sandblasting booth Building a An easy project that will upgrade your shop/Jack Burgess W
there are a number of ready-to-run freight cars avail- able these days, a lot of steam era modelers rely on resin freight car kits to accurately complete their equip- ment rosters. These kits require a few additional tools beyond basic hand tools. They include a pin vise and a set of small drill bits, needlenose pliers, files, clamps and an airbrush. Given the “mixed me- dia” used in these kits, such as brass stirrup steps and grab irons, resin kit modelers might also start thinking about purchasing a sandblaster. A sand- blaster can easily prep brass parts and trucks for painting, especially important when painting with acrylic paints. A sandblaster can also be essential prior to painting when modifying or superdetail- ing older brass locomotives. Although I have never tried it, reportedly using a very mild abrasive such as baking soda with a sandblaster at a low p.s.i. can also remove lettering on ready-to-run freight cars without damaging the underlying paint. It can also have weathering uses.
hile
PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR
The sandblasting booth (top) was easy to build from a plastic storage box. A hole was cut and fitted (above left) with a piece of clear acrylic so one can see into the box during use. Note the
Back in the 1980’s I bought a
Paasche AEC sandblaster and, while it worked well when it worked, I had problems getting it to continually oper- ate satisfactorily. I subsequently gave up on sandblasting after that. A couple of years ago I purchased a
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clips to hold the lid closed. The sleeves (above right) are from an old long sleeve shirt. They are hemmed and fit over plywood rings and secured with elastic cord to lock them in place.
fairly standard, self-contained bench- top cabinet sandblaster for large pro- jects; it also included a “pencil” sand- blaster. That pencil sandblaster turned out to be perfect for modeling projects. For a time I used this pencil sandblaster outdoors, but that result-
ed in a lot of abrasive on my hands and arms, especially when the wind was blowing, The process begged for a bet- ter solution.
Many years ago someone on the
Steam Era Freight Car Yahoo chat list posted some photos of a home-built FEBRUARY 2012
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