Blasting stainless for a matte finish advice?????

[sandman7925]

Has anyone out there ever blasted a stainless firearm to give it a matte finish? I have access to a blaster filled with very fine grit sand and I also have access to one filled with 16grit alumina. I didn't think using the alumina would be good idea mainly because that stuff gets recycled and there is likley to be bits of carbon steel mixed in it from blasting other items.
Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[electronicwiz]

That 16 grit aluminum oxide is some very aggressive stuff. It will probably F your gun up.

 

[sandman7925]

That 16 grit aluminum oxide is some very aggressive stuff. It will probably F your gun up.

I figured that, what I need to know is if there is a certain grit sand that is normally used, or not sand but something else all together.

 

[electronicwiz]

Not sure what would give you the look you are after, but you could experiment with different blasting media. I know we used to have a couple of bags of fine glass beads we had bought for fine blasting. They may still be somewhere laying around the shop. Find a piece of stainless laying around the shop and try different things. There was also a bag of fine Zircon sand behind the 1000# furnace on the wall, unless it got tossed.

 

[MrSKSkill]

Don't cheap out on the spray gun.

 

[sandman7925]

I guess I'll have to do some trial runs. And I probably need to contact the rifle manufacturer and find out what kind of SS is on the gun

 

[mb504]

Glass beads would be the way to go. The sand and alumina will give a "sharper" finish.

Another finish option for SS would be a fine brushed finish with very fine scotch-brit pads or synthetic "steel wool"