Typically when you grit blast a surface you do it to remove a surface layer or to roughen a surface to improve the bond strength of a surface coating. But like all processes the key process parameters can be adjusted to affect the resulting surface; this includes the ability to smooth a surface.

Sand blasting is both a generic as well as a descriptive process term. Sandblasting is typically utilized by the construction industry to clean bridges or remove oxidation from steel. Abrasive blasting and grit blasting are terms used by industrial businesses. All of these processes use compressed air to propel an abrasive material against a work piece to remove a surface layer.