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Anyone use an air eraser? General discussion
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MRH Author 79 posts Pennwest MRH Author 79 posts
Pennwest

I'm looking at buying an air eraser, also known as a mini-sandblaster.  I want to use it to remove letters and numbers from O-scale freight cars without removing the underlying paint.  I plan to use baking soda as the abrasive medium.

The products I'm considering are a Paasche model AEC air eraser and a Badger model 260 mini sandblaster.  If anyone could share their experiences with either or both of these products, that would be a big help.

I know that Harbor Freight sells a knockoff version of the Paasche AEC.  I have been through two of those and neither one worked.  The first one had a completely stripped abrasive adjusting screw and the second one had much reduced airflow vs. the first and the tip clogged repeatedly.  I was able to get about 5 or 6 seconds of use between cleaning the tip and it clogging again.  I'm now looking at a "name" brand.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Bob Bartizek

Lebanon, OH

http://www.pennwestrr.com

 

 
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ratled Frequent poster 926 posts
ratled

I do

Great for getting stubborn paint off of plastic w/o hurting it.  Also a good prep prior to painting to give the object "tooth" - works on both plastic and metal.  I have heard it works on wood too but haven't tried it.  I like to use baking soda as the medium and also know these as "soda blasters"

 

I use this one  http://www.harborfreight.com/air-eraser-kit-69277.html

 

Steve

http://klamathline.blogspot.com/

 
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BN1970 Regular poster 336 posts
BN1970

Paasche AEC

I have used the Paasche model AEC air eraser to remove lettering and paint on N-Scale rolling stock.  It worked really great and can remove cars numbers and such in about 2 seconds with out damage to the underlying paint.

I wished I would have had this 20 years ago as it would have made the reworking of factory painted models so much easier.

I also used baking soda, I found the un-named baking soda clogged the tip much faster.  Where as the Arm and Hammer brand baking soda, clogged a lot less. --Brian
Brian Morgan, ESU ECoS - ProtoThrottles, SwitchPilot, SignalPilots, ECoSDetector, LokProgrammer,  GN in 1967     
• my Username is BN1970 thanks to my basement flood of 2015.
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fishnmack Regular poster 222 posts
fishnmack

Air Eraser

I am not a big fan of Harbor Freight tools account of the general low quality, but if the air eraser (soda blaster) gets ANY condensed moisture in the air supply line, it will plug, regardless of the brand.  Before buying a new model of soda blaster, consider a good quality moisture trap for your air supply line.   Besides the soda blaster, clean dry air is a must for quality painting.
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casenundra Regular poster 367 posts
casenundra

I didn't know

I didn't know that you could use baking soda as a sandblasting medium. I've herd that you can use ground up walnut shells.

I have used the airbrushes from Harbor Freight for airbrushing with watered down latex paint.

Rich S.

Home of the Here N There RR (N) (under construction)

One of these days I'll be able to run some trains!

Now on Facebook for whatever that's worth.
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herronp Prolific poster 1,831 posts
herronp

I bought a used Paasche and could not...........................

....................get it to work.  I returned it and bought a Badger which does work but is very limited in removal which is what you want, I guess.  If all you want to do is remove lettering it will do the job.  But if you are thinking of roughing up a whole car (especially O scale) for paint prep, you will be working a long time.  I got a bead blasting cabinet and have not used the eraser since.  If all I want is to remove lettering, I use the finest grit and turn the PSI way down.

Peter
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k37497 New member 6 posts
k37497

Air eraser

I have had great success in using a fibre glass eraser for removing decals on my locos, rolling stock and the odd plastic buildings. They are available from any good art supply shop or watch makers supply store. It removes the decal without damaging the paint work underneath it. Brian - Cape Town SA.
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boomer44 New member 16 posts
boomer44

Air eraser.

Bob,

For what you want to do I think Brian has the right idea... fiberglass eraser pen.

I have an Paasche Air Eraser AEC. It will take off lettering but also the surrounding paint as well. I'm in HO scale so working with a small area. I ditched the baking soda when I found it was turning the eraser tip corrosion green on the inside and constantly clogging. I couldn't keep the baking soda dry enough. I switched to using Paasche Air Eraser Compound AEX-6. This is Aluminum Oxide. It doesn't absorb moisture and worked great in the air eraser. Clean tip and no clogging. Do follow caution as described on the label. The compound comes in various grit for varying degree of cutting power.

I have used the air eraser to remove lettering and stripping paint off locomotive shells. You do have to play with air pressure and distance from the work. Yes it is a slow process so you need patience. You can go too far and start to smooth or remove subtle detail on the surface. Do remove the shell from any mechanism as oxide dust and paint dust will be everywhere. A good wash/cleaning needed on any surface you air erase when done.

As fishnmack mentioned... use a moisture trap.

Gordon

 

 

 

 

 
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