Any tips about dust or fibres in the paint?

[Zero77]

Hi,

 

Does anybody have a good technique to avoid or repair any dust / fibre in the paint issue?

I ALWAYS have a bit of dust or rather small fibres that stick on my fresh paint. With satin or matt coats, that's not a problem because i only go with very light coats so i can easily remove them rubbing a clothe, a finger, or some micr-mesh, and anyway it's not so noticeable with that kind of finish.

 

But the big problem is with glossy finish. I need to lay a wet coat if i want something very smooth and glossy. And it's a real fiber trap. I think it's not even during the curing that the dust get stuck on the paint, but rather during the paint job itself. Maybe air turbulence because of the airbrush? I dont know.

 

Any idea to avoid it?

[Wurzacher]

For such jobs I usually wet the surrounding area where I airbrush with an atomizer filled with water. When the very fine water droplets fall down they also clean the room´s air and, when on my bench, dust and particles are bond to the surface. Works for me.

Edited March 14, 2016 by Wurzacher

[thierry laurent]

Indeed and if this is too late, micromesh is your friend!

[Zero77]

Wetting the working area is a very good idea !

Maybe i also need to clean the room....

 

Micromesh works and actually that's what i do, but it's a PITA, especially when you have a perfectly smooth and glossy finish, with many details around and you mess up your job because you went throught the paint !

And for light colors (white, yellow....) when a small fiber is stuck deep into the clear coat, you can smooth down the blister, but the fiber is still there and very visible !

[Propwash]

I agree that moisture is a good way to settle the dust before painting.  I like to use a laundry sprayer set to a fine mist.  I learned this trick many years ago in basic training, where so much as a speck of dust on a foot locker during inspection could get you gigged.

 

Hair spray works too, but be sure to cover anything you don't want the mist to settle on.

 

Jerry Peterson

[Bryan]

I have found that about 95% of the problem with dust on the model is caused by static electricity.  Plastic/resin is highly prone to becoming static charged anyway, and in dry household air in the winter, and holding the model with latex gloves, the problem is greatly exacerbated.

 

I use one of these:

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1034295&gclid=CMjcuMabwMsCFZOCfgod8nsOjg&is=REG&ap=y&m=Y&Q=&A=details

 

I find a way to hold the model that does not charge it (like a metal hook) and then shoot it with the anti-static gun (I know it sounds like BS but the gun really works) just before painting.  I used to have a huge problem like you describe...with my new routine it is rare to get anything noticeable at all in the finish.

 

You can tell the gun is working by a simple test.  After handling and sanding the model...typically debris like plastic shards and sanding dust will stick to it.  Watch these cling-ons while you shoot the model with the anti-stat....most of them will suddenly fall off.

Edited March 14, 2016 by Bryan

[Zero77]

I have found that about 95% of the problem with dust on the model is caused by static electricity.  Plastic/resin is highly prone to becoming static charged anyway, and in dry household air in the winter, and holding the model with latex gloves, the problem is greatly exacerbated.

 

I use one of these:

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1034295&gclid=CMjcuMabwMsCFZOCfgod8nsOjg&is=REG&ap=y&m=Y&Q=&A=details

 

I find a way to hold the model that does not charge it (like a metal hook) and then shoot it with the anti-static gun (I know it sounds like BS but the gun really works) just before painting.  I used to have a huge problem like you describe...with my new routine it is rare to get anything noticeable at all in the finish.

 

You can tell the gun is working by a simple test.  After handling and sanding the model...typically debris like plastic shards and sanding dust will stick to it.  Watch these cling-ons while you shoot the model with the anti-stat....most of them will suddenly fall off.

 

 

You're right !

I noticed that when i try to remove small fibres on some parts, they go, but new ones come instantely. Even blowing on the part is not enough to make them go. So indeed i think that static electricity has a relation with the problem.

[Hardcore]

I have found that about 95% of the problem with dust on the model is caused by static electricity.  Plastic/resin is highly prone to becoming static charged anyway, and in dry household air in the winter, and holding the model with latex gloves, the problem is greatly exacerbated.

