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Blast cabinet primer on stripping your trains

rustyrail o scalerustyrail o scaleOGR Forum Member
As promised here is a primer course on stripping your models for repaint.
What you need to get it done.
Blast cabinet from Tractor Supply. $99.99
I suggest you only buy this cabinet because as others (Harbour Frieght)look like this on they are shoddy in workmanship and leak dust everywhere.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/j...-lb-capacity-3951103
6 gallon shop vac. $54.99 I suggest this one because it uses a cartridge type filter that can be cleaned and reused forever unlike the foam and paper filters that others use.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/s...y-vac-6-gal--1016389
A couple rolls of protective film for the cabinet window. $9.99 each roll of 5 sheets.
Each window film will usually last long enough to blast 2 to 3 shells.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/c...-in-x-12-in--3774056
3 under cabinet light kit from home Depot. $19.99 These are only 20 watt but they're super bright and put off a lot of heat to keep the humidity out of you box and the sand stays super dry.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/...superSkuId=202572738
The only media to be used is (minus 44 sand) from your local cement yard. If they dont have it they can get it. This media is sized,cleaned and used for this application. When picking it up make sure they give you a bag that has not been wet. Mine cost me $7 for an 80 Lb bag. one 80 Lb bag will strip no less than 100-150 shells.
Now all you nedd is an air compressor that can keep a constant 100 pounds of pressure and your in business.
Heres my cabinet that I;ve been using for years.

The only thing you will have to modify on the cabinet is the lighting. Most all small cabinet blasters come with a single flourecent light mounted on the back of the cabinet. The problem with this is it doesnt put out much light,ten minutes after the first time you use it the lense gets scratched now you have even less light and what little light you have left is shining in your eyes. The cabinet lights are best mounted on the sides and front of the cabinet. One light can be mounted on the front of the cabinet between your hands for good direct light and the other two can be mounted on one side depending if you are right handed or left handed. I'm right handed so my lights are on the right side of the cabinet.

Heres the mickey mouse light that comes with the cabinet.

If you look at the picture above you can see something round and black in the upper right hand corner of the cabinet. Thats the shop vac hose. The corrugated vac hose fits in the suction port perfectly without any modification what so ever. If you need the vac for something else just pull the hose out in 2 seconds.

Why this media choice? Simply because it works. No matter if its diecast,steel,pot metal or even plastic this is the only blast media (minus 44) to use.
Why I dont use other media.
(Soda) Its expensive. Its so fine that when its blown out into the cabinet it goes straight in the vac instead of falling back in the cabinet to be recycled again. It takes forever to strip even the thinnest paint.
(Crushed corn cobs) They stop up the blast gun and are made more for polishing metal rather than stripping paint.
(Walnut shells) To unpredictable. They loose theyre ability to strip rather quickly. To expensive and hard to find.
(Play sand) Like using gravel to blast with.
(Glass beads) Turn to dust rather quickly. Build heat if you stay in one spot to long causing detail to get eaten away. To expensive and over rated.
(Oxide abrasives) Way to agressive. This stuff will even eat your gloves up.

Heres some examples of what this blast setup can do.
Diecast K line engine.


Plastic K line tender.


Heres the finished product.


All the fine plastic detail is still very much there.

Heres a new Williams GP 38 I got from Eliot a few weeks ago and although it was a mint engine I've never been a New Haven fan so it made its way to the cabinet.




Heres a NOS Lionel tender shell (plastic) that went thru the cabinet and the details were'nt harmed what so ever.

Plastic diesel shell I got last week from a forum member. It took me 10-15 minutes and it was on its way back home.

Look at those nasty steps.

Those fans were caked with paint.


Clean steps and details.

The fans cleaned up just as good on the inside as they did on the outside.

This type blast setup can also be used to ghost letter projects.

