Are deck scalers good, bad or just okay for removing paint and rust ?
Which type is best , electric or pneumatic ?
Thank You .
MAS
IRM Crane Dept.

Greetings:
Pneumatic deck scalers are the best, but only on horizontal surfaces as they are quite heavy. You have to kind of crouch over them, putting some of your weight on them for them to cut efficiently. They are very noisy! Goggles, a respirator and hearing protection are a must.
Also, the cutting wheels need to be sharp. They require a fair amount of air (CFM and pressure) to function properly.
I have occasionally found rentals.
All this said, one person with a decent needle scaler (read: one with a lot of good needles) can do nearly as well as a deck scaler and (in my opinion) isn't nearly as hard on your body.
Good luck!
J.David

Having used them on both boats and railroad- Yup, stick to the needle gun. Much more efficient.

I used both a deck scaler and needle gun back fifty years ago when I worked for IRM one summer doing car work, removing all the paint from one side each of two 80' CB&Q coaches. As others have said, the needle gun was much to be preferred, and not much slower than the scaler, all things considered. The problem was the scaler took the majority of the paint off, but didn't clean the steel, leaving a rough finish that took considerable sanding to remove. Meanwhile the needle gun, used around rivets and other places the scaler wouldn't fit, took everything off to bare metal, with much less effort. Plus, the needle gun could be used from a ladder, whereas the scaler required a scaffold to get adequate footing to push the larger scaler against the car side. Unless you are doing a steel flatcar deck, I'd skip the scaler and get multiple needle guns.

Using a needle scaler all day is tough on your hand, wrists, and arms. Lots of vibration. You definitely feel it afterwards. Solutions:

Vibration-reducing gloves make the job much easier on the body.

Low-vibration needle scalers are now available from several manufacturers, for example:
https://www.csunitec.com/low-vibration-needle-scalers-help-restore-uss-pampanito
http://www.nittokohki.com/tools/products/powertools/needlescalers/index.php
https://universaltoolusa.com/pistol-grip-recoilless-needle-scaler-450

- Doug Debs

Obviously a lot of experience talking here, thank you all for the good advice .
Mark.