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Home / Garnet Abrasive Buying Guide

Garnet Buying Guide

For over 40 years, BlastOne has been partnering with GMA Garnet to supply the cleanest and safest abrasives to contractors throughout the US, Australia, and New Zealand.  GMA has produced the highest-quality almandine garnet abrasives for the global abrasive blasting and waterjet cutting industries globally.

Have an upcoming project? BlastOne understands the requirements and project specifications different projects entail. BlastOne has helped contractors on different
projects across the globe for more than four decades, and we understand the requirements that different projects bring. As America’s undisputed industry expert, we understand abrasives. Let’s connect on your next job bid.

Maximize Productivity to Meet Project Deadlines

BlastOne offers a wide variety of top-of-the-line abrasives guaranteed to get the job done right. Our experienced staff can assess your project needs and recommend the perfect abrasive media to achieve the desired surface profile, saving you time and ensuring a successful outcome.

GMA Garnet’s high-performance range of garnet abrasive is engineered to maximize productivity and significantly reduce the cost of surface preparation jobs. GMA Garnet boasts superior performance due to its unique combination of hardness, density, and angularity. These qualities translate into faster cleaning, deeper profiles, and less dust for a more efficient and effective blasting process.

  • Faster Job Completion

    Removes tough coatings more than twice as fast as medium slag

  • Lower Cost to Use

    GMA Garnet delivers twice the blasting power of medium slag, and you use half as much. Fewer hours of blasting expense.

  • Low Dust

    Provides dramatic dust reduction improving visibility up to 10x for safer and more productive blasting.

  • Better Quality Results

    GMA Garnet gives you a cleaner surface, with no surface embedment which gives your new coating far better adhesion.

  • Lower Abrasive Consumption

    • Use half as much
    • Less clean up time
    • Half your disposal costs

ExtremeBlast (GX3)

The coarsest grade for extreme jobs. Removes high-build coatings of 750+ µm, such as TSA and coal tar.

INDUSTRIES SERVED

Oil & Gas (Onshore/Offshore), Shipyards, Bridges, Military, Tank chemical liners

ToughBlast (GX2)

Power through thick industrial coatings. An engineered blend for medium to heavy industrial maintenance.

INDUSTRIES SERVED

Oil & Gas (Onshore/Offshore), Shipyards, Bridges, Military, Tank chemical liners

PremiumBlast

Efficient & cost effective all-round performance for removal of medium to heavy rust and industrial coatings.

INDUSTRIES SERVED

Refinery, Water Storage, Tank Farms, Energy Generation, Pipelines

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Surface Profile
Blasting Rate
Consumption Rate
3.5-4.5 mil (90 - 115 µm)
Up to 260 ft2/hr (24 m2/hr)
As low as 2 lb/ft2 (10 kg/m2)
Surface Profile
Blasting Rate
Consumption Rate
3.0-4 mil (75-100 μm)
Up to 360 ft2/hr (33 m2/hr)
As low as 1.5 lb/ft2 (7.32 kg/m2)
Surface Profile
Blasting Rate
Consumption Rate
3.0-3.75 mil (75 -95 μm)
Up to 340 ft2/hr (32 m2/hr)
As low as 1.5-3.0 lb/ft2 (7.32-14.65 kg/m2)

SpeedBlast (GX1)

Fast blasting performance for removing light to medium coatings and rust, producing exceptional surface quality.

INDUSTRIES SERVED

Refinery, Water Storage, Tank Farms, Energy Generation, Pipelines

NewSteel

The fastest mill scale and light rust removal abrasive that minimizes consumption and keeps costs down.

INDUSTRIES SERVED

Refinery, Water Storage, Tank Farms, Energy Generation, Pipelines

PrecisionBlast

Ideal for fast, gentle cleaning of precision equipment, removing mill scale, and preparing various metals.

INDUSTRIES SERVED

Metal fabrication, Stone & Brick Restoration, Waterjet Cutting, Concrete Maintenance, Graffiti removal, Timber restoration

Surface Profile
Blasting Rate
Consumption Rate
2-3 mil (50-75 μm)
Up to 360 ft2/hr (33 m2/hr)
As low as 1.5 lb/ft2 (7.32 kg/m2)
Surface Profile
Blasting Rate
Consumption Rate
1.5-2.5 mil (40-65μm)
Up to 400 ft2/hr (37m2/hr)
As low as 1.3 lb/ft2 (6.34 kg/m2)
Surface Profile
Blasting Rate
Consumption Rate
1.0-2.0 mil (25-50μm)
Up to 330 ft2/hr (31m2/hr)
As low as 1 lb/ft2 (4.88 kg/m2)

GMA Garnet for Tough Jobs

GMA Garnet’s range of blast media mix coarse and fine grain garnets, achieving the optimal balance between cutting and cleaning power.

