GMA’s ToughBlast™ is our most diverse blend of garnet engineered for the most demanding coating removal jobs, up to 30 mil. The unique blend of both alluvial and hard rock garnet is ideal for tank exteriors, liners, rail car facilities, water towers, waste or water treatment facilities, and general maintenance. Our angular hard rock garnet removes resilient industrial coatings, and our subangular alluvial garnet sweeps off remaining surface contaminants.
Less Dust, More Productivity
Throughout the world, maintenance and safety managers and contractors select garnet as the cost-effective, safe choice for the toughest blasting applications. Explore the time-saving benefits of GMA ToughBlast™.
Superior Surface Preparation for Coating
Harder, tougher and denser, garnet gets the job done faster without the drawbacks of waste slag. Garnet is three times harder than coal slag – GMA Garnet has a hardness of 1700 on the Knoop Scale while copper slag has a hardness of 950 and coal slag has a harness of 550. This means garnet is up to 80% harder than copper slags and nearly 300% harder than coal slags. Its superior hardness enables garnet to more effectively remove strong coatings without embedment.
Garnet is also up to five times tougher than coal slags, making it less likely to shatter on impact. Highly dense, the mineral enables a deeper anchor pattern and requires less pressure to blast.
Slags and other garnets simply can't match the extraordinarily clean surface that hard, tough GMA garnet creates, increasing your coating adhesion and life.
The Fastest Results at the Lowest Cost
Only ToughBlast™ produces an exceptionally clean surface and uniform profile that keeps your project on schedule and within budget.
Overall, garnet sandblasting requires 30% to 50% less product than waste slag. In addition, it greatly reduces labor, containment and disposal costs because it lacks the high levels of dust and harmful metals that waste slag spreads when it shatters.
Safe, Compliant Garnet Sandblasting
Inspection failures cost money – GMA ToughBlast™ meets all industry, government, safety and environmental standards, helping your operations stay in compliance, with no worries.
A bag of GMA ToughBlast™ contains up to 98% pure garnet, which is tough, dense and unlikely to shatter. Meanwhile, slags are less tough, more likely to shatter on impact and contain higher levels of toxic contaminants such as heavy metals that are then released into the air on impact.
Less dust makes garnet safer and less disruptive to your operations. It leads to better visibility, lowering risks of accidents, and purer air quality, increasing productivity because teams don't have to clear the area or contain the blast area.
ToughBlast™ also ensures your operations remain well below legal limits for contaminants such as beryllium.
Proven Performance
GMA ToughBlast™ performance is demonstrated through rigorous product testing and a track record of success in applications worldwide.
Engineered to cut and clean, ToughBlast™ produces a more even-textured surface. This maximizes asset uptime, reduces turnaround times and extends asset life.
- Uniform surface profile: 3.0 - 4.0 mil
- Blasting rates: Up to 360 ft²/hr
- Consumption rates: As low as 1.5 lb/ft²
Garnet Sandblasting for the Toughest Industries and Applications Around the World
Garnet sandblasting ensures faster cleaning of surfaces with pitting, high-build coatings and/or heavy rust. It's effective for tank maintenance, including two-coat and three-coat systems and thick mil coatings, and for industrial maintenance on pipes, tanks, pressure vessels and offshore platforms. Professionals rely on our abrasives for consistent performance in applications ranging from railcars to offshore platforms.
- Refineries
- Railcars
- Water towers
- Shipyards maintenance and repair
- Water and wastewater treatment
- Onshore and offshore platforms
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