[tooter]

I have a plastic Bachmann shorty caboose that is this toy like red color with a shiny black plastic undercarriage...

...and I wanted to repaint and decal it, but couldn't separate the top from the bottom. Eventually figured out that it was tack glued at each corner, so a little gentle persuasion with the old trusty Exacto on the corners popped it right off. Great, now I can repaint it a decent red.

I'm pretty certain that someone else must have come up with this long before I did, but I got the bright idea to sandblast the plastic shell to break the surface shine on it and make it look older. But sandblasting the undercarriage is what really made a difference! It went from shiny black plastic to looking exactly like cast metal...

Oooh... this got me really excited at all of the possibilities.

Still need to paint the roof and details black and decal it... but so far I'm totally pleased with the results of sandblasting plastic.

Ooh... than I got another idea... sandblast the roof of the old metal caboose...

...for a granular "asphalt roofing" effect. Flat black should look really cool on it.

 

[tjcruiser]

Greg,

Awesome. My only criticism is in regards to your workshop inventory: "Hammer ... check. Drill ... check. Needle nose pliers ... check. Dremel with bits ... check. Sandblaster ... check." <=== What's not "normal" with this picture???

You, my friend, are packin' a little extra power in your toolkit! Well, put that puppy to work, I guess. Not that I know much about sandblaster, but what sort of grit (?) or powder are you shooting?

The black frame looks GREAT, as will the "asphalt" roof. Glad to hear that you were able to finally pry the red cab off of that first caboose frame ... "Persuasion of power" vs. "Power of pursuasion"! And the darker red paint is a big :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Thanks for keeping us all in the loop!

TJ

 

[tankist]

looks good, but i don't think it is the most correct finish. meaning color might be correct but texture does not look very prototypical. maybe it looks better in person. just my 0.002 ...

I always wanted a sandblaster. but there is simply no room for the box... i guess what i want the most is house with a room for a workshop . its awesome that you have one. pictures of your workspace?





off topick
seeing me always rebuilding stuff in my hose, neighbor who is moving into new place , asked for my opinion on flooring condition in his new place. i could not help but to feel jealous , apart of the finished part of basement, he has very roomy utility room that is perfect place for shop. roomy - at least 12 feet long sturdy bench (built by PO), and another wall free to put some floor standing equipment. house looked expensive however and hearing the price tag was quite sobering. still makes me want to look around for another place.

 

[tooter]

Thanks, tj...
It's a 40 year old Sears all aluminium handheld sandblaster that looks exactly like a paint spraygun except in the cannister it holds sand instead of paint. I run it low at about 20-25psi so it just breaks the shiny surface glaze on the plastic and gives it a grainy "wood" look. The metal roof naturally got more pressure as there's no danger of taking too much off.

The sand is just plain fine #60 grain sand. 60 means the number of grains you can line up to make an inch.

...and paint sticks like crazy to the sandblasted surface!

Next up... acid vats. :laugh:

Greg

 

[tjcruiser]

#60 ... that's rough stuff!

Years ago (prior life) I dabbled for a day with a guy who was semi-polishing with a sandblaster ... I seem to recall that he was shooting baking powder (soda?) or something like that???

 

[tooter]

looks good, but i don't think it is the most correct finish. meaning color might be correct but texture does not look very prototypical. maybe it looks better in person. just my 0.002 ...

Hey tank...
Nothing I have will ever be prototypical! :laugh:
I just have fun messing around with experimenting and didn't want the new shiny plastic look. The spray paint did kind of glob on because the can was cold. I usually heat up the can over the stove to thin the viscosity of the paint, but thought it would be ok.

I always wanted a sandblaster. but there is simply no room for the box... i guess what i want the most is house with a room for a workshop . its awesome that you have one. pictures of your workspace?

I actually don't have any layout or workshop room either. All I have is a small desk with a few tracks on it to put the engines and rolling stock. What does work really neat is a glass work surface. It's impervious to any spills, and presents a perfectly flat surface to true up glued parts.

Since the little lady frowns on sandblasting and spray painting in the house, I simply do all that stuff outside in the yard so there's no need for a box.

off topick
seeing me always rebuilding stuff in my hose, neighbor who is moving into new place , asked for my opinion on flooring condition in his new place. i could not help but to feel jealous , apart of the finished part of basement, he has very roomy utility room that is perfect place for shop. roomy - at least 12 feet long sturdy bench (built by PO), and another wall free to put some floor standing equipment. house looked expensive however and hearing the price tag was quite sobering. still makes me want to look around for another place.

I hear ya...
The high cost of buying a home was completely out of our league, so we built a little home ourselves for just a fraction of the cost of buying one...

...and I'm still digging out a basement.

Greg

 

[tooter]

#60 ... that's rough stuff!

Years ago (prior life) I dabbled for a day with a guy who was semi-polishing with a sandblaster ... I seem to recall that he was shooting baking powder (soda?) or something like that???

At Home Depot I only have two choices #60 and #30... and 60 looks great compared to 30!:laugh: