Is it OK to remove paint from a shot peened surface with plastic media? Do you know of any detrimental affects to the shot peened surface if the operator dwells too long in one location?

Hi ERay,

I've been waiting for an answer to your question along with you. I know that presently there's a peening spec conference going on in California and that might delay a more qualified answer. I can give you my thought in the meanwhile.

I think using plastic media is a perfect choice to blast paint off. It is non-abrasive so the surface should not be damaged. It's also a very low mass media and shouldn't have a negative effect on the residual compressive stress layer.

If you wanted to be sure you could invest in some Aero-Almen strips. They're used for testing the effect of blast cleaning on aerospace/aviation parts.

I recommend reading this document http://www.electronics-inc.com/uploads/paintstripmanual.pdf giving special attention to section 6.3.

I hope this helps out.