Bead Blasting
Bead Blasting is a process by which abrasive grits are blasted on to the
surface of a material using compressed air. The effect is to gouge away the
surface where it is exposed. Stencils can be cut from self-adhesive vinyl to
control where the grit will abrade the surface. Different types of grit can
produce effects on different materials.
Stencils can be accurately produced using a CNC vinyl cutter and a 100mm
mirror tile provides a suitable surface to receive an embossed design. The
embossed tile can be used as a feature of several projects including: clocks,
box lids and make-up mirrors.
The vinyl stencil is stuck on to the surface of the mirror and abrasive grit
is air blasted on to it. Designs which are cut into the stencil are
transferred in to the surface of the mirror. Good detail can be achieved but
very complicated stencils are difficult to handle quickly.
The template file is a DrawFile which can be downloaded by clicking here and then saving the file to disc. Load the file
into a drawing program and then add your design - remember to keep it
simple!
Copyright D&T Online
1997