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Paasche Air Eraser for rust removal....

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While sorting out an electrical short this afternoon, I removed my three door switches and discovered that they were pretty cruddy. I decided to clean them up and saw where the rust had cut the metal pretty good. Such a fine little part that even a wire brush wouldn't get inside. And too fine to use a sand blaster on. Well, I remembered that I had a very old Paasche Air Eraser stored away and rigged it to work off my compressor. The Air Eraser is a micro-fine sand blaster that uses dried apricot seed dust as an abrasive. They are used by archeologists to clean up old artifacts. First cousin to the Paasche Air Brush used by nearly all the air brush artists you see in the mall. (Don't even ask what I am doing with this thing.) That little jewel will micro blast the smallest part and bring it right to the metal, rapidly working in a work area about 2 mm wide. Painted all three with some Krylon (even though I think they are supposed to be body-coloured) and will have essentially new switches. Oh, and I found the short, a purple-wire light socket was out of it's holder and rubbing against the body. The Air Eraser is especially good for us OCD types that like things right....

Bill
 
Yeah, it's a very, very rare TR6 Dove!

(3 door-switches, not 3-door switches, two on left, one on right. The 73 has a seat belt switch on left door)

Bill
 
Bill- Because I am not familiar with all the fifferences past the 71,the left door dooes it have a seperate switch for the belt or is the switch a 2 prong switch?
 
So, is it a rotating rubber eraser, or an actual mini-sandblasting thing?
 
It's like an air brush but the nozzle has been replaced with a carbide orifice and instead of having a cup for paint, it has a pressure chamber on top of the handle to hold about a thimble full of abrasive.

They are quite useful for delicate work. I didn't know there was special media for it. I've had one for years and have always used either si-carbide or alumina abrasive in it... but that's all I have around. These are also great for etching patterns in glass once you mask it. Not everyone needs one but they are great little craft tools.
 
Yes Bill, I have always made an arc of association between dental work and bodywork. I figured I was an apprentice large-scale dentist when I gouged out rust and stripped down cars. You know blasting out the rot and capping the metal over and perhaps a filling here and there. I am just waiting to get into the small stuff. Tell me Bill did you use that on a tooth.
sp53
 
Errr, yes, as a matter of fact. Hench the use of (sterile) apricot seed dust. Old technique, we have better things now. Even my air compressor is an old twin-head, twin-motor Pelton workhorse. Now if I can just figure a way to write off a lift in my practice....

Bill
 
Would I ruin my Badger Crescendo airbrush by running starch throu it?

Would cornstarch work? It's pretty fine stuff.
 
Starch? OK... I've never heard of that. I have heard of running baking soda through air abraders and sandblast guns. My Paasche abrader came as a kit with si-carbide abrasive, not starch. Regardless, Paasch sells several of its own compounds for various cutting rates.

Standard airbrushes won't have the hardened orifice tip/nozzle. Regardless of the media you try and spray you'll probably cause damage eventually trying to use an airbrush as an air abrader. Specifically, trying this with a dual action brush would be a very unwise thing to try.

see:
https://dixieart.com/AirEraser.html
for info on the Paasche Air Eraser.
 
I was kind of thinking that, but wasn't sure. I might get one of those air erasers. I've got enough other specialized tools that I've only used once that one more wouldn't hurt. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Seriously though, It sounds very usefull for cleaning surface rust off of small parts.

I've bought paint from dixieart before. Easy folks to deal with.
 
The air eraser is a very fun tool. I've used it for things as mundane as cleaning spark plugs to fun things like engraving patterns in glass.

I got lucky and didn't have to pay for mine. In the distant past I worked for a company that way laying people off in droves and closing lots of old mill buildings. The cleanup crew had no time or directive to carefully sort the contents of the buildings and threw tons of stuff out. I spent almost every evening dumpster diving before going home. I'm not proud and through this I obtained a number of interesting items.
 
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