Yep… I have a secret. I actually enjoy sandblasting. I know, “sandblasting” and “enjoy” do not belong in the same sentence, so let me explain.
With the right equipment, sandblasting is really not that bad at all; I actually find it has something relaxing for the mind. It is one single task which occupies both my mind and my body with one very specific goal; bringing all surfaces from what ever finish it is (painted, rusted, milscale) to clean white steel. I am encased into a very isolating environment, as could considered the safety gear. The hard, air fed helmet encloses me in my own little world. My peripheral vision is limited, the air feed eliminates all smells, the temperature is controlled, all I hear is dampened white noise and no one can communicate with me. Through the leather suit and thick gloves even my sens of touch is dampened; I may feel the heat of the sun or a few stings from the sand if I bring the jet to close to myself, but that’s it. My movements are harder, slower, rotating my head to look around barely impossible and I feel oddly heavy.
All I am left with is this one specific task, which keeps me busy and which I cant walk away from. My mind hyper-focuses on the sand jet, all I need to see is the metal turning to white, all I need to think about is my next movement which will be precise and slow. My core muscles are all working, maintaining which ever odd position I am holding. My muscles ache holding the hose but I don’t respond to the pain, its as if pain didnt really matter, all that matters is the sand jet and turning the metal to white clean steel.
I know, all this sounds awful but in some way, its awfully relaxing the adhd mind.
Now, don’t get me wrong, while I enjoy the sandblasting, it is still tough and there is no way I could do it every day. Unfortunately, it also comes with many, many other chores, which are far from fun, definitely not relaxing and a burden on such long day of work. All the preparation, setting up the gear, loading up sand, monitoring the pressure pot, cleaning up, painting….and more… sandblasting days are tough and very loooong…
So I have an other secret… while I usually cant do it all myself, I often try to keep most of the sandblasting to myself. It feels like a win win situation. I appear to be doing most of the work but the truth of the matter is I’m leaving most of the shitty and tough chores to Mark… hehehe…
We finally started sandblasting and painting the exterior of the boat; that definitely felt like a joy ride compared to all we have done on the interior up to now. This is just a start as there is a lot of surface to cover and mother nature is not cooperating, offering very little weather windows without rain.
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