 

I use one of these:

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1034295&gclid=CMjcuMabwMsCFZOCfgod8nsOjg&is=REG&ap=y&m=Y&Q=&A=details

 

I find a way to hold the model that does not charge it (like a metal hook) and then shoot it with the anti-static gun (I know it sounds like BS but the gun really works) just before painting.  I used to have a huge problem like you describe...with my new routine it is rare to get anything noticeable at all in the finish.

 

You can tell the gun is working by a simple test.  After handling and sanding the model...typically debris like plastic shards and sanding dust will stick to it.  Watch these cling-ons while you shoot the model with the anti-stat....most of them will suddenly fall off.

Nice, but expensive

.

[Bryan]

You're right !

I noticed that when i try to remove small fibres on some parts, they go, but new ones come instantely. Even blowing on the part is not enough to make them go. So indeed i think that static electricity has a relation with the problem.

 

 

Exactly...the more you "wipe" the model....or blow it with dry air....the worse things become.  Even in the cleanest of houses there is always enough dust and fibers in the air to mar the finish if the static is attracting them.  You have to find a way to "kill" the charge.  That won't completely eliminate the problem of course, but it will definitely greatly minimize it.

 

Nice, but expensive

.

 

I guess it is a bit of a pricey gadget....but it does do what it claims to do.

 

Another less expensive approach is just to thoroughly rinse the model in water then hang it before painting to dry.  Once dry, paint it without touching it.  The rinsing process kills the static, and as long as you don't directly handle the model or wipe it or blow air on it, most of the charge will still be gone when you paint.  This works too...I just find it less convenient than the anti-static gun.

 

I have found the things to really static charge the model are handling with latex gloves (which I wear when painting....but now I don't directly touch the model)....sanding/polishing with foam sanding sticks/blocks....and trying to blow dust off the model with dry air.

 

Have you ever brought a brush loaded with paint near the model, and had the paint sort of jump from the brush and deposit on the model in a sort of "lightning bolt" like trail?  I have....mainly after polishing/sanding with foam sanding sponge type products.

Edited March 14, 2016 by Bryan

[Zero77]

Have you ever brought a brush loaded with paint near the model, and had the paint sort of jump from the brush and deposit on the model in a sort of "lightning bolt" like trail?  I have....mainly after polishing/sanding with foam sanding sponge type products.

 

 

Wow ! Paranormal activity !

 

 

 

At the moment, i'll try the rinsing technique. Indeed, i've already heard that it's good to rinse one's hands several times in the day to discharge the static electricity from our bodies, as it's not good for health. Now with our synthethic shoes and clothes we are isolated from ground and always charged.

 

I just wonder if handling the parts to be painted with a metallic wire linked to earth would work?

[Warbird]

Hello,

 

I use this anti-static brush to clean the model before paint, works well:

 

http://tamiya.com/english/products/74078brush/index.htm

 

I also try to clean the inside of the spray booth before any gloss paint. Anyway I think that dust can't be totally avoided, unless investing in a white room...

[Guest Peterpools]

Most of my micro dust and lint problems for gloss finishes are luckily a thing of the past. Once I'm ready to paint, I cover my spray area with perfectly clean kitchen towels, wipe down the model one last time with a tack rag and a final go over with just air. I paint as normal and the results are almost 100% dust free. If in the advent of a few specs of dust, I left the paint completely dry, then ho so gently and few passes with 12,000 grit and a wipe down again with the tack rag and all is well in hobby land.

Peter

[CANicoll]

I do what Peter does actually, and lay out towels.  

 

But the other thing I do is hang or set up what I've just painted vertically in my paint booth and leave the blower running until the paint sets up. The blower sucks the air out, and being vertical means dust can't just fall onto the model.

[mattlow]

I set up a sheet of plastic with a dowel running along the bottom that I can use to close off the front of the spray booth. Keep the fan running and this minimises dust and keeps solvent fumes in the booth and out the vent pipe...

 

Matt