Prepped to prep

The flat cars have taken a little hiatus while I figured out the best way to make paint stick to the plastic parts.

My usual method is to give plastic models a good scrubbing with Vim under running warm water. But with parts made of wood and even paper, that method was going to lead to an inedible soggy Shreddie, rather than a flat car. Then I lit on the idea of soda-blasting; this would be dry, and is supposed to be a better surface preparation anyway.

Now the last time I used my Badge Abrasive Gun – my grit blaster, indeed the only other time I ever used it, I thought my eyes might never recover! So, over the course of the summer, I kept those eyes open for a suitable container to make a blasting chamber. I had in mind gloves fixed in holes like I was mixing bio weapons or caring for premature babies. It was all going to be awfully space-intensive, and I never found a container I liked.

Then I had the idea of sealing my eyes from the grit, rather than sealing everything else. Baking soda is rather innocuous, and so, I don’t mind spraying it around outside. I could seal my eyes with a pair of swim goggles, which store easily in the same box as the blaster. Even better, they make me look like a post-apocalyptic pirate.