Gloss paint and dust bunnies!!

[Ivor100]

However careful I am getting a good gloss finish with a brush is a challenge. I recently brush painted a model with Humbrol gloss and it looked a great finish, when I came back to it later it must have vacuumed all the dust particles in the air!! I've ended with a rough finish which I have tried to flat down with 000 grade wet and dry but the dust bits seem tenacious! I always wait until any dust in the room has settled first, make minimal movements and keep the brush well cleaned. I even make sure the clothes I wear are lint free, etc. Any one any thoughts on how I can get the mirror shine I'm looking for.

 

[Ian M]

Saturday shopping trip tomorrow? go to the house hold section in the super market and buy one or two of those see through plastic boxes they sell. Big low ones are good for aircraft, otherwise one about 12X18and 10 or 12 inches deep can cover most of your needs, unless you build big models!

Place lid on table, paint the kit put kit on lid. Place upturned box over the top. Dust free drying box- It may take a bit loner for the paint to dry so leave it alone for a day or two.

Store the boxes inside each other with the lids on to keep the dust out. An other good tip is to run the hover round before you start. Dust is everywhere, and no matter who good you think you have cleaned, dust will appear! Did you know that upto 60% of house dust is dead skin. The rest is fibers from clothes and furnishings. I fight with all of the above AND have two cats! I know where you are coming from!

Ian M

 

[Ivor100]

Thanks Ian, excellent advice - I'm raiding the kitchen as we speak! I must have built this last model using dead skin then!! Any thoughts on how to flat down the microscopic 'raised bits that appear - in other words disaster recovery!

 

[ian lanc]

To kill dust in the air buy one of those cheapo hand held plant sprayers which you can spray around the rooms with a fine water mist,

then paint in a room that has not been disturbed by opened windows - doors open/closed. Paint 'tac rags' are good for getting dust off

models, these can be sourced from car paint shops. As Ian M says plaggy tubs are ace to use as dust free place, make sure the tub itself

is clean and dry. Wilko's is a good place for different sized tubs.

Cheers.

ian.

 

[m1ks]

Theres no real quick fix for stuck on dust, other than flatting with wet and dry getting progresively finer, you need a flat block to do this and go very very carefully, the paint is so thin you're likely to get high spots where the base shows through.

You could of course flat all over and repaint or strip and repaint.

 

[Ivor100]

I really appreciate all the excellent ideas - obviously all from previous experience. One thought though, has anyone ever stripped enamel paint from a painted plastic model? Probably carefully sanding with wet'n dry 2000 grade is the only answer. And you're right m1ks high spots can occur. Has anyone tried using newspaper to rub paintwork down, I heard that trick used in the motortrade to rub bodywork with bunched up newspaper prior to the finishing top coat. The newspaper is very slightly abrasive and still has some solvent from the dried printing inks soaked into the newsprint. They never told me whether the SUN or the TIMES were best for that!!