God bless the person who invented half sheet paper towel rolls

I've been using the same two towels for a decade. One's a cloth diaper. The other a dish towel. I might use a 2" square of paper towel each session. An option for cloth on the super cheap are those reslae shops like Goodwill. You can come out of there with bolts of cloth for a few bucks.

When my FIL was sick he was getting baggies full of pipe cleaners and long stemmed Q-Tips and bottle brushes that are about 3/8" in diameter X 2" long. 

Fermis , It's mee agin !

 I went the Hardware Store route and they are still as coarse as steel wool after four years . Now I just cut up old Tee Shirts  . At my age I have a lot of them .        T.B.  

I dont use a sealable plastic bag; however, I do find that the large containers that of jelly beans that you can get a Costco come in mighty handy for containing rags that have been soaked with solvents. I then make sure that I sit the container in my paint booth with the lid slightly open and allow most of the vapors to be ducted outside. After a session at the bench I then store the container outside away from the house to make sure that "IF" something were to ignite, it would not cause me bigger problems.

To everyone, I'm sure you are all aware, but make sure that you store flammable or combustible materials away from sparks or sources of ignition. Some of these solvents can react with organic material and cause spontaneous combustion. (Sorry for the obvious, its the previous Fire Prevention Officer in me coming out)

That is a wonderful tip Fermis! I've been using paper towels for quite a long time and I do use the 1/2 sheet type; however, I also like the idea of old towels or shop rags. Not sure my wife will be too thrilled if I accidentally get one in with the regular wash though!

the doog

Be careful if youre using rags to soak up solvents. I have found that you can go "nose blind" (to use the new commercial catch phrase) to the fumes that will leach off of the rag or even the paper towel. Those fumes are harmful to your body AND brain. I always keep A sealable plastic bag to both keep and dispose of those particular rags when I use them to mop up solvents in any moderate degree. 

 

That explains so many things and then there was this squirrel and I caught a rabbit by its tiger mouth and.....wait...what were we talking about???

Oh yeah....band camp!...I don't even own a flute!

Yup - I do that too. Nothing beats a zip-lok bag to store them until use.

Be careful if youre using rags to soak up solvents. I have found that you can go "nose blind" (to use the new commercial catch phrase) to the fumes that will leach off of the rag or even the paper towel. Those fumes are harmful to your body AND brain. I always keep A sealable plastic bag to both keep and dispose of those particular rags when I use them to mop up solvents in any moderate degree. 

I do the 1/8 sheet thing, and I like it as the small size is enough to clean a brush.  I use more on the airbrush but I find the small size convenient.  My friends thought I was nuts but once they tried it, they do it too.  It is not a matter of saving money, it just saves my workspace from getting clogged up with used paper towels. 

FJ_

I think the point is that you're gloating about saving paper towel money as if the few bucks a pack of a dozen rolls is a lot of money. Especially since they go as far as they do. I mean great for you for finding substitutes. I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but the point is I'm spending a lot of money on kits, AM, supplies, paints, etc. that spreading the cost of a roll of paper towels across a couple builds is insignificant.

 

Who's gloating? Certainly not me. I could care less if you tell us how much you paid for a kit and so much on AM parts. I'm just saying how I save money by making use of what I have by recycling old towels as rags. 

I do the recycle of hand and bath towels.  One of those large bath towels makes quite a few smaller ones.  When my wife thinks they're ready to recycle, she cuts them up into the sizes she knows I use and even serges the cut ends so they won't come apart any more and puts them on my chair at the bench.  Another reason why I always say that she's a keeper.

Jim  

I've always been the type just to buy a "Bag-o-Rags" for a few bucks and would last me for a year. That way you just have one rag on the bench not 4 or 5 papertowels on the bench. And BlackSheep214 LMAO  FJ...get used to it...the banter is one of the great things about this forum. "Strict Orders" wow. And I serious doubt everyone is sweating over a roll of paper towels....this is just a general discussion and sharing best practices.

Good for you but what does spending big bucks on a model kit and AM parts have anything to with paper towels? 

The difference between you and me is I don't have to spend money for towels and you do. 

Don made a great point! I, too use about that much myself. I'll use sheets used for baby swaddling as well. Look around the house and you can find tons of stuff without spending money on paper towels, tissues, napkins.

I probably used 2 rolls of paper towels per year.

A little goes a long way. Go green and recycle if you can rather spending money.

1/8 sheet per build!  I have to flip that fraction over!  I am sure I use at least eight sheets per build.  Cleaning the airbrush and the paint bottles (I use a suction feed, and mix all the colors in seperate bottles so I only need to change bottles during painting sessions).  Plus, wiping glue off fingers, spills on bench top, wiping the wet sanding residues off model, etc.  Plus I usually go through several sheets of Kleenex dusting the model off before painting sessions,

I recycle old, worn out towels (bath, hand and wash cloths) every time we get new ones to replenish what we need. I have more than enough to last a lifetime. Cost: Zero dollars.

I too use the bag of rags ..cost about 10.00 bucks a bag ..one would last me about 6 months ..in tare apart each one in halve. .money saver! !!!..

Pete 

I use about 1/8th sheet per build.

Fold full sheet in half, cut...then cut each half in half, then halves again. I only use P/T for dabbing decals. 

My wife manages a salon...she brings me their old towels (hand towel size), that I use for cleaning brushes and airbrush.

So...next time ya go in for a haircut...ask if they've got some old towels.

I keep one on the arm of my chair for cleaning brushes...

...and one at the paint booth for cleaning the cup. Just roll it up and it fit perfectly in the cup!

Also, you can check you local hardware store...they usually have a bag of rags, for pretty cheap...or you can use an old t-shirt or old sock cut down the middle and openned up....much cheaper than going through paper towels!

I never thought about it, but you are right, the half sheet is just about perfect for us.