Composition Materials Plasti-Grit^® Plastic Blast Media is a preferred media for safely removing paint from commercial & military airplanes and jets, and in aircraft maintenance operations worldwide.  Plastic Media Type V Acrylic is used on aluminum & composite aircraft skins, as well as for blasting delicate parts.  Plastic Media Type II Urea is used on harder aluminum aircraft parts and landing gear.  Type VI Clear-Cut is effective on aluminum and composites. 

For over 30 years, Composition Materials has manufactured Acrylic , Urea & Clear-Cut Plastic Blast Media that meets the Military specification requirements for MIL-P-85891A, approved for use by the U.S. Army, Navy & Air Force.  Many commercial and private jet companies request Mil-Spec grade Plasti-Grit Plastic Blast Media for aviation paint stripping and aircraft maintenance operations.

Composition Materials offers a complete line of blasting media grits for environmentally safe paint & coatings removal from boat hulls & decks.  Soft abrasive blasting media are used to quickly & safely remove paint & coatings without damaging delicate hull surfaces such as fiberglass, wood or aluminum.  For fiberglass boat paint removal, we recommend Clear-Cut Plastic Blasting Media for indoor blast operations or Walnut Shell Blasting Media for outdoor blasting.  For wooden boats, we recommend either Walnut Shell Blasting Media or Corn Cob Blasting Media.  Clear-Cut Plastic Blasting Media is effective on aluminum boats. Please contact us for assistance in selecting the media and mesh size for your paint stripping application, as well as for blasting solutions in preserving gel coats.  Additionally, Clear-Cut Plastic Media is a superior paint additive for non-skid / anti-slip boat decking.  

In the 1950s, the US Navy in Norfolk, Virginia sought new methods for stripping the paint off submarines.  The current method, at that time, utilized steel grit blasting to go down to bare metal, removing the anti-fouling paint, the vinyl under-coating and the primer. 

A very inventive civilian employee of the Navy along with Ted Diamond, of Composition Materials,  pioneered a new method of blasting with Walnut Shell Grit to selectively remove only the anti-fouling paint, leaving the valuable vinyl undercoating and the primer intact, resulting in a huge savings in material, labor, and out of service costs.

The use of Walnut Shell Blasting has grown exponentially because it offers a non-toxic eco-friendly blasting media, that safely and effectively removes paint from boats, cars, trucks, bridges, brick buildings, steel and even the Statue of Liberty.  As a soft abrasive, blasting is possible without removing rubber seals and gaskets.    

Additionally, Walnut Shell Grits are used in the manufacture of ceramic based products, such as grinding wheels. By adding Walnut Shell to the ceramic mix, the Walnut Shell additive is "burned-out" during firing, thereby creating porosity. 

Walnut Shell Flours are used as an additive in manufacturing adhesives and other compounds. 

Also, an extensive line of Cosmetic Grade Walnut Shell grits are available.

Composition Materials is one of the largest suppliers of Walnut Shells in the world.  Crushed Walnut Shell Blasting media is manufactured in 13 standard mesh sizes. 

In this Video, American Dry Stripping removes paint from a vintage corvette using Plastic Media Blasting. The video looks at the advantages of Plastic Media Blasting: easy to use, fast paint stripping, easy to clean up, recylcable, environmentally friendly, safe on delicate substrates such as the Corvette fiberglass body, and cost effective.

An effective method of stripping all metal types, Plastic Media Blasting removes all or a portion of a cured powder coating from the surface of a part without causing damage. This article compares Plastic Media Blasting with several other stripping methods for powder coating, environmental considerations, as well as blasting equipment and costs.

Powder coatings produce highly durable finishes, but can be difficult to remove when parts need to be recoated. Several stripping methods include molten salt, burn-off oven or glass bead blasting.  With these methods, many substrates are unable to survive the coatings removal process without damage. The alternative is Plastic Media Blasting which uses reclyclable thermoset plastics to remove powder coatings while generating only a small amount of dry residue. Plasti-Grit plastic media is non-hazardous and if the powder itself does not pose an environmental problem, hazardous waste is non-existent.

Plastic Media Blasting has been used extensively by the US Department of Defense for stripping aircraft and aerospace components to replace toxic chemical strippers.  Read more...

When restoring or repainting cars, considerations include the type of substrates such as steel, aluminum, plastics, composites and fiberglass, as well as the types of paints and coatings.  Paint manufacturers recommend applying new paint to properly prepared surfaces. 

The recommendation for automobile paint stripping is Plastic Media Blasting, a rapid, economic and safe method to remove coatings without causing damage to underlying substrates including aluminum, fiberglass and even plastics.  It removes paint coatings without etching, marring, warping or otherwise damaging surface integrity.  Plastic Blasting Media and be re-used multiple times, making it economical.  Click for more information on the Types of Plastic Media available and Plastic Media Blasting Equipment.  Read More....