Cleaning off DUST NEED HELP

I do use my airbrush for dusting models, especially ships.  I use a suction feed brush, so I remove the bottle, spay for a few seconds to make sure there is no more thinner in brush, and go at it.  I suppose a top feed brush would work if you ran a few drops of thinner through, and sprayed it all out before dustng.  If there is some dust  really stuck down, I rub a good soft paint brush over that area while shooting the airbrush at the area.  I have my airbrush set for either 15 or 20 PSI, and that breeze is pretty gentle but does blow dust away.

If you happen to have a can of compressed air (like you would use for a computer) be careful about potential moisture from the can when you start speraying.  I have a wierd white ring on the deck of my 1/350 Bunker Hill from that.  

I like the airbrush idea better and will likely go with that in the future.

Groot

Whenever you use Windex (or anything similar) on plastic, be sure it's compatible with the plastic. Especially in the case of clear plastic.

Some varieties of Windex contain ammonia, which is a mild solvent for some plastics. A golden rule is: never spray Windex on a Plexiglas case. If you squirt it daily, within a few months the plastic will start to look hazy and grey.

The best Plexiglas cleaners are mild dish detergents (Palmolive, dove, etc), applied by spray and polished with a clean, soft paper towel.

I've found that you can remove some of that film that can develop on models by lightly wiping with Windex or other bluish window cleaner.

Test it first, since some final clear coats might be too sensitive.  I've used Floquil's RR Flat (now discontinued) and it worked fine; the stuff is pretty resistant--but I can't speak to other proprietary brands like Dullcoat.

The bottom line, as I quickly learned in my first few days on the job at a museum, is that once a model (or any other artifact) gets dust on it, it's almost impossible to bring it back to exactly what it looked like before the dust settled. The only genuine solution is to stop the dust from settling in the first place: keep the model in a case of some kind.

I like to build cases for my larger models. (My choice materials are cherry and plexiglas.)  for the smaller ones, my wife and I bought, about 20 years ago, a "curio cabinet." It's wood and glass with a hinged front, glass shelves, and a built-in light. Twenty years ago it cost about $200 in a furniture store. (The same furniture store where I experienced the biggest humiliation of my life: I got seasick lying on a waterbed.)

The curio cabinet does a good job under normal circumstances. The day we had a carpenter in sanding the spackle on the ceiling, and forgot to cover the curio cabinet, was another matter. A couple of those poor little 1/700 warships are never going to be the same.

None of this does any good for a model that's already dusty. For that, about the best you can do is blast it gently with an airbrush - after doing the best you can with a soft brush. You can also try putting a little clean water in the airbrush.

I don't see a benefit of power washing a model with an airbrush.  Water will splash everywhere, leading to unexpected consequences.

Has anyone tried using an airbrush and distilled water to wash a model (mini-power wash). Haven't tried it myself (yet) just thought of it as I was reading this chain.

I generally seal my decals with a clear coat.  The only  time I don't is when the finish is alclad.  And decals really stick nicely to alclad, so no problem with loose decals.

I use one of those old timey shaving brushes that I pickded up at the drug store for $8. It also works great for dusting current builds, the bench, etc.

carcrazy

Thanks for all the great ideas....you guys haven't had any trouble with a brush or spray guy ripping off the decals?

Not if the decals are properly-attached!  I try to avoid getting dust on the kits in the first place.  These help:

http://www.squadron.com/Trumpeter-Display-Case-TR09809-p/tr09809.htm

The pros are that it keeps the dust completely out, and they are usually stackable.  The con is that you almost always have to stay within a brand (Trumpeter in this case, but there are others) because each brand will have their own size and own mechanism for stacking.  It's annoying that way.

I use ladies make up brushes from the dollar store. Very soft bristles and cheap.

Sometimes if the dust is really sticking to a surface, I gently brush the area with a soft brush, like a sable one, while I am shooting air from my airbrush over the surface.

I've found that eventually despite all your dusting you get a "film" that develops on the surface of the model to which dust will stick and cannot be removed by a simple dusting. I assume the film comes from fumes put in the air by cooking, smoking, fireplaces, aerosols, and just general air pollution.

I prefer soft brushes, the best being an old fashioned shaving brush.  The only problems with them seems to be the fact they have gotten to be very hard to find and when you do find one, the price is a shocker!! (back in the day - 50 or 60 years ago, you could go into any drug store and buy one for a couple of bucks or less)

I sometimes brush them with a small paintbrush....obviously without the paint.  

I use my airbrush @ 40 psi.

I just hold them under the shower until they are washed off, and then let them air-dry.

I use my airbrush. I take off the paint container, run it until I am sure there is no thinner left in the brush, then use it to dust models.

Makeup brush, a can of air and patience.  The only way to prevent dust that I can think of is by putting it in a case.