Dust

On a related question, how about dusting things that have been on the shelf for awhile?

Much as I'd like to, I don't have glass front shelves. After a quick general blow off, I use a soft makeup brush, but there seems to always be a layer that's resistant to the brush, especially on clear canopies which start to look almost fogged. Then of course there's the inevitable loss of small bits, especially pitot tubes, gun barrels, and aerial wires which never seem to survive.

Any magic tricks people have found?

the doog

Use some tack cloth or even a used fabric softener sheet--they repel dust. Also, Testors has a product called "Plastic Prep" that supposedly has anti-dust qualities.

 

Gee, a fabric softener!  I hadn't thought of that.  I frequently use a homemade tack cloth, putting a very small amount of paint thinner on a sheet of paper toweling (I use enamel paints).  I also use the airbrush with no paint jar on it. 

Things can get really bad in the winter- some folks I know use a spray bottle to spray some water into the air around their workbench or paint station.  I have discovered a new hazard recently.  I found some very small, short lengths of dark thread on my models.  Turns out lately I had been wearing an old fuzzy sweater at my workbench to keep warm this winter.  Looks like the static electricity is really pulling debris from my sweater to the model. 

You realize rubbing plastic with a dry sheet of almost any paper or cloth charges the plastic, right?  Also, a fluid going through a nozzle picks up a charge, which means, even though you are not using an electrostatic painting outfit, there does develop a charge between your airbrush and your model. I wonder if that charge also attracts dust to the model!

My . I use a homemade booth made out of an old kitchen cabinet. My wife made a "sheer" curtain for the booth that is mounted on the front top and bottom. When spraying, I just remove the top curtain rod from the mounts and let it hang down. Takes 2 seconds. When finished spraying, I reinstall the curtain rod and leave the exhaust fan on. Takes 2 seconds. You can see the curtain being pulled into the booth but held in place by the rods. Any dust being drawn into the booth is captured by the curtain. I usually leave the exhaust fan on for about an hour after spraying. Over a period of time you can see the curtain turning grey from the trapped dust. When I'm not using the booth and my wife is doing the white wash, she takes the curtain off the rods and throws it in the wash. When done, I put it back on the rods. Haven't had any trouble with dust.

Jim  

All good suggestions.  One thing to consider is when you are actually spraying, you are charging the air near your airbrush and model with static and some dust will find its way into the paint work.  Wipe down your spray booth and work surface with a damp cloth to both remove loose dust and to help remove any charge they may be present.  If you can keep the inside of the booth slightly damp, this can help eliminate the charge.

If you have the space, try to work near and in front of your booth but do not have the model totally inside the booth.  Since most of our paint booths are small, with the airbrush blowing and charging the air and the exhaust fan moving air, this can introduce more dust and static in a concentrated area. 

My booth is a home made plastic bin cut at an angle with a bath fan.  I find that if I spray not inside the booth but about 6-10 inches outside and in front of the booth, I get far less dust, to no dust and my booth still keeps the air in the room clean. 

Don,

What is a dry box and how do you make one?

Thanks.

I make a tack rag from a piece of paper towel and a small amount of thinner to wipe down the plane or assembly before painting.  Also, I sometimes take the paint bottle off my airbrush and use the airbrush as a compressed air gun.  I use mostly enamels for paint, and have built a drying box.  The box is carefully filtered to prevent dust intake.

I turn on my paint booth fan, then use canned air.

Use some tack cloth or even a used fabric softener sheet--they repel dust. Also, Testors has a product called "Plastic Prep" that supposedly has anti-dust qualities.

I purchased some clear plastic storage totes. As soon as I paint parts, they go in the sealed storage tote.

Maybe some cheap storage containers like Ziploc? Put a couple of small pinholes in the sides to let air circulate without introducing a lot of dust.

i don't but do need to be more concerned about that. i have a number of big makeup brushes and could ale=ways crank up the airbrush pressure and blow a bunch off.