# Steel grit blasting media

Angular steel blast media, product-specific hardness and size designations, sieve distributions, and limits on surface-preparation claims.

Reviewed: 2026-10-29

Tags: abrasives, blasting, steel

## Identity and related media

Ervin’s **AMASTEEL G40** passes the **1.00 mm** sieve, with cumulative minima of **70% at 0.425 mm** and **80% at 0.300 mm**. **G80** passes **0.425 mm**, with minima of **65% at 0.180 mm** and **75% at 0.125 mm**. [AMASTEEL technical sheet](https://ervinindustries.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/amasteel-steel-grit.pdf) These are cumulative retained mass percentages. W Abrasives makes its angular grit by crushing heat-treated cast-steel shot. [W Abrasives, standard
series, July 26, 2022](https://shop-th.wabrasives.com/en/blog/post/standard-series)

The word *grit* alone does not identify the alloy, manufacturing route, hardness, or size
distribution. These distinctions matter:

| Media | Distinction from high-carbon cast-steel grit |
| --- | --- |
| Stainless steel grit | A separate alloy family. VULKAN INOX GRITTAL GH is crushed, hardened high-alloy cast stainless steel, with martensite and chromium carbides. [GRITTAL GH data sheet, status October 2022](https://www.vulkan-inox.de/media/pages/unternehmen/downloads/a41bfa2ba6-1785751826/en_data-sheet_grittal-gh_10.2022.pdf). |
| Cut wire | An as-cut wire product can be cylindrical rather than crushed. Pan Abrasives lists carbon-steel and stainless-steel variants within its WireBlast as-cut range. [WireBlast product description](https://pan-abrasives.com/products/wireblast-cut-wire-as-cut). |
| Chilled-iron grit | A separate metallic abrasive specification, covered by ISO 11124-2 rather than the high-carbon cast-steel scope of Part 3. [ISO 11124-2:2018](https://www.iso.org/standard/66705.html), [ISO 11124-3:2018](https://www.iso.org/standard/66706.html). |
| Mineral grit | Non-metallic media have separate material and test specifications. Almandite garnet, for example, is covered by ISO 11126-10:2025 and the ISO 11127 test series. Its designation is not a steel-grit equivalence. [ISO 11126-10:2025](https://www.iso.org/standard/88989.html). |

## Exact-product properties

The following comparison describes manufacturer literature, not measurements on a supplied lot.
Percentages are the chemical-analysis values printed by each manufacturer. The sheets do not provide
a complete elemental balance or a lot certificate.

| Property | Ervin AMASTEEL high-carbon cast-steel grit | VULKAN INOX GRITTAL GH stainless grit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shape and structure | Angular. Tempered martensite. | Angular, crushed and hardened. Martensite with chromium carbides. |
| Published chemical analysis | C 0.80-1.20%, Mn 0.60-1.20%, Si 0.40% minimum, S 0.05% maximum, P 0.05% maximum. | C 1.9-2.1%, Cr 30-33%, Si 0.7-1.0%. |
| Hardness | S, M, L, and H hardness grades. | New material approximately 800 HV, with approximately 64 HRC in parentheses. |
| Density wording | US sheet prints density 7.3 g/cm³. The European brochure gives grit density ≥7.3 g/cm³. Neither gives bulk density. | Approximately 4.0 g/cm³ bulk weight and approximately 7.6 g/cm³ specific weight. |
| Source | [Ervin US technical data sheet, undated](https://ervinindustries.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/amasteel-steel-grit.pdf), [European AMASTEEL brochure, undated](https://www.ervin.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Ervin-AMASTEEL-EN.pdf). | [GRITTAL GH data sheet, status October 2022](https://www.vulkan-inox.de/media/pages/unternehmen/downloads/a41bfa2ba6-1785751826/en_data-sheet_grittal-gh_10.2022.pdf). |

Angular describes the product form, not perfect particle uniformity. Ervin's grit sheet allows at
most 5% round or half-round particles for hard grits and 10% for soft grits. It does not define that
hardness split. [AMASTEEL grit technical data
sheet](https://ervinindustries.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/amasteel-steel-grit.pdf).

GRITTAL's sheet is a general description subject to change. It cites a manufacturer standard based
on ISO 11124, ISO 11125, and ISO 6507 without editions. [GRITTAL GH data
sheet](https://www.vulkan-inox.de/media/pages/unternehmen/downloads/a41bfa2ba6-1785751826/en_data-sheet_grittal-gh_10.2022.pdf).

