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Hey guys

 

So I've never cleaned the mold-residue from my sprues...but maybe I need to start to do it before painting/priming.

 

Since I'm a bit lazy...can I just put my sprues into the dishwasher and wash them this way.

 

P.S.   I'm being serious...plastic wont melt right?

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I think it could.Our machine gets real hot when sanitizing. Maybe not melt but certainly warp. If nothing else loose parts will fly off getting stuck in your machine. Wife won't be a happy camper. And you will be missing parts.

 

Perhaps man parts when the boss is done with you.

 

Would not recommend that.

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Yeah the dishwasher is NOT the place to put styrene plastic. You might get a ball of plastic if you do that.

 

These days you normally don't have to wash sprues but the few times I have done it I simply filled my kitchen sink and used some dishwashing soap. Of course I cleaned the sink first so that there was no left over grease of food crap in it. Swish the sprues around and then wash with clean water. Place on dish towel to dry and all should be good.

 

I have only ever seen actual mould release stuff on a kit and that was many yeas ago. It was a cheap kit from Eastern Europe. Even these days kits from there are great with nice clean kits sprues.

 

Edited by skyhawk174
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Your own finger oil after assembly might be the real factor.

Especially in climates such as Georgia/Florida in August.

And for those people who have to have certain things spelled out - no, caramel corn and cheese puffs are not the things to snack on between gluing parts together.

Even so, I've been washing sprues for multiple decades and old habits die hard.

(ahh, now I understand why all the nuns at school were 75)

For me the preferred method is aome kind of gently abrasive cleanser and a really soft old toothbrush.

In a short time you will learn the nature of which skinny parts to not use the toothbrush on.

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10 hours ago, southwestforests said:

Your own finger oil after assembly might be the real factor.

This!

 

I wash my hands in soap and water before handling models at all times during construction. I also always give parts and assemblies, including the entire airframe, a good wipe down with 91% isopropyl alcohol before painting. The cosmetics aisle has cotton buds and pads that are great for this. Nowadays, I generally prime with thinned Mr Surfacer before airbrushing Mr Color, so I just don't have peeling problems. Well, Chrome Alclad does rub off if you even think about touching it...

 

I don't generally wash plastic unless I see/feel evidence of a film that needs removing. That's happened a couple-few times. I did have one resin ship that was thick with mold release! 

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On 2017-12-20 at 7:43 PM, skyhawk174 said:

Yeah the dishwasher is NOT the place to put styrene plastic. You might get a ball of plastic of you do that.

 

These days you normally don't have to wash sprues but the few times I have done it I simply filled my kitchen sink and used some dishwashing soap. Of course I cleaned the sink first so that there was no left over grease of food crap in it. Swish the sprues around and then wash with clean water. Place on dish towel to dry and all should be good.

 

I have only ever seen actual mould release stuff on a kit and that was many yeas ago. It was a cheap kit from Eastern Europe. Even these days kits from there are great with nice clean kits sprues.

 

 

Ditto.

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Many years ago, at my workplace, we were required to wear safety glasses while out in the plant. There were boxes of little packets that contained cleaning clothes for the glasses. They looked just like the moist towelettes you get a fast food restaurants. I always managed to keep a small supply at home. Unfortunately I have run out now and I'm retired so do not have access to more.

These little clothes were great for cleaning parts.

 

 

Chris

 

 

 

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Why do you need to clean them?

There is nothing going into that injection mold but liquid plastic. The mold is buried in the machine, held in place firmly to resist the pressure of the injected plastic, and has water circulating inside it to keep it cool during the ongoing cycles of injected plastic, mold opening and extraction of the freshly made parts. it all happens quickly and pretty much automatically.

At the rate I build a little soap and water in a bath, let them air dry and then do it again months or years later when i FINALLY actually get it started. Well, the real story is I don't wash anything. But I do use that now long gone Plastic Prep blasted thru my airbrush when I am ready to start painting. By then the parts a far dirtier than they were coming out of the box and actually do need a bath.

Norm

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On 12/22/2017 at 4:43 PM, nfiler said:

There is nothing going into that injection mold but liquid plastic.

Which makes it kind of interesting how many industrial suppliers are manufacturing and/or selling mold release agents and coatings.

For instance,

https://www.daikin.com/chm/products/mold_lubricant/index.html

and

https://www.mavcoatmoldrelease.com/molding-industries/injection-plastics

and

https://www.crodapolymeradditives.com/en-gb/discovery-zone/product-effects/mold-release

 

Now, true, there are built-in solid coatings, which are not something that's going to be transferred to the plastic,

https://www.ptonline.com/articles/know-your-mold-coatings

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