The standard recognized that the tool route was becoming a serious alternative to abrasive blasting. SSPC puts power tools for surface prep into two basic categories. Surface-cleaning tools use abrasives on discs, pads, or rotating flap wheels to wear away the paint film. However, these tools don't impart a profile, and some of them, due to their polishing action, will remove a surface's original profile. Profile-producing tools like needle guns and rotopeens, however, gouge the steel as well as remove paint.
Different tools match different prep jobs.
However, rotopeens can't get into crevices as well as needle guns. Vacuum attachments vary in both configuration and effectiveness. Some manufacturers such as Fein offer vacuum systems that route the dust inside the tool, rather than exhausting it through an outside hose, thus minimizing air contamination. Pentek's Corner Cutter needle gun features two innovations designed to maximize lead-dust collection. One is a vacuum head that can pivot 360 degrees.