The perfect finish is only the start
We are Vapormatt, a UK manufacturer of manual and automatic wet blasting machines, also known as vapor blasting machines.
In the 1940s, Norman Ashworth pioneered wet blasting while working alongside Sir Frank Whittle on the jet engine. Stewart Ashworth founded Vapormatt in 1978 to focus exclusively on wet blasting, and the Ashworth family still owns and runs the company today.
Vapormatt has supplied more than 2,000 wet blasting machines to over 50 countries for cleaning, peening, deburring, edge honing and coating preparation across aerospace, medical, cutting tool and advanced manufacturing.
Where would you like to start?
Just discovering wet blasting?
We brought the process to the world. Start here for the fundamentals, explained by the company that has spent four generations developing them.
Exploring wet blasting for your industry?
The difference between suppliers is process depth. See the application knowledge, proven outcomes, and track record that make Vapormatt the preferred choice across demanding industries.
Ready to specify a machine?
You know what your application needs. Find the machine built for it, with the technical data and process expertise to support your specification.
Already a Vapormatt customer?
Fast access to parts, service support, and technical guidance. Everything in one place.
Vapormatt's Leopard horizontal automatic wet blasting machine cut total component processing time from 430 hours to 88 hours (an 80% reduction) while eliminating the material loss risk associated with dry blasting.
Compressor hub processing time cut from 3 hours to just 20 minutes by installing an automatic Vapormatt Leopard Cub, which precisely blasts every angle of a hub's complex "fir tree" geometry.
The accuracy of edge prep applied to the tools was excellent with little to no error present. Vapormatt achieved the highest level of edge prep accuracy against all of the competition.
Whilst working with NASA it was found during fatigue testing that wet-peened parts last significantly longer, attributed to the creation of very high compressive residual stress at the surface layer.
"Wet blasting is the preferred surface finishing option for coating specialists. Vapormatt’s Sabre enables excellent controllability and reproducibility during the process. This is essential when it comes to carbide insert manufacturing where quality needs to be both consistent and measurable. For this reason, it is only fitting that the Sabre joins other innovative and industry-leading technology as a valued addition to our demonstration centre."
"Our old dry blasting machine was a bottleneck in the production process."
“The machine works well and does a great job at cleaning dies.”
From our Anubis 3D case study: The Vapormatt Puma wet blasting machine allows the complete removal of trapped sintered powder from complex internal channels. It also achieves a higher-quality surface finish on SLS additive manufactured components compared with dry blasting, whilst eliminating the explosion risks associated with airborne powder.
"Our Vapormate has without doubt stood the test of time and saves us a lot of man hours. It is also very consistent and reliable."
Vapormatt's wet blasting machine, installed at the National Composites Centre in Bristol, is transforming composite bonding performance by delivering clean, precision-abraded surfaces on materials like carbon fibre and GRP - without causing fibre damage.
We utilise wet blasting to clean aluminium or copper feedstock, it enhances the performance.
Iskra PIO, a Slovenian pharmaceutical machinery manufacturer, partnered with Vapormatt to adopt wet blasting using the Puma and Leopard Sump machines, replacing manual polishing and brushing to achieve faster, more consistent hygienic stainless steel surface finishes below 0.8μm Ra.
Some of the key industries we serve
Aerospace and aviation
Learn about wet shot peening, cleaning and paint stripping of engine parts, wheels and brakes in both MRO and OEM applications.
Wire and cable
Discover how wet blasting de-glares surfaces on power cables, improves cleanliness on drawn wires, and improves feedstock quality.
Composites
Read why wet blasting is the best preparation method for composite bonding, lacquering, or painting without damaging substrates.
Cutting tools
Discover how wet blasting is used for edge preparation, deburring, pre and post coating applications on carbide drills, mills, taps and inserts.
Some of the applications for wet blasting
Cleaning
Removes contaminants and leaves surfaces clean and ready for the next process step.
Bonding
Cleans and prepares surfaces to a specific surface roughness tolerance that is perfect for maximum bond strength.
Edge honing
Softens sharp edges to achieve a controlled radius and more consistent finish.
Paint stripping
Removes paint and coatings to expose a clean substrate for refinishing and recoating.
Latest news and insights
All News
Every propeller and helicopter rotor blade that leaves your facility carries a certificate of airworthiness. The surface preparation beneath it is where risk is introduced or removed.
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Your overhead conductor can carry around 5% more current with no extra conductor material.
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