Welded Components and Blasting
Our company plates welded steel components with hard chrome. One of our customers requires a matte finish, which we attain by bead blasting. The problem we have is inconsistent appearance in the welded areas of the components. Do you have any suggestions?
Q: Our company plates welded steel components with hard chrome. One of our customers requires a matte finish, which we attain by bead blasting. The problem we have is inconsistent appearance in the welded areas of the components. Do you have any suggestions? W. B.
A: Your question is a tough one! There is a difference in the hardness between the welded and non-welded areas of your parts and this gives you the inconsistent appearance. There are a few things that I can suggest that may help solve this problem:
- Try a different air pressures in the blasting process.
- Try different abrasives. Sharper abrasive sometimes give me more uniform finish. This is because the difference in hardness between the welded and the non-welded areas is not as critical for a harder abrasive.
- Try reblasting the part after the chromium plate.
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