As explanatory synthesis, neither an alloy name nor a microstructure description establishes a
complete heat-treatment schedule or phase fraction.

The AMASTEEL SDS has a broader product scope than the grit sheet. Section 3 lists Mn 0.35-1.20%, Si
0.40-1.50%, and nickel below 0.2%. Section 9 gives density 7.8 g/cm³ at 20 °C. Those statements do
not replace the grit-specific manganese range or establish a bulk density. The documents provide no
common density test basis that resolves the different printed values. [AMASTEEL US SDS, printed
January 15, 2023, reviewed May 11, 2022, sections 3 and
9](https://ervinindustries.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/amasteel-us-2023.pdf).

## Hardness grades and measurement

Hardness codes belong to the stated product system. AMASTEEL S, M, L, and H hardness ranges are
40-51, 47-56, 54-61, and at least 60 HRC respectively. Ervin's S hardness is separate from an
S-prefixed shot size, and its H hardness is separate from a G-prefixed grit size. W Abrasives uses
GP, GL, and GH for its standard grit descriptions. These labels do not establish a universal alloy,
finish, or microstructure across suppliers. [Ervin AMASTEEL
specifications](https://ervinindustries.com/amasteel-grit/), [W Abrasives standard
series](https://shop-th.wabrasives.com/en/blog/post/standard-series).

HRC denotes the Rockwell C scale and HV denotes Vickers hardness. A paired supplier value is not
permission to convert every particle result between scales. Ervin's European brochure pairs its S,
M, and L ranges with 390-530 HV, 470-610 HV, and 570-720 HV respectively. Its H entry prints ≥60 HRC
with 700 HV in parentheses. The brochure supplies no indentation load, dwell time, sample
preparation, or distribution of individual results. [European AMASTEEL
brochure](https://www.ervin.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Ervin-AMASTEEL-EN.pdf).

Method details can differ even within historical supplier literature. An undated W Abrasives
brochure specifies a 1,000 g microhardness load and ten measurements halfway across the particle
radius. Its GP, GB, GL, and GH HRC entries are 40-51, 47-56, 54-61, and 60 minimum. Those are that
document's values, not a current cross-supplier translation table. [W Abrasives brochure,
specification
table](https://shop-mx.wabrasives.com/media/catalog/product/attachment/granalla_de_acero_estandar_granalla_redonda_granalla_angular_1.pdf).

ISO 11125-3:2018 specifies a Vickers method for metallic blast-cleaning abrasives. Its public scope
says the method is not recommended below 0.3 mm because accurate testing becomes extremely
difficult. A hardness claim without its method, load, and applicable particle size leaves a
measurement gap. [ISO 11125-3:2018, edition 2, confirmed
2024](https://www.iso.org/standard/66699.html).

## Size numbers describe distributions

SAE J444_202306 defines cast-shot and grit size numbers. Its public scope explains that a grit
number uses the nominal test-sieve designation with a G prefix. It is not a particle diameter in
millimetres. The manufacturer distribution remains necessary to describe the supplied size. [SAE
J444_202306, revised June 27,
2023](https://saemobilus.sae.org/standards/j444_202306-cast-shot-grit-size-specifications-cleaning-peening).

Two complete grade examples from Ervin's US AMASTEEL grit table are shown below. They are excerpts,
not a reproduction of the entire size specification. Ervin's historical screening chart explicitly
identifies its percentages as cumulative. [AMASTEEL grit technical data
sheet](https://ervinindustries.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/amasteel-steel-grit.pdf), [Ervin
screening chart, undated manufacturer document hosted by Interlink
Supply](https://manuals.interlinksupply.com/Surface%20Prep%20Manuals/EBE%20INFO/Shot%20chart.pdf).

| AMASTEEL grade | All pass | First cumulative minimum retained | Second cumulative minimum retained |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| G40 | No. 18 sieve, 1.00 mm | 70% on No. 40, 0.425 mm | 80% on No. 50, 0.300 mm |
| G80 | No. 40 sieve, 0.425 mm | 65% on No. 80, 0.180 mm | 75% on No. 120, 0.125 mm |

Cumulative retained percentage includes the material on the named sieve and all coarser sieves. The
denominator is the test-portion mass, not the number of particles. The two minima overlap and cannot
be added. ISO 11125-2 uses sieving and cumulative retained mass relative to the original test
portion. [ISO 11125-2:2018 public scope](https://www.iso.org/standard/66698.html), [ISO member
SIST's public preview, corrected April 2019, clauses
6-7](https://preview.sist.si/sist-preview/66698/b14258550fe240deb6d0523de5e7977d/ISO-11125-2-2018.pdf).

