Dish soap and water followed by a rinse....removing grease and grime is what dish soap was designed for. Anything else is overkill on a plastic model. Water plus properly designed surfactant is a far better solvent than those mentioned except in specialist cases such as tar spots, and you should not have that on a model in the first place. In addition, the more volatile substances dry rapidly and can actually re-deposit the contaminant somewhere else. Unless you use large quantities of the chemicals you will simply end up with a more comprehensive thin coat over larger area. If themodel is brass or white metal scrub them with cheap Jif/Cif like cleaners. The mild abrasive removes the oxide layer helping paint adhesion. They are also slightly alkaline and therefore neutralise flux deposits from soldering...
Ooh are matches involved !I use lighter fluid and a brush and gently rub the surface. A lot less scary than washing a model full of etch in a bath with soap. Advantage is that it dries up immediately and you can start airbrushing at once.
I wouldn't recommend that reallyOoh are matches involved !
Or it’s just not necessary for the vast majority of models. I’ve only ever had real problems with two models: one a large-scale Monogram Corvette that had mould release agent over a lot of the body, and the other an ICM T-35 whose sprues literally were oily to the touch, and even had pooled residue on the larger, flatter parts. Other than that, I may have washed the odd model or parts of it, but only when I thought it would actually make a difference instead of as a matter of course.Believe it or not I've never washed a sprue or wiped down any model and never ever had a bad reaction.
Maybe I've been lucky or maybe it's down to the primers I use and careful handling.
I only use Halfords Primers be they black, grey or white, I used to use Tamiya primers but for their cost you get three times as much in the Halfords ones.Hi Kev, glad it helps....
Hi Ade, I always thought it was a benefit of using cellulose primer...the finger grease ends up as part of the paint layer Water based primers don5 usually like it though....I’ve had one spray session simply bead up on the surface and refuse to cover....and another where it dried with uncovered fingerprints.....now I always wash down the model, and usually use Tamiya cellulose rather than acrylic primer....
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