Hiw do I remove a static charge on a model?

Hi;

 Funny you should ask, I was starting to paint a Scratch Built tanker Ship Model and the paint Jumped off the tip of the brush and made a squiggly mark on the side of the ship! "Hmm, Static, I says to Me-self" So I set the model down and reached over and touched the cat!

 Her ear fur exploded in a static charge, making her look like one ear was fatter than the other. The model was fine after that. No, Really, What I did was take an almost dry damp cloth, Cotton, and wiped down the hull with Petroleum Distillate-Odorless, and no more problem after it gassed off!

 The Cat is used to it. She jumped in my lap one day after I was using a soldering iron and she touched me and I had a whole cat Shocked Fur Moment. Funny that!

Dryer Sheets and Tack Cloth leave a flim on Plastic. I made the mistake of buying a Tack Cloth years ago. I had to wash the model again after using it. Causing static. Now I have electric heat and that doesn't help. Here in the Northeast... Winter means Static Electricity.
  I just got my greedy hands an old (1972?) issue of the Monogram 1/24 scale 1941(?) Lincoln Continental, and it's moulded in Black.
I had one in 1972. It was so black and shiney... I only painted the parts that needed it. Red for the Interior, Brown for the Dashboard, and etc.
This one had been bouncing around loose with it's parts for (Who knows how) many years. A clean up of the the seams, and scratches was the first thing I did. The Windshield frame is going to take a little longer to fix. I wet sanded the Body, Hood, and Spare Tire halves. I washed everything with Dishwashing Liquid, and Rinsed thoroughly. All I have to do is... Clear Glosscoat those parts. The Static is the only thing holding me back. I've considered using Pledge/Future Floor Shine, but to date, my only success in using it has been on a 1 to 1 Sign I had to put up in my Driveway to stop certain Brain Damaged Neighbors from using it for themselves, and their guests.
I Tested it on the Tailgate of an old unpainted 1/25 scale Chevy Suburban. It looks better than the rest of the model.                     
If anyone knows how to Spray, Dip, Brush, or a better way to apply Pledge/Furture to an unpainted '41 Lincoln... Let me know. Just don't suggest using an Airbrush. I can't get one to work for more than Three seconds. After that... They never work again, and end up flying out a window. Thanks.

Airbrushes don't work for more than three seconds... For me. They do Fly out a window nicely. They land horribly.

Well, I ain't no Alferd E. Einstein but I'm bettin' that wrapping the piece in aluminum foil and touching it to a faucet (if you have copper plumbing) would get the job done.  I think the next time I spray something I'll paint it on aluminum foil grounded to a faucet and I'll ground the nozzle of my airbrush to the aluminum foil.  I might look like Sheldon Cooper with an alligator clip and wire on my airbrush but it might work.  However, I may be fixin' something that ain't broke. 

I'll have to remember to not touch the cat before working on a model!  LOL!

At least I have not pet the cat and rubbed my feet on the carpet at the same time, might end up with fried cat!.

Well 2 things you can do.

1 - stop rubbing feet on carpets

2 - don't pet the cat.

LOL!

I agree with dryer sheets as well.

I also just encountered this problem.  I had applied a coat of primer to the fuselage and wings of an aircraft model a few weeks ago.  I had been working on fixing some small sink marks and gaps with filler and had done some wet sanding.  I went back and started to apply another primer coat static charge started pulling in all kinds of small bits out of the air and they stuck into the primer.  I have heard that dryer sheets work pretty well to wipe down a model before painting to remove this static charge.  Like Don mentioned and a few others, I live in Idaho and in the Winter it becomes quite dry and static tends to build up on everything.

Keep in mind too that spraying something through a nozzle charges both the nozzle and the stuff coming through.  So even if you discharge the model or assembly before you start spraying, charge builds up while spraying :-(

Try setting the model on a sheet of brass.  it tends to draw off the static charge.

A  thin sheet of shim brass should work

And if you get paint on it you can easily wipe it down with thinner.

I used to use one of those static guns in the lab. Sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn't. We payed a lot more for them because they were considered "Specialty Lab Equipment".

Jim 

Try a  dryer sheet.

When my work involved handling electronic components or circuit boards with sensitve integrated circuits, we had conductive fabric grounding straps that we  buckled around our wrists and connected them to a good earth ground with a wire and special plug.  This worked to protect the components from getting zapped.  I wonder if it would work with plastic models?  Unfortunately, I don't have one any more.  They were professionally  made for this purpose, I don't know if a home made version would be successful.

" I have friends that spray a fine mist of water from a spray bottle before they sit down at their workbench.  They just mist the water up into the air in the workshop area."

Good tip above.

I've not had that problem, try, a Computer Stat-mat? In the UK, they are connected by a plug with only the earth connected, but check your local regulations.

Other than that, I usually wash with water, with a little washing up liquid, rinse & allow to dry, before painting, to get rid of dust, etc.

Here in Minnesota in the winter it gets extremely dry and static can be a big problem.  I have friends that spray a fine mist of water from a spray bottle before they sit down at their workbench.  They just mist the water up into the air in the workshop area.

I've had that problem here in Colorado, where the humidity is usually very low.  I've had to stop using the Touch 'N Flow applicator, because the static charge pulls the glue off course in mid air, and it hits the model in the wrong place, leaving a nice blemish where you don't want one.

I have never come across this problem. Is this caused by the climate where you live. Very odd one this.

Well, Grant, this is what I use, but I've had mine for 35 years !  I was a bit surprised at their price in the 21st Century.  That said, they do have uses other than scale-modeling, ie. removing static from vinyl photograph records (what is that?  lol) or even getting rid of static "cling" on clothes.

http://www.turntableneedles.com/Zerostat-3-Antistatic-Gun_p_3822.html

Gary