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Question - How do you clean your sprues


BIG X

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Howdy Folks,  I've recently had a problem with primer coming straight off my latest masterpiece.  I always wash my sprues in warm water and washing up liquid.  I then rinse them in cold water, give them a good shake to get rid of the excess moisture and leave them to air dry.  I've never had a problem in the past and I always used to use humbrol rattle can grey primer.  I recently switched to vallejo and stynylrez primers and encountered this new problem.  I'm not blaming the primers - they go on lovely - but I wondered if I should change my cleaning regime to avoid this peeling.

 

Any tips on sprue cleaning will be gratefully received - thanks Steve

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I don't really understand why people clean sprues. I tried it once and don't feel it made any difference. I also don't use a primer (as such) I just spray an undercoat of Tamiya acrylic. The paint is a little fragile until it's sealed, but I just handle it with care.

I've no idea why your primer isn't sticking. Is it flaking off or is it easily scraping off?

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16 minutes ago, Gorbygould said:

I don't really understand why people clean sprues. I tried it once and don't feel it made any difference. I also don't use a primer (as such) I just spray an undercoat of Tamiya acrylic. The paint is a little fragile until it's sealed, but I just handle it with care.

I've no idea why your primer isn't sticking. Is it flaking off or is it easily scraping off?

 

Hi Gorby - it not flaking - it's peeling off a like a stretchy piece of plastic bag.

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51 minutes ago, BIG X said:

Howdy Folks,  I've recently had a problem with primer coming straight off my latest masterpiece.

 

 I've never had a problem in the past and I always used to use humbrol rattle can grey primer.  I recently switched to vallejo and stynylrez primers and encountered this new problem.  I'm not blaming the primers - they go on lovely 

 

 

Personally I would blame the primers, just because they go on lovely it doesn't mean they are doing their job properly. How can a water based primer etch into anything it'll just lay on top of the surface which to my mind defeats the object of applying it!

Don't be taken in by all the blurb these manufacturers come out with about them.

Save up for a decent respirator mask and invest in some Alclad,  Mr Surfacer, Mr Paint or even some AK primer and microfiller.

 

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1 minute ago, tank152 said:

Personally I would blame the primers, just because they go on lovely it doesn't mean they are doing their job properly. How can a water based primer etch into anything it'll just lay on top of the surface which to my mind defeats the object of applying it!

Don't be taken in by all the blurb these manufacturers come out with about them.

Save up for a decent respirator mask and invest in some Alclad,  Mr Surfacer, Mr Paint or even some AK primer and microfiller.

 

My local supplier offers all of these - are any of these airbrush ready - I also have a respirator and spray booth with extractor - so willing to give some or all a go... 

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Weird. I haven't the best memory, but unless I dreamt it*, I thought I read on BM recently that someone else had a similar problem.

 

(* I would like to think that my dreams where a little more interesting that debating the merits of primers, but probably not.)

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2 minutes ago, Gorbygould said:

Weird. I haven't the best memory, but unless I dreamt it*, I thought I read on BM recently that someone else had a similar problem.

 

(* I would like to think that my dreams where a little more interesting that debating the merits of primers, but probably not.)

...that would be me then...  I'm more interesting in sprue cleaning ideas here - than primer - but...

All tips / ideas / suggestions are keenly welcomed by me :)

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Yes, Alclad and AK primer and microfiller are both airbrush ready and available in various colours Mr Paint is also airbrush ready and is available from here

http://www.hmhobbies.co.uk/primers-and-varnishes.html

As you are kitted up with a extractor unit I'll also recommend the Mr Paint colours, all of which are airbrush ready and are available in a vast range of colours. 

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14 minutes ago, BIG X said:

...that would be me then...  I'm more interesting in sprue cleaning ideas here - than primer - but...

All tips / ideas / suggestions are keenly welcomed by m

 

Silly me - at least there might be some hope for my dreams. Don't know if you have seen any of these....

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/general_discussion/f/9/t/169247.aspx

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1 hour ago, tank152 said:

Yes, Alclad and AK primer and microfiller are both airbrush ready and available in various colours Mr Paint is also airbrush ready and is available from here

http://www.hmhobbies.co.uk/primers-and-varnishes.html

As you are kitted up with a extractor unit I'll also recommend the Mr Paint colours, all of which are airbrush ready and are available in a vast range of colours. 

Thanks Tank - I'll get some orders placed this week - more experimenting - but an absolute must to sort out.

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I have heard that some folk wipe their kits down with Isopropyl - any thoughts from anyone... 

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14 minutes ago, BIG X said:

I have heard that some folk wipe their kits down with Isopropyl - any thoughts from anyone... 