Once you get the cabinet setup I found it strips the best @100 PSI although the manufacturer advises to run it @80 PSI.
This setup will blast all plastics without harm no matter the year it was made or who it was made by. Keep your vac clean and a good film on the window so you can see. Seeing what you are doing is the key. When you see the paint go then move on with the gun. (One last note) Any fine details such as lights,whistles etc that you dont want blasted then all you have to do is simply mask them with masking tape and the sand wont harm them.
If you dont have enough use for a blaster that will justify the cost but you have something you need blasted from time to time you can send me an email of your needs. Any questions or needed advise you can contact me at rustyrailoscale@windstream.net
Thomas

***WARNING*** When cleaning the vacum or the cabinet always wear breathing protection as some older prewar trains may have lead in the paint.
Last edited {1}
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SolarEclipse2SolarEclipse2OGR Forum Member
quote:
Originally posted by rustyrail o scale:
]
The only media to be used is (minus 44 sand) from your local cement yard. If they dont have it they can get it. This media is sized,cleaned and used for this application. When picking it up make sure they give you a bag that has not been wet. Mine cost me $7 for an 80 Lb bag. one 80 Lb bag will strip no less than 100-150 shells.
rustyrail o scalerustyrail o scaleOGR Forum Member
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Norton:
Sand might be effective but it can also cause silicosis.

This is why man invented the filtered shop vac.

Glass bead used properly does not carry the same risk. Furthermore it removes paint without removing metal.

If I'm using this to strip plastic I dont think I would worry about harming metal.
Anyone who strays from the setup I have listed here I can only wish them the best of luck.
Thomas
rustyrail o scalerustyrail o scaleOGR Forum Member
quote:
Originally posted by SD60M:
What do you charge to do the stripping? Seems like a high production facility...I can imagine that we "all" would ever need one.

Great description and process.


I charge $10 to strip a shell plus whatever shipping cost you. $8 a shell if you send 2 or more shells at a time. Anyone can have a setup like this for a reasonable price if they already have a good sized air compressor. The expense of the compressor is the only downside. I have a huge $3500.00 compressor on the back side of my shop due to me having a grading business and I need a lot of air to run the impacts I use to work on my dozer and other large equipment. Much smaller compressors will run this cabinet but sometimes you will have to stop blasting and let the air build back up.
Thomas
F FfffredddOGR Forum Member
Been media blasting for 30 years. Everything from silicon dioxide (sand) to steel ball bearings. By the way Sand(silica) is now mostly illegal to do commercially due to silicosis risk without elaborate containment. The irony is that when carving glass with safer media, I am still creating airborne silica in much more hazardous (sharper) pieces. Shop vac will not filter and it will kill motor real quick. Need a cyclone type pre filter. But.. Aluminum oxide for castings, glass bead for aluminum and walnut shells for plastic. Silicon carbide will theoretically last longer and is sharper(cuts faster) but is more expensive and will be to contaminated with paint/rust etc dust long before you get the extra milage out of it. Even better than a siphon blaster and uses less pressure and cfms is a small pressure pot with a 1/16th diameter nozzle. Nozzle is 1/4 diameter of hose and piping or it will eat itself. Will cut faster with a lot less dust, and disposable lenses will last longer also. Buy a small unit from a company called Rayzist in California with a foot pedal.and make you own box from plywood, rubber dish gloves, weather stripping and plexiglass real cheap and easier than a scratch built building.
B bob2OGR Forum Member

I usually use local cabinets at the airport.  I crank the pressure down to 35psi or less, and am careful to aim at a 45 degree angle.  I have never done plastic, but on expensive brass imports 100 psi will distort sheet metal, making your model worthless.  It will also destroy aircraft sheet metal?  It work-hardens and expands one side of the sheet.  Most cabinets have glass beads in them.

T TheGandyDancerOGR Forum Member

This is a good basic set up for those not wanting to spend a ton of money. I've been using this same set up without the shop vac for 12 years now. I got my $99 Speedway cabinet on EBay years ago. It does the job with my only gripe being the top is a bit flimsy. I've restored hundreds of trains and blasted nearly 1000 parts or more. It is the most handy tool I have, and makes the job of stripping paint, rust, grime, and other ugly finishes and corrosion off as easy as pie. From rusted pitted parts that have sat in damp garages or basements, or items just abused or repainted by their owners years ago, to items scorched in a house fire, the media blaster is the way to go. You may not think you'll use this tool but you will once you know what it can do for your projects.This was the same for my Lionel arbor press. Never thought I could justify the cost with the amount of use I did at the time, but now find I cannot live without one.