As a conditional arithmetic example, a valid 100 g G40 test portion satisfying those limits has at
least 80 g cumulatively retained through the 0.300 mm sieve. At most 20 g passes that sieve. The
thresholds do not specify an exact 10 g fraction between 0.300 and 0.425 mm. This is a deduction
from the cited limits, not a measured lot distribution.

GRITTAL GH40, by contrast, has a listed grain-size interval of 0.400-0.800 mm under its
manufacturer's system. The sheet does not state retained-mass thresholds or oversize and undersize
tolerances. GH40 is therefore not an SAE G40 equivalence. [GRITTAL GH data
sheet](https://www.vulkan-inox.de/media/pages/unternehmen/downloads/a41bfa2ba6-1785751826/en_data-sheet_grittal-gh_10.2022.pdf).

## Density and the working abrasive mix

Density has a volume basis. Particle or material density concerns the abrasive itself. Bulk density
includes spaces between particles in a container. Numerically, 1 g/cm³ equals 1 kg/dm³ or 1,000
kg/m³, but matching units does not make these properties interchangeable. This is dimensional
explanation, not a packing model or a machine-charge calculation.

New grit and a circulating working mix also differ. W Abrasives says its GP rounds rapidly and GL
loses sharp edges in use. It describes GH as retaining angularity in its operating mix. These are
product descriptions without matched conditions or a quantified reuse-life limit. They do not
establish that every steel grit retains its initial shape. [W Abrasives standard
series](https://shop-th.wabrasives.com/en/blog/post/standard-series).

ISO 11124-3:2018 explicitly covers abrasives supplied new, excluding media during and after use.
Thus, a new-media size or hardness specification alone does not establish the condition of recovered
abrasive. This is a scope deduction, not a prescribed recovery setting. [ISO
11124-3:2018](https://www.iso.org/standard/66706.html).

## Surface condition and process limits

A grit designation does not certify a cleaned workpiece. Surface profile, remaining contamination,
and coating performance are different outcomes. Ervin lists air blasting and centrifugal wheel
blasting among AMASTEEL applications, but its product page supplies no universal operating condition
or acceptance result. The literature here does not establish a pressure, wheel speed, angle,
distance, reuse count, profile depth, cleanliness class, or coating-adhesion guarantee. [AMASTEEL
grit applications](https://ervinindustries.com/amasteel-grit/).

Carbon-steel contamination is consequential on stainless workpieces. VULKAN INOX describes foreign
iron deposited or embedded during blasting, including from contaminated media circuits, as a source
of subsequent rust staining. Stainless grit does not by its name certify an uncontaminated machine
or a surface free of embedded particles. [VULKAN INOX, iron
contamination](https://www.vulkan-inox.de/en/knowledge/iron-contamination).

Safety and environmental claims have the same evidence boundary. AMASTEEL's SDS distinguishes the
supplied product from fine waste dust and contamination generated during blasting, which it
identifies as a possible fire or explosion risk. Its ecological section contains substantial missing
data. The SDS does not establish that spent media, removed coatings, dust, or wastewater are
harmless or suitable for unrestricted disposal. [AMASTEEL SDS, sections 5, 12, 13, and
16](https://ervinindustries.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/amasteel-us-2023.pdf).

## Standard versions and coverage

ISO lists ISO 11124-3:2018, edition 2, as current and confirmed in 2024. It covers new high-carbon
cast-steel shot and grit properties. SAE's public catalog lists J1993_202610, reaffirmed October 2,
2026, for high-carbon cast-steel grit chemistry and physical characteristics. J444_202306 addresses
cast-shot and grit sizing. A supplier sheet naming only "J1993" or "J444" does not identify which
edition underlies that sheet. [ISO 11124-3 catalog](https://www.iso.org/standard/66706.html), [SAE
J1993_202610
catalog](https://saemobilus.sae.org/standards/j1993_202610-high-carbon-cast-steel-grit), [SAE
J444_202306
catalog](https://saemobilus.sae.org/standards/j444_202306-cast-shot-grit-size-specifications-cleaning-peening).

Coverage comprises the cited manufacturer sheets, the full AMASTEEL SDS, and public standard scopes
and the cited public sieve-method preview. The Ervin sheets and historical screening chart have no
visible revision date. GRITTAL's sheet is dated October 2022. No lot certificate, controlled
blasting trial, recovered-media analysis, or customer process qualification supports this reference.
General product properties remain separate from measured lot properties and accepted workpiece
requirements.