Glass Bead Blasting for Stainless Steel

Glass bead blasting is a cold working process, not a thermal treatment. The beads impact the surface and create compressive stress, which increases fatigue strength and prevents corrosion. For welding, this means: if you blast after welding, you smooth the surface and remove scale and discoloration. Make sure the surface is clean and free of grease before blasting, and that the pressure is not set too high. Otherwise, you can roughen the surface or work in contaminants instead of cleaning it.