Hi all!! I've been blasting glassware with 150 grit AO. I want to get more of a  blasted look. I was thinking of going to 80 grit. My question is, would the Tractor Supply Black Diamond media work as well as AO and is BD more hazardous to use than AO? Also, what about 80 grit garnet media? Thanks.

I use the black diamond 80 grit. It's coal slag, so it's pretty well as safe as AO.  http://www.ati-blackdiamond.com/new/shockrock.htm for more information. It makes quick work of glass, metal, etc. It's the only thing I use for etching.

Thanks for the replies. I'll be picking up some BD next week. 

coal slag works great with a cheap siphon blaster..don't use it with Rapidmask tho!     tears it up!

All I've been using for my stencils is standard vinyl. Will the BD blast through it? Thanks

Thanks 

I know this is an old thread, but had to ask what kind of pressure are you using with the Black Diamond?   I just picked up my first bag and it ate right through the 651.  Never got a good etch before it was going through the mask.  Played with it for a while and just ended up ruining the a few peices of glassware.  Finally went out and bought the AO that I had been using.  It worked like a dream as always.  (Just hate the cost.) 

I get Marco 80-90 AO from tsc. It comes in a gray pale, 50lbs.

Hmmm the BD that I've used was like 120 grit..and that at like 30 psi thru an 1/8" "nozzle"  Used one of them Spot Blaster type guns (Speedblaster - I think they're called?)  Oracal 651 will mask it - no where near as nice as the AO but use it for large portions and ya can kinda fade in the other detail..


and Thanks Peabody for saving me a shit-ton of cash on sourcing abrasive!  I have looked and asked at TSC, but no one there "knows" what they even sell. ya have to find stuff yourself -  I asked for "blast media" and one guy thought I meant powdered explosive