The difference between shot blasting and sandblasting

One of the main differences between shot blasting and sandblasting is the type of abrasive used and the energy used in the process. While shot blasting uses metal abrasives thrown at high speed, allowing deep cleaning and precise preparation of metal surfaces, sandblasting uses sand or other inert abrasive materials. Sandblasting can also be done outdoors without recycling abrasives and is used to clean surfaces that are not heavily contaminated. Shot blasting harnesses the greater kinetic energy generated by the turbine, allowing metallic abrasives to remove harder, more abrasive surface layers such as oxide scales, rust and welding residues. While effective for many applications, sandblasting has less impact on treated surfaces, making it more suitable for light surface cleaning and preparation.