Surface Preparation
Garnet Abrasive Blasting in Melbourne
Garnet abrasive blasting is a surface preparation process that strips rust, mill scale, old paint and contaminants from steel and other substrates, leaving a clean, evenly profiled surface for a protective coating to bond to. It is the process most of our structural steel, fabrication and restoration customers need before painting. All garnet blasting is carried out in house in our blast room at Bayswater, Melbourne.
What It Is
Garnet Abrasive Blasting
Garnet is a hard, naturally occurring mineral abrasive. Driven at the surface under pressure, it cuts through corrosion and coatings and leaves behind a clean substrate with a consistent surface profile — the key or anchor pattern that a primer needs in order to grip.
It is an efficient and comparatively eco-friendly abrasive. It removes rust, paint and contaminants effectively while producing a smooth, even result with less dust and less environmental impact than older blasting media.
Garnet blasting can be the whole job or the first half of it. We are happy to provide blast only, so your own painter takes it from there, or blast and coat, where we blast and then apply your specified coating system in the same facility.
Step By Step
How the process works
- 1
Send us the details
Tell us what the item is and what it is made from, and send a general arrangement drawing or a photo of the existing surface if you have one. We come back to you with a quote covering blasting, any coating, and transport if you want us to arrange it.
- 2
Get the item to Bayswater
All blasting happens in house at 46 Malvern Street, Bayswater. Drop the item off yourself, or ask us to arrange courier and transport to and from your location at additional cost.
- 3
Unload and assess
Forklifts and cranes on site let us unload and move items of any size. We check the substrate and condition, confirm the areas to be masked or left untouched, and settle the media and finish.
- 4
Blast in the blast room
The item is blasted in our large blast room, which is equipped for a range of abrasives. Corrosion, mill scale and existing coatings come off and the surface is brought to a uniform, profiled finish.
- 5
Coat, or hand back
For blast-only work the item is ready for your painter. Where we are also coating, our qualified spray painters apply the specified system while the surface is still clean and freshly profiled.
- 6
Collection or delivery
Collect from Bayswater, or have us arrange transport back to you. Onsite storage means we can hold larger items between stages where that suits your program.
Suitability
What surfaces and materials it suits
Our blast room is equipped for various abrasives and processes a wide range of materials. Garnet is the more aggressive of our two blasting processes, which makes it the usual choice for steel and other hard substrates.
| Substrate | Notes |
|---|---|
| Mild steel | The most common substrate we blast. Removes rust, mill scale and old paint and leaves a profile for priming. |
| Structural and fabricated steel | Beams, frames, skids and weldments, blasted ready for a primer or full coating system. |
| Stainless steel | Cleaned and uniformly finished without the iron contamination that comes from unsuitable media. |
| Aluminium | A softer substrate, so media choice matters — handled with the gentler of our two processes. |
| Cast iron | Strips baked-on grime, scale and old coatings from castings, housings and fittings. |
| Alloys | Cleaned and prepared with the media matched to the alloy's hardness and the finish required. |
| Glass | Processed in our blast room where a cleaned or matte surface is wanted. |
| Plastic | Handled with care and a gentle media where the part cannot tolerate an aggressive cut. |
| Timber | Can be blasted to bring out the grain for a visual effect, as well as to strip old finishes. |
| Kevlar | One of the specialist substrates our blast room is equipped to process. |
Applications
What it's typically used for
- Preparing new structural and fabricated steel before priming and painting
- Removing rust, mill scale and failed coatings from existing steelwork
- Refurbishing plant, machinery frames, skids and materials handling equipment
- Pipework, valves and vessels being recoated to a specification
- Streetscape furniture, signs, gates and balustrades
- Domestic restoration work — trailers, equipment and metal fittings
Why PBC
Why choose Profile Blasting and Coatings
Since 1980
We have been a market leader in the abrasive blasting and protective coating industry in Melbourne, Victoria since 1980, across clients from large corporations to small businesses and homeowners.
One facility, both stages
Blasting and coating happen under the same roof at Bayswater, so a freshly blasted surface is not sitting around or travelling before the primer goes on.
Room for large items
A large blast room, onsite storage, multiple forklifts and cranes mean we can load, unload and move items of any size.
Specification or no specification
We apply to your specification where you have one. Where none exists, we can design a custom specification for your needs.
Questions
Garnet Abrasive Blasting FAQs
It is the same idea under a more accurate name. Sandblasting is the everyday term for abrasive blasting; garnet simply describes the abrasive we drive at the surface. Garnet is a hard mineral media that cuts efficiently while producing less dust and less environmental impact than the silica sand the old name refers to.
More questions are answered on our FAQs page.
Related Services
Other services we offer
Glass Bead Abrasive Blasting
Glass bead abrasive blasting is a gentler blasting process that cleans contaminants from a surface and leaves a smooth, matte finish rather than cutting a deep profile into it.
Learn more about Glass Bead Abrasive Blasting
Protective Coatings
Protective coating application is the process of applying a paint or coating system to a prepared surface so it resists corrosion, wear and environmental damage.
Learn more about Protective CoatingsNeed a quote for garnet abrasive blasting?
Send us the details of your item and any specification you are working to, and we'll come back to you with the next steps.