Welded Components and Blasting

Q: Our company plates welded steel components with hard chrome. One of our customers requires a matte finish, which we attain by bead blasting. The problem we have is inconsistent appearance in the welded areas of the components. Do you have any suggestions? W. B.

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A: Your question is a tough one! There is a difference in the hardness between the welded and non-welded areas of your parts and this gives you the inconsistent appearance. There are a few things that I can suggest that may help solve this problem:

1. Try a different air pressures in the blasting process.
2. Try different abrasives. Sharper abrasive sometimes give me more uniform finish. This is because the difference in hardness between the welded and the non-welded areas is not as critical for a harder abrasive.
3. Try reblasting the part after the chromium plate.