Replies

1. 
   DAVID_JOYNER | Sep 09, 2001 07:52am | #1

   *
   I have never tried the air brush size blaster, but I have a larger one that I have used on wood; experimenting with more of a 3D finish in mind. One thing to think of abrasive blasters abrade at an even rate across a surface so you can never(to my knowledge) get a resonably flat or no porous surface. I'm tired so I'm not sure if I am making any sense here,but drop me a line if you think of anything.

   David Joyner

1. 
   richard_rose | Sep 15, 2001 08:00pm | #2

   *Blackwelder,Yes, finely controlled sandblasting is a good technique to use in areas such as you describe. But like many other "special" techniques it takes time to learn and master the process. It won't work as you wish at first - you'll have to experiment. Just like novices with airbrush painting are frequently frustrated that the thing "just sprays fuzzy blobs" instead of the finely detailed images that they have seen in good airbrush work.You will need to mask off adjacent areas, because the blast removes the surface differently than hand sanding does. It will seem that it's more trouble than it's worth at first, but stay with it, eventually you'll start to get the hang of it and be able to smoothly transition from hand sanded areas to the the blasted regions. However, the blasted areas, while abraded may never feel as smooth as the hand-rubbed areas. And you may want to follow up with q-tips and the like in recesses.I can't give recommendations on equipment avaiable now as it's been more than 15 years since I've done this. Among other things that we had fun with was relief carving on the surface of an egg! You can abrade regions incredibly fine with the method.Rich

1. 
   Thomas_Considine | Sep 29, 2001 04:03pm | #3

   *I am worried aqbout the health effects of using a sand blaster. Everything I read has such strong cautions that I am afraid to use mine inside even with a dust collector, a face mask and a respirator. Do you have any thoughts on a relatively safe abrasive or do you normally use sharp sand?