• American soldier Benjamin Chew Tilghman patented the process of sandblasting in 1870, as Advanced Applicators notes. However, technicians in the U.S. Navy later modernized the process for abrading -- or making smooth -- steel ship components. Today, workers use sandblasting to remove various types of coatings like old paint, as well as contaminates like rust, from different substrates or surfaces. However, sandblasting can also be used to etch patterns and designs into these substrates.
  
  

Substrate Types

• Sandblasting can be effective on a wide array of substrates. These range from wood, stone, brick and concrete to metal alloys, plastic and glass. Glass is especially common when it comes to "sandcarving," or etching in designs with a sandblaster. The type of substrate a person is working with will largely determine what type of sandblasting media he will use.
  
  

Media Types

• Also known as abrasives, sandblasting media consists of thousands of tiny, coarse particles. While sand is an obvious and common media, there are over 100 other options available. According to Guyson International, virtually any material can be used as blasting media provided its particles are small enough to pass through a blasting machine. For softer, more delicate substrates like wood, some of the best media types include plastics, such as thermoplastic and thermoset, and natural products like corncobs and ground kernels or coconut shells. For stronger, more rigid materials, like steel, glass and metal blasting, media are favorite options. Common metal blasting media types include aluminum, aluminum oxide, brass, iron and steel.
  
  

Media Shapes

• Media particles can adhere to two primary shape specifications: shot and grit. Shot particles are spherical and have a broader or more widespread impact on substrates. The rounded nature of shot particles allows them to create a peened finish wherein the substrate takes on several small hammer-like indentations, known as peens. In contrast, grit particles are angular and have a narrower or more confined impact on substrates. The angular nature -- and sharp corners -- of grit particles allows them to etch substrates.
  
  

Blaster Types

• The traditional method for sandblasting requires the use of a Wheelabrator, which is a machine that flings blasting media particles using a spinning wheel. Workers still use Wheelabrators today, especially for cleaning concrete flooring and stripping rust from steel. However, the more modern method for sandblasting requires the use of a pressurized system. According to Sandblaster Information, there are two main types of pressurized blasters: siphon and pressure pot. While both use "guns" to propel blasting media; siphon blasters have separate air compressors and media storage containers, whereas pressure pot blasters contain both of these elements in a single compartment or pot.