Isopropyl sounds nice but i have tryed it and my paint adhered better after a cleanup with white spirit....

Normally i don't do a prewashup of the sprues because the fingers  always are little greassy.

The small parts iff handled much are brushed down with a little white spirit, it works for me...

 

All the best, Jan

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I have NEVER washed or cleaned sprues in over 50 years of modelling.......I tend to do it all at the end on the completed model.........or, as in the Meng Catapillar.........which breaks down into modules, clean the modules then add to partially complete model.  The only exception to this rule is rubber/polythene track or tyres.  I model a lot in resin(accurate armour/KFS) and have never had a problem.  You take all the time in the world to clean sprues, then for the duration of the kit build, days, weeks, months, years, your continually running your greasy hands, covered in residue from beer bottles, tea cups, sandwiches, crisps, pork pies, etc, etc all over the nice clean model............best to do it at the end when about to spray wearing rubber gloves

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9 minutes ago, janneman36 said:

Isopropyl sounds nice but i have tryed it and my paint adhered better after a cleanup with white spirit....

Normally i don't do a prewashup of the sprues because the fingers  always are little greassy.

The small parts iff handled much are brushed down with a little white spirit, it works for me...

 

All the best, Jan

 

Snap Jan.........we posted at the same time...........:worms:

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Unless you paint a lot of the items while they at still attached to the sprue, I cannot see the point in washing them for the simple reason that they will be handled when they are assembled and that means the parts will pick up the sweat and grease from you fingers. I always leave washing until I've completed construction, prior to painting.

Then the model will be primed with Halfords grey car primer.

 

John.

 

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I gave up cleaning my sprues before I started a model, mainly because I often forgot, but I've not noticed any difference, and I'll bet that a lot more finger oils are added during the build process than mould release.  In fact, having seen a number of videos of injection moulding being done, I've never seen any release being added.  If I felt the sprues and they were greasy, I probably would give 'em a bath though, and insist on doing that to any resin kit I build, as they really can be gopping with the stuff. :owww:

 

A light sand with a very fine stick to key the surface microscopically, and a decent primer such as Alclad, Ultimate, Stylnrez (or however you spell it), or maybe even Ammo's new One-Shot primer (review pending by Dave), and you're usually good to go.  Knock back the primer with a fine stick too, and you should have an almost perfect surface for your paint.  Remember that acrylics are less robust than enamels, so handle them accordingly, with a coat of clear gloss advisable if you're going to do a fair amount of model groping during decaling or similar :)

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It's not going to hurt cleaning the sprues,  but if you want to remove grease, use a grease buster. 

 

I've been experimenting with Deepio, took a bottle end from work

25822.png

Quote

Deepio is the grease buster for cleaning tough grease in professional kitchens.

 

I just used it on some 1/32 Airfix figures, which felt prety greasy, but that may just be the type of plastic used, which is a replacement for the polyethylene they used to use, and is  slightly rubbery, but reacts to poly cement.

 

spayed on, scrubbed with a stiff paint brush, and rinsed.

 

 

also, however much you handle a model, I doubt your fingers are going to leave deposits in crevices, which is what washing should remove. 

 

I think maybe more important with acylics as opposed to enamels, which are oil based, so are more likely to just dissolve any greasy deposit.

 

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, Mike said:

or maybe even Ammo's new One-Shot primer (review pending by Dave),

 

Its rebottled Stynylrez. Tried some start of February! 

 

 

As for sprues I dont bother washing them, its a waste of time because of all the handling/filling/sanding etc during the build.

So a wipe down before primer is what I do. 

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53 minutes ago, Dr Evil said:

I'm with most of the above, never clean sprues, never use primer, never had a problem!? 

acrylics by any chance...

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You certainly don't need to worry about mould release contamination. Mould release is only used,sometimes, (depends on the mould) at the start of a run and will be gone after 3 or 4 shots. This washing sprues malarky started years ago probably after some "expert" visited a factory and witnessed the start up procedure and wanted to impress with his knowledge. This applies only to plastic injection, I don't know anything about resin casting so would not presume to offer advice in this case.

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I’ve had various (mostly eastern European) kits come with a fair old coating of what I assume to be release agent. Most memorably an ICM 1/350 Grosser Kurfurst kit that was quite literally dripping with it.

 

I guess washing kits is a bit like leaving the toilet seat up or down. Some do, some don’t…:D

 

Mart

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4 hours ago, Tony Oliver said:

Its rebottled Stynylrez. Tried some start of February! 

 

That'll make the review easy then.  It's good, sands well and is robust.  End of story. :)

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