Dust!!

I buy cans of compressed air from Target. The type for dusting keyboards. I try not to blast near the weathering on figs/vehicles, but I can also adjust/alter the air pressure by sqeezing lightly.

I blast away at the subject before painting. I just need to remember to do it before photographing.

SteveM

I asked essentially the same thing not too long ago. MontanaCowboy's suggestion about misting water before you spray is a good one.

Having a cold air humidifier in the workroom helps. And you should dust and vacuum the room frequently.

As for finished models, the best way to remove dust is to keep it off in the first place.

And finally, these words of discouragement from a licensed professional geologist:

"Dirt always wins."

Thanks for the tips - While they are usefrul and I'll retain them for future use, what I had intended to ask about was either preventing dust from collecting on a finished model once it is on the display shelf - or if it does get dust on it on the shelf, what is the safest way to remove said dust.

I used to build 1/700 ships, and what detail the kits did provide was quite fragile.  My cruiser Takao, with its pagoda superstructure, now looks like a dinghy with no superstructure at all - cranes and floatplanes were the first to go when my wife dusted, then turrets, and then the entire superstructure mysteriously moved itself to the shelf below.  So I'd love to find a way to keep this from happening and also to just keep the dust from obscuring all the fine details on my ships - or aircraft.

Thanks, Ian - good idea!

Love your avatar pic, by the way.  I'm assuming that is your son?

I have a glass display cabinet for my models, this reduces the amount of dust on my models. But it's not airthight so dust wil come in the display cabinet. I clean my models once or twice a year using a aformentioned blush brush.

Triarius wrote:

I think the best way to deal with dust is not to let it settle in the first place. An enclosed shelf or an acrylic display box seems to me the only solution.

Yep....an ounce of prevention.....

alumni72 wrote:

I used to build 1/700 ships, and what detail the kits did provide was quite fragile.  My cruiser Takao, with its pagoda superstructure, now looks like a dinghy with no superstructure at all - cranes and floatplanes were the first to go when my wife dusted, then turrets, and then the entire superstructure mysteriously moved itself to the shelf below.

think of it this way now you have a more realistic ijn ship, thats what most of them look like