Costs of Painting versus Grit blasting

[Bob_3]

We currently have some aluminum die castings that are painted silver after machining solely for appearance. We're thinking it might be a cost reduction to grit-blast instead of painting as the end result would look similar, and in use the paint wears off in a short time anyway.

Parts would need cleaning either way, and painting vs blasting is similar in that some piece of equipment is spraying the part, so the pre-treatment for painting is where the savings would come from. Is this reasonable thinking? Any fails or pitfalls we should be watchful for?

Thanks in advance...

Bob

 

[BenMacier]

To obtain the same silver finish as painting, you will need multiple passes of blasting (grit/shot various mixes).
So the overall cost would not be much different!

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