Home PageCrushed walnut shell is a hard fibrous material used as a soft abrasive in many industries. It is widely used to polish and clean materials such as metal, glass, and plastics. It can be used on fragile parts of machinery without etching, scratching, or marking the cleaned areas. It can also be used for a fine polish for jewelry, watches, golf clubs, etc.
Some of the benefits of soft grit abrasives such as Walnut, according to the industry, are:
- Non-toxic�causes no health or environmental hazards.
- Replaces sand to avoid problem of silicosis.
- Biodegradable.
- Re-usable.
- Reduces cycle time of finishing operations.
- Preserves microfinishes.
Among the major industrial applications are:
- A blast cleaning medium
- Remover for paint, flash, burrs and flaws in plastic and metal die casting
- Sand replacement for paint removal, graffiti removal and general outdoor cleaning
- For aircraft engine cleanout
- For cleaning steam turbines
Other uses include:
- Prevents lost circulation in oil well drilling
- Non-skid enhancer in abrasive paints for pools and walkways
- Porosity enhancer for grinding wheels and ceramics.
- Preserves gel-coat when removing paint from fibreglass boats.
You can make your own walnut shell polish by finely crushing it in a grinder and sifting the shell "powder". Collect the fine powder sifted through a tea strainer or flour sifter and mix with soft beeswax or soap. Use this homemade polish on jewelry or other metal pieces. Experiment with the fineness of the powdered walnut shell and the amount mixed with the wax or soap.