That PM article is pretty funny... and here is the punch line:
"The last section shows why aluminum oxide is the 800-pound gorilla of blasting media"
No, no its not. There are many, many more aggressive types of media and grits that will make al ox look like you are slapping the rust with a wet noodle. Coal slag (aka black beauty) is the cheapest and fastest one that is readily available.
Also 50lb of Al Ox will set you back $50 or so per 50lbs (Eastwood wants $70 PLUS shipping!). Black Beauty is $8 for 50lbs.
There ARE times when you want to use less aggressive media for rust... thin metal and final surface texture being the biggest reasons.
If you ware warping or burning through metal panels its not the media's fault, its the operator and the setup that's making the mistake.
