LSP_K2 Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 It occurred to me while looking at a photo today that I'd meant to tell you folks about an idea I had years ago, and have been using that idea ever since. I was adding some tiny pre-painted parts to a model using tweezers, but kept scratching/marring the paint. My solution was to plunge the tweezer ends into hot candle wax, let cool, then use the waxed tips to grab the small bits. This also had/has the side benefit of allowing the soft wax to grab the part easier, as the wax is ever so tacky, but not so much as to mar the surface of the part being handled. Once finished, I just slip the wax tips off, and throw them back in with the candle wax that's already melted, for reuse on another day. Out2gtcha, Nick32, Gazzas and 9 others 10 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daywalker Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Damn, fantastic idea Kevin! Thanks for sharing it with us, I will give this one a try. LSP_K2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogsATX Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Very nice! For small parts I've actually turned to small pliers instead of tweezers. Seems to be less slippage (or unplanned cross-garage launches) with the pliers, but that wax tip should work regardless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dog Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 I've also lined the tips with Tamiya tape. Will give the wax trick a try, thanks for the tip ! LSP_K2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOTR Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Another possibility is shrink-on tube. BiggTim and Hardcore 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick32 Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Great idea Kev, this is going to save me a lot of cussing.. NIck Uilleann and LSP_K2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Cool ideeeer K2 Ill have to give that a go w/my candle I have on the bench for melting/stretching sprue LSP_K2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyMech06 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Has anyone tried Plastidip? or is it too thick? BiggTim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted September 25, 2018 Author Share Posted September 25, 2018 On 1/30/2015 at 7:40 AM, NavyMech06 said: Has anyone tried Plastidip? or is it too thick? That's actually not a bad idea at all; I'll have to give that a whirl. Shawn M 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn M Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 i thought about small dia. heat shrink as well LSP_K2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Kev, Great idea. I had a piece of PE fly off into the ether yesterday. Next time, I'll be using the wax! Gaz SapperSix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 I used liquid electrical tape but i like the wax idea better. The liquid electrical tape is really stringy and makes a bit of a mess, which was unexpected since i was just dipping a fine pair of tweezers into it! It was a fiasco on my modeling bench lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbetty Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 how about using masking fluid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radub Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 Notoriously, nothing sticks to wax. This method risks contaminating parts with wax residue in the areas where glue or paint is to be applied. In the past I used heat-shrink plastic for electrical cable insulation over the tweezers tips. Just slip it over, heat it and it will settle snugly over the tips. That usually provides a lot of "grip". Radu D.B. Andrus, jimbo, LSP_Matt and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Matt Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 On 12/12/2018 at 12:00 AM, Radub said: Notoriously, nothing sticks to wax. This method risks contaminating parts with wax residue in the areas where glue or paint is to be applied. In the past I used heat-shrink plastic for electrical cable insulation over the tweezers tips. Just slip it over, heat it and it will settle snugly over the tips. That usually provides a lot of "grip". Radu That sounds like an evolution of the idea. Very nice. Matty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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