REDUCE OVERALL PROJECT COSTS

GMA Garnet results in higher productivity and lower abrasive consumption, despite the higher initial product cost compared to slags. With GMA Garnet, you can save 15% to 30% on a typical project due to lower cleanup and equipment costs, and reduced labor and blasting time. This makes GMA Garnet far more effective and efficient than other abrasives in the market.

Although the typical slag abrasives and other garnets cost lower per ton, these are often inferior in quality and performance, resulting in lower productivity at a higher consumption rate. In fact, more abrasive is needed to complete a project. This dramatically increases your cleanup, disposal, labor and equipment costs and ultimately, increases your total project costs.

LESS WASTE, MORE PERFORMANCE

GMA Garnet has a unique blend of particle sizes which guarantees you more grains per pound. The end result is you use significantly less abrasive to do the same job when compared with imported garnet.

Abrasive blasting relies on impact to remove unwanted material. More impacts = higher production.

GRAIN SIZE MATTERS

While coarse abrasives excel at removing thick coatings and creating deep profiles, they leave behind embedded particles and struggle with cleaning small, recessed areas. This translates to wasted abrasive, slow cleaning times, and a higher risk of future corrosion due to inadequate cleaning. Conversely, fine grains excel at cleaning and removing thin coatings, but lack the punch for thicker layers or deep profile creation.

Traditional abrasives force you to choose between removing the coating or properly cleaning the surface – you can’t achieve both effectively in one go.

GMA Garnet bridges this gap by offering exceptional cleaning power alongside fast and efficient coating removal at a lower consumption rate. This translates to a cleaner surface ready for inspection and coating application, all achieved with minimal abrasive waste.

Why GMA Garnet?

SURFACE QUALITY

GMA Garnet creates the required surface profile with minimal embedment or contamination, and produces higher peak density.

HIGH PRODUCTIVITY

GMA reduces your costs with significantly higher blast production rates, giving you shorter project timelines.

REDUCED CONSUMPTION

Lower your abrasive consumption by 30-50%, giving you savings in abrasive purchase costs, as well as transport, storage and disposal costs.

HEALTH & SAFETY

GMA Garnet is composed of little to no heavy metals, improving worker health and environmental working conditions.

LOW DUST BLASTING

GMA fractures less on impact, drastically improving operator visibility and reducing site contamination.

SUSTAINABILITY 

GMA’s garnet recovery program offers a cost-effective and environmentally responsible solution for the disposal of used garnet.

Instant Abrasive Cost Calculator: Stop Losing $$$

Cheaper abrasive may not be as efficient and thus you’ll need more of it to complete the project. Calculate the true abrasive cost of your next blasting project.

How GMA Garnet Different to Other Abrasives?

GMA GARNET

  • Sold almandine garnet particles form prolonged natural attrition
  • Very resistant to further breakdown
  • Inert, natural mineral with minimal to no worker or environmental risks

INDIAN GARNET

  • Inherently weaker due to relatively short sedimentary life
  • Characterized by more fracture planes
  • May be prone to higher breakdown in use producing higher dust levels

CHINESE GARNET

  • Inconsistent or variable quality from batch to batch
  • Poor abrasive characteristics due to a clustered crystal structure, or composites with other minerals
  • Highly friable and breaks easily, increasing dust levels

SLAG

  • Highly friable fractured structure, producing high dust levels
  • Has sharp, horn-like structures that can embed into the surface
  • Contains heavy metals & other harmful substances
  • High consumption due to abrasive grain breakdown

Recycle GMA Garnet up to five times

GMA Garnet offers exceptional performance and environmental responsibility. While initially higher in cost than slags, GMA Garnet delivers superior productivity and reduced abrasive consumption. To complement this efficiency, the GMA Garnet Return Program provides a streamlined solution for used garnet disposal. By recycling garnet instead of landfilling, businesses can significantly reduce environmental impact and operational costs. This program offers convenient collection points nationwide and a simple three-step return process. Discover how GMA Garnet and our return program can optimize your blasting operations while safeguarding the environment.

Case Studies

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