[INCH-POUND]

A-A-59316
3 February 1999
SUPERSEDING
MIL-A-21380B
15 July 1965

COMMERCIAL ITEM DESCRIPTION

ABRASIVE MATERIALS; FOR BLASTING

The General Services Administration has authorized the use

of this commercial item description for all federal agencies.

1. SCOPE. This commercial item description (CID) covers newly manufactured mineral type
abrasive materials used with pressure blasting equipment. The abrasives are generally used for
blast cleaning metal surfaces to remove scale, rust, paint, encrusted sand, dirt, and other foreign
material, and to prepare surfaces for applied finishes such as paints, plasma spray, and metal
platings.

2. CLASSIFICATION. The abrasive materials shall be of the following types and grades:

2.1 Types.

Type I - Aluminum oxide, fused synthetic or naturally crystallized; for wet or dry blasting.
Type II - Novaculite (silicon dioxide); for wet blasting.
Type III - Silicon carbide; for wet or dry blasting.
Type IV - Garnet; for wet or dry blasting.
Type V - Emery; for wet or dry blasting.
Type VI - Diatomaceous silica, uncalcined; for wet blasting.
Type VII- Tripoli; for wet blasting.

2.2 Grades.

Grade A - Coarse grit size (No. 36); for Types I, III, IV, and V.
Grade B - Medium grit size (No. 100); for all types.
Grade C - Fine grit size (No. 180); for all types.
Grade D - Extra fine grit size (No. 240); for Types II, VI, and VII.

Beneficial comments, recommendations, additions, deletions, clarifications, etc. and any other
data which may improve this document should be sent to: Commander, Naval Air Warfare
Center Aircraft Division, Code 414100B120-3, Highway 547, Lakehurst, NJ 08733-5100.

FSC 5350
A-A-59316

3. SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS.

3.1 Material. The abrasive material shall be noncaking, free flowing, uniform in appearance, and
free of foreign grit or other extraneous materials. It shall not contain free iron visible to the eye
or easily separated by a magnet.

3.2 Grain Appearance. The abrasive material shall appear as specified in Table I.

TABLE I. Grain Appearance.

Type Appearance and Grain Shape 1/

I, III, IV, V Angular and multi-sided; maximum of 2% of slivers or flats.
II Rounded disks; partially agglomerated; maximum of 2% of slivers or flats.
VI Distinct diatom structures, including disk-like, spicular, and cylindrical
forms or fragments thereof.
VII Fibrous structure, with no more than 0.5% having sharp edges or corners.
1/ Viewed at 100X magnification for Types I, II, III, IV, V, and VII; at 300X for Type VI.

3.3 Grit Size Grading. The abrasive material shall be graded in accordance with ANSI-B74.12
and shall conform to the grit size requirements of 2.2.

3.4 Hardness. The abrasive material shall be of sufficient hardness to scratch glass when tested
by placing some of the abrasive material between two glass microscope slides and, while applying
pressure, moving one slide over the other in a reciprocating motion. The glass slide shall be
examined for scratches.

3.5 Chemical and Physical Properties. The abrasive material shall conform to the requirements in
Table II when determined in accordance with ANSI-B74.14.

4. REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS.

4.1 Regulatory Requirements. The offeror/contractor is encouraged to use recovered materials

to the maximum extent practicable, in accordance with paragraph 23.403 of the Federal
Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

4.2 Metric Products. Products manufactured to metric dimensions will be considered on an equal
basis with those manufactured using inch-pound units, provided they fall within the tolerances
specified and all other requirements of this document are met. If a product is manufactured to
metric dimensions and those dimensions exceed the tolerances specified in inch-pound units, a
request should be made to the contracting officer to determine if the product is acceptable.

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 TABLE II. Chemical and Physical Properties.

Property Requirements
Type I Type II Type III Type IV Type V Type VI Type VII
Aluminum Oxide 98.0 (min.) – – – – – –
Residue, percent
Silicon Dioxide Content, – 98.5 (min.) – 35.0 to 40.0 20.0 to 30.0 85.0 (min.) 90.0 (min.)
percent
Silicon Carbide Content, – – 98.5 (min.) – – – –
percent
R2O3 Residue, percent 1/ – – – 55.0 (min.) 55.0 (min.) – –
Moisture Content, 0.5 (max.) 0.5 (max.) – 0.5 (max.) 0.5 (max.) 6.0 (max.) 0.5 (max.)
percent 2/
3

Loss on Ignition, percent 0.2 (max.) 0.1 (max.) – – – 6.0 (max.) 3.0 (max.)
Specific Gravity 3.60 (min.) 2.55 (min.) 3.20 (min.) 3.70 (min.) 3.50 (min.) 1.85 (min.) 2.15 to 2.60

1/ Occurring mainly as Fe2O3 and Al2O3.

2/ The moisture content of the abrasive material delivered in bags or sacks shall not exceed the values listed in this table.

A-A-59316
A-A-59316

5. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS.

5.1 Product Conformance. The product provided shall meet the salient characteristics of this
CID, conform to the producer's own drawings, specifications, standards, and quality assurance
practices, and be the same product offered for sale in the commercial market. The Government
reserves the right to require proof of such conformance.

5.2 Market Acceptability. The following market acceptability criteria are necessary to document
the quality of the product to be provided under this CID.

5.2.1 The company producing the abrasive material must have been producing a product meeting
the requirements of this CID for at least 6 months.

6. PACKAGING.

6.1 Preservation, Packing, and Marking. Preservation, packing, and marking shall be as specified
in the contract or order.

7. NOTES.

7.1 Source of Documents.

7.1.1 ANSI Standards are available from the American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11
West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

7.1.2 The FAR may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-0001.

7.2 Ordering Information. The purchaser should select the required options permitted herein and
include the following information in procurement documents:

a. Title, number, and date of this CID.

b. Type and grade.
c. Quantity.
d. Preservation, packing, and marking.

7.3 Part Identification Number (PIN). Abrasive materials conforming to this CID shall be
identified by a part number configuration consisting of the CID number, type, and grade. An
example of the part number configuration is as follows:

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 A-A-59316

AA59316 - X - X

Grade (see 2.2)

Type - use 1 through 7 instead of Roman numerals (see 2.1)
CID number

7.4 National Stock Numbers. The following is a list of assigned NSNs that correspond to this
CID. The list may not be indicative of all possible NSNs associated with the CID.

5350-00-184-5824 5350-00-255-0759
5350-00-184-5825 5350-00-255-0760
5350-00-184-6248 5350-00-466-5924
5350-00-814-6253 5350-00-881-4444
5350-00-184-6254 5350-01-088-5801
5350-00-184-6255 5350-01-144-0471
5350-00-222-0493 5350-01-236-0814
5350-00-223-4371 5350-01-261-9065
5350-00-230-3235 5350-01-295-9702
5350-00-230-3246 5350-01-295-9703
5350-00-255-0758 5350-01-360-6562

MILITARY INTERESTS: CIVIL AGENCY COORDINATING ACTIVITY:

GSA/FSS - 7FXE
Custodian:
Army - MR Preparing Activity:
Navy - AS Navy - AS
Air Force - 99
(Project 5350-0053)
Review Activities:
Army - AR, CR
Navy - MC, YD2