Washing with soap and water

I personally do not wash the sprues. There is a guy I watch on YouTube that washes his armor builds after they are built and allows them to dry before painting. It sounds like a great idea but I am sure I would knock something off, LOL!

I wash the sprues just to get the release agent oof the parts.

Eaglecash867

putting all of the washed parts into a fine-mesh strainer.  That keeps any small parts from accidentally going down the drain. 

A wise precaution

Hutch6390

Here's a tip for anyone who washes their kit parts before assembly - use a plastic washing-up bowl, not the sink, and make sure nothing has come adrift during the washing process before disposing of the used water.

I do my rinsing in the kitchen sink after putting all of the washed parts into a fine-mesh strainer.  That keeps any small parts from accidentally going down the drain.  I have a couple of different sizes of Gladware containers that have straight Simple Green in them for soaking parts, and a couple more of the same sizes for the quick dunk in alcohol I give everything after rinsing.  The alcohol is mostly to speed up the drying process.  I do this with all of my parts, whether they're from the kit or if they're aftermarket resin parts.  Is it necessary?  I don't know, but I do know that it takes a lot more time to deal with a screwed up paint job due to some hidden thing stuck to the surface.  All kinds of opportunities to get some kind of oily schmutz on your parts when trimming, drilling, test fitting, etc.  I just look at my part washing as a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of thing...its going to produce a predictable result, every time.

wpwar11

Wash all the parts in soap and water then build the model with your grubby oily hands.  It sounds counter productive.  I guess one could wear gloves for the whole build.  After the main airframe is built I do wipe  with alcohol.  So I agree with what many have already said.  

Even in these days of more frequent hand-washing, I still build with grubby, oily hands - we all do, like it or not.  Our skin exudes natural oils & moisture, which are left on everything we touch - fingerprints are basically just tiny deposits of this oil & moisture, and we leave them everywhere.  However, if the paints etc. you use aren't affected, all well and good.  If they are (I find water-based acrylics sometimes are), removing this stuff before painting is a good idea.

Here's a tip for anyone who washes their kit parts before assembly - use a plastic washing-up bowl, not the sink, and make sure nothing has come adrift during the washing process before disposing of the used water.

Since I do painting of small details before assembly, paint subassemblies before final assembly, I do worry about paint adhesion, and even good glue adhesion, I do worry about oily surfaces.  I always wash resin parts.  I am usually warned by others about older kits that need washing.  Most 21st century styrene kits are pretty oil free.  I do clean up the final structure before painting.  The problem of oily surfaces seems to be declining with time.

 After painting I wipe gently after the drying cycle with a cloth( Microfiber) just slightly Damp with Distilled water. Why distilled water? I have found a good example. I have a friend in Dallas. He uses water right from the tap. No problems. Our water in New Brausfels in very hard water and some of the Newer paints seem to react to it!

   What I do is simple. I keep my hands clean with alchol Wipes and then I use Zeiss lens cleaning cloths on the model. they  are NON-Scratch Material. They have proven their worth more often than not in the model sections of our Museum! 

Wash all the parts in soap and water then build the model with your grubby oily hands.  It sounds counter productive.  I guess one could wear gloves for the whole build.  After the main airframe is built I do wipe  with alcohol.  So I agree with what many have already said.  

I have only washed one model kit. It was an older Russian made kit of old tank model that you could feel the oil on.  Of course I'm weird.  I never prime, except resin or metal kits or figures.

TenMan

Thank you for the feedback folks!  I will just start wiping it down with alcohol before painting.  

Just don't do it between paint colors.  It makes a really good paint stripper when you already have paint on your model.  Bare plastic is fine though.  

Thank you for the feedback folks!  I will just start wiping it down with alcohol before painting.  

The only time I wash parts is when they are resin ones. Prior to painting the model will get lightly wiped down with 91% ISO alcohol.

All I can say is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  If what you're doing now is working for you, no need to change.  That being said, I wouldn't wash anything in soap and water that has already been put together.  Water tends to find its way into places you wouldn't think it could get, and then will pop out of wherever it was and give you a nice, big fisheye in your paintjob.  Just do an alcohol (isopropyl, not denatured) rub-down to get finger oils off before painting assembled pieces.

I never wash parts and never had a problem. The only exception is sanding a car body after priming to get a perfectly smooth surface. Then is wash in running water.

I don't wash the plastic at anytime,I just use a good enamel primer 

I do make sure I wash regularly with soap and water though 

To each their own, I guess. IMO washing the sprues with soap and water is an older idea. I still would with old kits, but I don't with new ones.

I agree that wiping the model down with alcohol prior to painting is essential.

Bill

I think it'll be fine,'cuz I watched some videos on it,are you just doing it to wash the oils from your skin off before paint?If so,I think it'll be OK to do.