Re: damn dust!

Put them in cabinets, or in a clean room with filtered air going into the room and supplying positive pressure. I would be interested in other solutions. I will be retiring in a few years, and will be building a house. Kim M

I've got an old cake dish top for after painting. Any kind of a cover you use after you've painted will protect it but try not to use a cardboard box; they shed fibers too easy.

There's lots of plexiglass display cases available on the market for when you're finished. hth

The Keeper (of too much crap!)

I'd be carefull with the canned air method: the ones they sell here have enough pressure on them to quite literally blow small bits of your kits.

You might also try to use an airbrush loaded with water with a bit of detergent in in, followed by airbrushed water and finally just air to dry the kits. Worked for me on some hard cases; no guarantees though.

Rob

It won't be airtight unless you seal it in. You could put a pencil in one corner to pick up the edge just a bit for air transference. Or come back every few hours and pick up the box, inspect your work, keep the fingerprints out of the paint. 8^) That may introduce some dust though so I avoid doing that. hth

The Keeper (of too much crap!)

I haven't noticed that it takes paint any longer to dry than if I'd let things sit out in the open (I use enamels, BTW). Mind - I don't seal things up, just "shelter" the model under a loose tent of sorts. It still breathes, it's just covered from direct settling of dust from the air.

Usually the box the kit came in is a good size for such, but with some of the big 1/32 jets that I like to do, I end up collecting and saving boxes and/or sheets of cardboard of various sizes - which are also useful for test-shooting at with my airbrush to check the needle setting before spraying the model directly. They're also useful for taping parts, assemblies, and/or sitting whole kits onto to hold for airbrushing. When they get painted up with too much overspray I just throw them away.

I used to have the same problem of dust settling on a freshly painted model and found two techniques to that are quite effective.

2) Immediately after painting, put the part in a clear plastic storage box with a lid. This has been remarkably effective in keeping dust of a model while the paint dries. I use a shoebox-sized clear plastic storage box with a hinged lid, although I intend to get a larger one for bigger components. I wipe out the inside of the box before each use with a damp paper towel and place each freshly painted item in the box and immediately close the lid. The parts do not seem to take that much longer to dry and I usually let them sit for 24 hours before opening the box. After 24 hours, for gloss paint, I'll crack open the lid to open it just a bit and let it dry another 24-48 hours. FYI: I live in a low-humidity climate. Oddly, this seems to have virtually eliminated all dust settling on my models while the paint is drying. Martin

I've tried doing an impression of that voice for years and could never hit it. Turns out it's Nancy Cartwright; totally out of my register. Beers,

The Keeper (of too much crap!)