Parts cleaning

[modelman62]

After you all have like cleaned up small parts of their seam lines, etc, do you wash all your small parts before painting them?

[David Walker]

You know, I rarely do. I don't even prime all that often unless I'm trying to check on a seam line.

[T-bone]

I usually clean my plastic parts while still on the sprue as the first step prior to any construction and then usually after it is all constructed just prior to painting. It seems like kits from some manufacturers will have more mold release material than others. For resin parts I always clean these parts to remove the mold release material and then again prior to painting.

Maybe I handle my kits more than others but it seems that I always have a lot of finger print smudges, sanding dust, etc. on my kits after building that I need to clean off prior to painting.

I usually use a dish washing liquid that is good at removing grease, such as Dawn.

[Old Blind Dog]

SOP: once I've done all the seam clean-up, sanding and filling, and am just about ready to paint, I go over the model (lightly) with a paper towel soaked in Isopropyl. This is more than sufficient to remove any oils that may have come from handling the model, as well as grit or residue from the sanding process.

On older kits (like Monogram Classics from the 60s or stuff like that) I wash all the parts in a bath of warm soapy water using Palmolive before I begin construction. Those older kits had a lot of mold release agent on them to begin with; multiply that by several decades-worth of dust and residue from whatever chemical change has occured with the mold-release agent, and pre-construction cleaning is a no brainer.

Old Blind Dog

Edited March 13, 2009 by Old Blind Dog

[Triarius]

I generally wash with Simple Green 50% solution, rinse in distilled water, never in tap water. Then i rinse with ethyl alcohol (Everclear) to remove the water, and force-air dry at low temperature (105°F). This process or something like it (using isopropyl 90+% or denatured alcohol) is strongly advised for acrylics. Enamels are more forgiving.

Using isopropyl alcohol has another advantage: it reduces the static charge on the plastic surface temporarily.

[albert_sy2]

i would wash parts on the sprue before doing anything, to remove mold release agents.

then i'd wash the model again before painting, to remove fingerprint oils.

[Satelliteman]

Sometimes, sometimes not. I rinse the kit before painting.

[Clumber]

I wash the sprues when I first begin a kit, using a mild dish soap (Dawn). Prior to the main paint job, I try to remember to give the model a quick prep with either the Polly stuff that is pink, or just regular dishsoap again. I do often get too excited about the "final lap" that the big paint job means, though... so oftentimes only scrub them up when I first open the kit for building.

Some kits, like ICM, need a major scrubbing to get the release crap off of them. Otherwise paint and solvents and glue have a hard time setting.

[Huey Gunner]

I'll spray the spruces with a pretty strong solution of "Simple Green", let sit for a minute or two then rinse with warm water. Aftrer sanding seams I wipe with a cotton rag with 90% isopropyl alcohol.