How are glass beads used to clean rust and scale from metal surfaces?

To clean rust and scale from metal surfaces, glass beads are applied through a process of pressure blasting.1

In this industrial application, the beads act as an abrasive material that effectively removes rust, scale, and carbon deposits from the metal. This method is highly efficient and has largely replaced the labor-intensive practice of manual cleaning with steel wool. While glass beads are specifically utilized for cleaning, other abrasive materials—such as grinding wheels or metal shot—are often employed in foundries and steel mills for more aggressive tasks like removing unwanted portions of castings or preparing surfaces for painting.12

Solid glass beads used for these blast cleaning operations are typically manufactured by passing finely fritted glass through a hot flame.3