Recommended steel grit size for paint adhesion on carbon steel?
I am currently designing a new blasting station for a company that manufactures agricultural seed hoppers/trailers made mainly from SAE 1020 steel.
The objective of the process is only surface preparation before painting (rust/scale removal and good paint adhesion). The company currently uses conventional sand blasting, but we are evaluating switching to a reusable abrasive system with abrasive recovery and recycling.
We are considering steel grit as the abrasive, mainly because of its reusability and because it seems suitable for generating a good anchor profile for paint. We also want to move away from traditional sand blasting because of the ventilation and dust problems it generates.
Does steel grit sound like the right choice for this application, or would you recommend another abrasive/media instead? Also, what grit size would you recommend for this type of paint-preparation work on SAE 1020 steel?