Today's crazy thought - Any uses for one of these?

[Monty]

Saw the generic version of Paasche's Air Eraser (etching tool) at Harbor Freight the other day and wondered if it might have any uses in our hobby.  

The first thing that came to mind was stripping paint.  Decades ago I saw an article where body guys were using ground-up walnut shells to strip paint off 1:1 cars.  No harsh chemicals, cheap materials (then) and no damage to body panels. 

I wondered if we could do the same on kits if we had the right kind of material to shoot through one of these.

[Mark]

I'd think anything that is abrasive enough to remove the paint will probably roughen the surface of the plastic.

I wonder if it couldn't be dialed in to give plastic a texture, like to restore carpeting detail where an ejector pin mark was sanded out.  Or to add cast surface detail to an engine block or exhaust manifold.

[OldNYJim]

There's a bunch of cool things you can do with those!

 

[NOBLNG]

You could try using baking soda in it for paint removal. AFAIK it is about the least abrasive.

Edited September 7, 2022 by NOBLNG

[Engine 51]

I use it on tires. Does a great job of taking the “new” shine off and leaving a very realistic appearance.