How to use blasting media
Updated: 21.10.2026
The bag is in the workshop and the last attempt either blocked the nozzle or filled the shed with dust. How to use blasting media starts before the trigger: the right grain, dry, small enough to pass the nozzle, and not sand. The eight listings are the [blasting media comparison](/hub/compressors/blasting-media). The Products Compared editorial team used the amazon.co.uk review notes and HSE guidance, and did not measure a nozzle. None of these listings states a cfm figure. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The bag is in the workshop and the last attempt either blocked the nozzle or filled the shed with dust.
The bag is in the workshop and the last attempt either blocked the nozzle or filled the shed with dust. How to use blasting media starts before the trigger: the right grain, dry, small enough to pass the nozzle, and not sand. The eight listings are the blasting media comparison. The Products Compared editorial team used the amazon.co.uk review notes and HSE guidance, and did not measure a nozzle. None of these listings states a cfm figure. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Media | Grit or size | Equipment | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Garosa Garosa aluminium oxide, 100 grit | Aluminium oxide | 100 grit | Guns and cabinets | 7.3 | about £19.29 | View offer |
 Sealey Sealey B5KG glass beads, 5 kg | Glass beads | 180–300 microns | Shot blasting cabinets | 8.0 | about £26.20 | View offer | |
| Alternative |  Garosa Garosa aluminium oxide, 120 grit | Aluminium oxide | 120 grit, fine | Guns and cabinets | 6.5 | about £19.99 | View offer |
On this page
Before the hopper is filled
Tip a little media onto a clean tray before it goes in the cabinet. If the bag is sand, or sharp sand, do not pour it. COSHH 2002, Schedule 2, prohibits sand or other free-silica material as a blasting abrasive in any blasting apparatus, cabinet included. HSE sheet CN7 and welding sheet WL20 both say not to use sand abrasives.
Hold the coarsest pieces against the nozzle. Millimetre chips will not pass a small hobby jet. The only written Laeto review describes grit that looked like 1.0–2.0 mm and would not feed the machine. Put that sack aside. Grades sit on blasting media grit size. Close the cabinet, start the extraction, and blast scrap of the same metal first.
Pressure and reuse inside a cabinet
Start at the lowest pressure that still moves the grit and marks the scrap. HSE CN7 makes that the working rule, not the maximum the compressor will reach. There is no universal psi on these bags. One Sealey review ran 180–300 micron glass bead at 70 psi and called the bead very fine.
Bead and aluminium oxide are the families a cabinet can recover. Sieve fines out before they go back. Crushed glass usually fractures and is treated as once-through.
When the gun blocks or the paint stays
A blocked gun is usually size, damp, or a nozzle already worn oval. Coarse chips are the Laeto case. Empty the gun, dry the line, and only return grain that passed a sieve. More pressure packs the blockage and wears the nozzle.
Paint that stays put is the other fault. The Garosa 120 grit pouch has a UK review that says the powder would not strip paint off a wheel. Fine oxide and bead clean and matte. They are slow on thick coatings. One reviewer used the 220 grit pouch in a vapour blaster on aluminium, a wet fine job, not a dry rust strip. No flow means too coarse or too damp. No cut means too fine or the wrong shape.
Dust, waste and when to stop
Keep the extraction running until the cabinet has cleared, then seal the dust. Do not fan it into the garage. The coating may contain lead, and the spent grit has picked that up. A business must classify that waste before collection.
If you cannot enclose open blasting, HSE expect an air-fed helmet for the person at the nozzle, with an assigned protection factor of at least 40, and an exclusion zone for everyone else. A dust mask does not meet that sheet. Hand the job on when the part is a vehicle structure, when you suspect lead, when you are blasting as paid work without a COSHH assessment, or when a warranty names a cleanliness grade you cannot inspect. If you are still choosing the bag, go back to the blasting media buying guide.
Common questions
Can I pour sharp sand in if the cabinet is closed?
No. COSHH 2002 Schedule 2 prohibits sand, or any other free-silica substance, as an abrasive in blasting apparatus. HSE repeat that for cabinets. A closed door lowers the mess in the room and does not make the dust safe to use or to dump on the drive. Use oxide, bead, crushed glass or garnet, and keep the extraction on. Under 1 percent silica is the HSE pragmatic line, which a sand bag is not.
What pressure should I start at?
Start at the lowest pressure that still feeds the gun and marks a piece of scrap, then stop if the finish is right. One Sealey review used about 70 psi on fine glass bead. That is a single report, not a specification, and these listings do not state a cfm demand. If the gauge falls away as soon as you blast, the compressor is the limit. A higher regulator setting does not replace air the pump cannot supply.
Why does the gun clog?
Usually the grain is coarser than the nozzle, or it is damp and clumped. The Laeto review describes grit that looked like 1–2 mm and would not pass the machine, against a finer size printed on the bag. Empty the gun, dry the media, and sieve it. More pressure packs the blockage tighter and wears the nozzle. If the listing prints two different sizes, treat that bag as the wrong bag.
How do I know the media is worn out?
It has turned to dust, the cut on scrap has gone, or the hopper is mostly fines. Oxide and bead can go back in after you sieve them. Crushed glass and soda generally should not. These amazon pages claim reuse and do not state how many cycles. When the fines dominate, bin them. A heavy bag of dust is not unused grit.
What do I do with the dust afterwards?
Seal it. Do not tip it on the garden or blow it out of the cabinet into the garage. The dust is broken media plus whatever was on the part, and old paint can contain lead. A household still needs to keep that out of the air. A business has to classify the waste, including spent grit from a hazardous coating, before a carrier takes it.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures captured on 19 October 2026.
- COSHH 2002, Schedule 2 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE CN7: Abrasive blasting (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE: Silicosis and the silica WEL (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE HSG201: Abrasive blasting (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Key Abrasives: Aluminium oxide (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Airblast Products: Blast media (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Ribble Technology: Blasting media (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- sandblasters.co.uk: Media for a blast cabinet (retrieved 19 October 2026)