Surface cleaning is a routine but vital process in industries like metal fabrication, shipbuilding, and automotive. Effective cleaning impacts product quality, standards compliance, and production efficiency.
Cleaning a metal part for the next step in production often requires a gentler approach than other types of surface conditioning. It is important to avoid removing too much base material or altering its properties. This makes it crucial to choose the right product for the task and follow best practices for using it.
Considerations for Surface Conditioning
Surface cleaning covers many things, including preparing the metal for painting or removing rust, mill scale, or weld spatter. Operators have many options to choose from for these tasks. Consider these four questions when selecting a surface cleaning product:
- What are you trying to do? Removing heavy mill scale requires a different product than light weld blending does. Consider what you are trying to accomplish and the result you want to achieve. Will the material be welded after cleaning? Will it be painted? The required steps in the process help determine the right choice.
- What is the base material? It is important to match the product type to the base material type. One example is choosing a product designed with stainless steel to avoid cross-contamination of the material.
- Are there safety or hot work restrictions? Some applications may have restrictions regarding the type of abrasive products used in certain environments. In shipbuilding, for example, work frequently happens in confined spaces or near flammable materials. There may be requirements that limit sparks and heat. Look for surface cleaning products that meet any necessary safety or environmental requirements.
- Is budget a primary concern? Operations have different priorities, including product life, time savings, or cost reduction. Different products will contribute to different priorities. A very aggressive product works quickly but requires more frequent changeover, adding considerable labor downtime. Efficiency and product life must be balanced with purchase cost.
Surface Cleaning Products
Learning more about the benefits of each type of surface cleaning product helps operators choose the right option for their job. Common categories include the following:
- Power wire brushes offer long product life and clean base material without removing metal or altering part dimensions. This makes them a good choice when gentle aggression is needed. Brushes perform well on hot welds and reach into tight spaces and corners better than other options. Product aggression can be adjusted by choosing different trim lengths, wire diameters, tool speeds, and wire styles. Always follow best practices and proper techniques to avoid wire breakage, which can be a safety hazard.
- Non-woven strip discs are a good option for removing paint and coatings to achieve a smooth finish. They conform to the work surface and produce less vibration than other options. However, they will wear faster and require more changeovers.
- Flap discs are designed to be more aggressive and remove some base material. They work well on metal with rust or mill scale, providing a balance between cleaning and aggressiveness. Be careful not to remove too much base material. There are many options for grit size and type, which affect the disc’s performance and lifespan.
- Bonded grinding wheels are the most aggressive option. They will remove base material, leaving a rough surface. These wheels are not ideal for basic surface cleaning but are effective for removing heavy mill scale or reshaping surfaces. Use them with caution to avoid applying too much pressure, which can gouge the material.
Surface Cleaning Tips
- Choose the product for the specific job. There is not one abrasive solution for every surface cleaning task. Using the wrong product increases inefficiency and labor costs and could introduce safety hazards. Selecting the right product type, style, and size for the application will help complete the job efficiently and safely while producing the best results.
- Take care with technique and pressure. Using a short stroke versus a longer stroke can make a big difference. Long, smooth strokes are typically best, but this depends on the hardness of the coating or dirt on the metal. Removing a harder coating may require shorter, quicker oscillations. Do not stay too long in one spot, as this can burn or gouge the base material. Each new application may need Trial and error to find the best approach.
- Stay away from sharp edges with certain discs. If a non-woven surface conditioning disc is being used, a corner or sharp edge can catch and shred the material. Keep the disc on the flat portion of the surface as much as possible. Non-woven cleaning and stripping discs provide a good balance between conformability and toughness for faster cleaning. Weiler Abrasives offers new Tiger Ceramic and Tiger Silicon Carbide non-woven strip discs. The Ceramic disc is more aggressive, while the Silicon Carbide disc is less aggressive and non-sparking, making it ideal for working in confined spaces. These discs lasted longer in testing and cleaned more surface area than similar competitive products.
Optimizing surface cleaning
Achieving optimal results in metal preparation starts with choosing the right abrasive product for surface cleaning. This helps produce the necessary finish and can improve efficiency, labor costs and operator safety.