glass beading soft metals

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In another forum this advise was offered: "never glass bead soft metals since makes it impossible to tig weld if need repairing use only aluminum oxide or walnut shell media".I asked the poster why and await a reply.  Meanwhile, I feel compelled to ask here: do any experts here have any opinions on this?Thanks.-MondoMember, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.
Reply:I have no experience trying it and don't have the ability to test the theory in the near future, but do seriously doubt its accuracy. Even if a trace of glass did get embedded in the metal, would it not melt and float to the surface as silicon lakes do when the silicon from within the alloys of various steel workpieces (or filler) gets oxidized?
Reply:I think their may be some truth to it because I've tried it. Although i will admit that the material was dirty to begin with but it wasn't bad just oxidized and I'm unsure of the alloy it was. but the same weld with heavy wire brushing turned out way better than the glass beaded part.
Reply:Glass BEADS do not get into the material..more like shot peening but with smaller media..Sand however is a BIG no no..That will get into the material and make a mess.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:I have a second hand blasting cabinet.Not sure what the media is, but when I tried welding a piece of 6061 al that came out of that cabinet, I had a hell of a time with contamination.JoeMiller Syncrowave 200Mac/Miller MW130 MIGKalamazoo bandsawCincinnati Arrow 500 VMCColchester Dominion 15 x 36 lathe with 2 axis DRO
Reply:.......and as some folks don't clean/degrease parts before blasting, the dirt and oil/grease/hydrocarbons become part of the blast media.  Even if you blast aluminum, you still need to brush it and wipe it down with acetone.
Reply:Thanks for the replies.   It just makes sense...  even after the bead blasting the metal needs to be washed clean of any remaining media before welding.   This is assuming you will be welding soon after the bead blasting.  But bead blasting to clean a part for other reasons, putting it into service, and then months or years down the road it breaks and needs a weld repair, I wouldn't think it would make much difference if it had been bead blasted or even sand blasted at some time in it's past history.  The weldor needs to take appropriate steps to clean the material to prepare it for welding.  I just could not imagine any permanent damage from bead blasting that would impact a later repair.  But thought I would ask the experts.  - MondoMember, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterGlass BEADS do not get into the material..more like shot peening but with smaller media..Sand however is a BIG no no..That will get into the material and make a mess.....zap!
Reply:I think I would be more concerned with the other stuff in the blast media with the beads- like all the junk that was blasted off previous work ( like iron oxide and whatever)  I am not beyond believing that the peening process the beads do might knead the material arround trapping contaminates below the surface.   i would think sharp aluminum oxide would be safer.