on your parts. So when you use 70 mesh, you should expect a really roughed up surface.
120 mesh can also make your parts rigid. While this is one of the finest meshes for this abrasive, it is still aggressive and has a sharp edge that can rough up the surface. The roughened surface with 10 won’t be to the extent of 70 mesh. Without this rigid surface, your part won’t have the bonding capabilities paint needs to stick to the part’s surface. If you are in the restoration business, you might need to prep your pieces’ surface before you can refresh any paint or coating that will make them appear brand new. Aluminum oxide is great if you want to prep the surface for coating.
Has Great Longevity and is Reusable
Moving on from what aluminum oxide can do for your parts, let’s discuss the two other benefits of this abrasive. First off, this is a long-lasting abrasive that can be reused time and time again. This longevity occurs for all of our abrasives, not just aluminum oxide, due to the water cushioning the abrasive during the wet blasting process. Without this water protection, the abrasive would hit your part and break into a billion pieces, unable to be used again. Since the abrasive doesn’t do this in your Vapor Honing machine can recycle it for the next time you blast. Aluminum oxide has great longevity due to the addition of water in the vapor honing process because it cushions the abrasive on impact, allowing you to use it again.
No Harm To Your Parts
Aluminum oxide can be used on any material because it will not damage your parts. Yes, it does roughen the surface a bit depending on which mesh you use, but it will not cause any detrimental harm to it. For example, if you have any rubber or plastic caps on your metal parts, it will not harm them. Since there is a lack of deterioration to your parts surface, aluminum oxide is very popular in the manufacturing and remanufacturing industry, where the goal is to be able to utilize these parts to their full potential. Wet blasting with this abrasive cleans your part to full capacity without harming it.
Can Be Mixed with Glass Bead
The one downside of aluminum oxide is that it darkens your parts. To fix this issue, mix it with glass bead. The combination of glass bead and aluminum oxide will give you a smooth but dull finish. However, the dullness is still shiner than it would be if you used aluminum oxide alone. The glass bead rolls along your parts, brightening it. While the aluminum oxide etches your part’s surface, finishing it. If you work in the restoration industry, this mixture will restore the functionality of your parts with containment removal, while also making it look pretty. Mixing these two abrasives finishes and polishes your parts simultaneously.
Conclusion
To recap, aluminum oxide is a versatile abrasive that can be used for a lot of tasks. This abrasive removes burrs, rust, and coatings. It can also prep your surface for coating. While it is an aggressive abrasive, it will not warp your part, but instead glide on it, thus allowing it to be used time and time again. If you are looking to brighten your part, you can mix glass bead with aluminum oxide. For more information on aluminum oxide or our other abrasives and what they can do for your parts, please contact us at 828-202-5563.