 

Using the media blaster does have a small learning curve, and you'll need to learn when to cut back the pressure, and when to increase the pressure, what nozzle to use, and what media to use. Every media has a specific purpose. Clean sand is the most common, but I found that it created a ton of dust, whether a filter was used or not. It also removes more that rust and paint etc., often times going into the base metals. On excessively hard metals its the media to use at higher pressures. Softer metals such as tin and zinc cast parts its Ok, but not the best choice. I prefer glass beads and use them exclusively. It is kind to the underlying material, is effective at stripping and puts a nice shine on everything. I can strip or clean hundreds of parts or shells before having to change out the media. It produces no dust unless the media needs changing due to it being full of old paint, rust, scale etc. If your working with more delicate parts such as the contact finger plate from a Lionel Standard Gauge pendulum reverse unit, turn the pressure down very low and keep the nozzle as far away from the work as possible. I strip/clean screws, bodies, wheels, trucks, clips, draw bars, latch couplers, frames, motor frames, armatures, axles you name it. If a part is supposed to be bright plated, I can then choose to buff it out with rouge or use the plating kit and get that like new tin/nickle look. 

 

My compressor is a small 5 gallon Craftsman contractors pancake that has a pretty fast recovery time. It is just enough to get the job done, although on larger parts I find myself considering a 20 gallon or more unit. I have not done much with plastics, its not my area of expertise.

 

No matter what media you use always wear a mask. Surgical style masks are cheap and can be purchased by the box at most big box stores or on line. Even though glass beads produce little to no dust, I still wear a mask just to be safe.

 

Gandy

Last edited by TheGandyDancer
F FfffredddOGR Forum Member
Sounds like you have the basics down. But to clarify: A siphon blaster is like an obsolete high volume high pressure paint gun. It uses a Venturi effect to pull the grit up the siphon tube and essentially rides the high pressure high volume air stream. It is very inefficient at lower pressures and uses a lot of Cfms of air. A pressure blaster uses a pressurized tank of grit that is forced out of the nozzle. Like a mini jack hammer. It uses a lot less grit and at 35 psi vs 95 psi will strip at a much faster rate or with finer control. You can also actually see what you are doing because when properly adjusted you barely see the grit but can see what you are removing. I will repeat. Anyone siphon blasting with real sand and not meeting OSHA and HEPA standards for dust containment is just slowly waiting for a sad life wheezing and spitting blood as your lungs turn into one big callus.
VaGolfer1950VaGolfer1950OGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by rustyrail o scale:

I charge $10 to strip a shell plus whatever shipping cost you. $8 a shell if you send 2 or more shells at a time. Anyone can have a setup like this for a reasonable price if they already have a good sized air compressor. The expense of the compressor is the only downside. I have a huge $3500.00 compressor on the back side of my shop due to me having a grading business and I need a lot of air to run the impacts I use to work on my dozer and other large equipment. Much smaller compressors will run this cabinet but sometimes you will have to stop blasting and let the air build back up.
Thomas

I emailed you about doing some stripping, did you receive it?

SH Southwest HiawathaOGR Forum Member

Powder coating shops often do  blasting, since they have to have the setup anyway to clean whatever they are coating. I just had a 381E shell and frame and a 511 flatcar done by the local powder coating shop and it cost me something like 15 bucks for all three pieces. If I remember correctly, the owner told me he used 60 grit aluminum oxide for that sort of job. That leaves a pretty rough surface, which paint will adhere to easily. 

VaGolfer1950VaGolfer1950OGR Forum Member

Got a response from RustyRail on having paint stripped which I have included in this response for those that had tried to contact them for paint stripping.

 

" I still strip shells. I dont check this email very often as you can tell. I've gotten out of the trains myself and now I only work on other peoples trains occasionally. I've gotten more into building 1/24-1/25 scale dioramas and vehicles for museums and movie sets such as death valley pictures. I've been on OGR maybe once in the last year. Send a call out on OGR and see if anyone else wants any stripping done as I dont know how much longer I'm going to take jobs on train stripping. You can remove any detail you dont want stripped from your shells and send them to:
Thomas Ivester
519 Luther Watts Rd.
Clayton Ga 30525

If more than one shell send $8 each plus return shipping.
Turn around is usually 2 weeks

My business email tntfarmservice@windstream.net

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