I went through my modeling things looking for a needle to unclog a glue container when I came across my airbrush cleaning stuff. I left it in a tupperware container in the basement for about a month after I had washed it. The lid was on tight and I took it off and surprise there was several colonies of mold growing in it! Even on the tools! I gave the tools a thorough cleaning but the mold ended up staining the two tools.
yuck![yuck]
Have you tried a liquid cleaner with bleach?
They sell it locally here for a $1.00.
We have plenty of mold and mildew down here, and a diluted bleach solution takes the stains out of anything!
Tom [C):-)]
Thanks for the advice but could ammonia free windex or something like a paint thinner work too?
What’s left on the tools could pass for corrosion.
Actually, you are welcome to try any product you want, but as for eliminating the stain, nothing bleaches like bleach, and if a solution of water and bleach won’t do it, nothing will.
I have sprayed papered walls with a detergent/bleach/water solution and literally watched the black mildew turn to a rust then literally fade and completely disappear.
I make my own, but the local Ace Hardware sells the solution for $1.00. It is located in the same section as the ever-popular Future floor polish that so many modelers prefer to use as a pre-decalling finish.
The main thing to remember is NEVER mix bleach and ammonia. The resulting vapors, a form of phosgene gas, can kill you.
However, if the item is stainless steel, the chlorine in bleach can attack the metal itself, so don’t soak it for too long.
OK?
Tom [C):-)]
After cleaning the tools, if there is some discoloration, try using steelwool to polish them up, it works like a charm! I used it on some old and very rusty bicycle wheels, and they look brand new!
thanks!
I’d be pretty cautious with bleach. It can strip the plating off metal parts, I found out the hard way. As long as you dilute it and don’t leave it soaking for extended periods it should be ok.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that if mold is growing on your tools you’re obviously not using them enough. “A used tool gathers no mold,” as they say. Or at least as I’m sure everyone will start saying from now on.
Too bad , perhaps the mold etched the surface of the metal , in that case you may not be able to remove it .
I later found out that it was a form of oxidization that formed on the tools. Silly me. The reaction was caused by a soap I probably had used. After I cleaned it with bleach, the tools became coated with a layer of oxide several milimeters thick! I ended up throwing them away. I appreciate everyone’s input on the thread.
Yah , through them away , they caused enough trouble already ! [:D]
Reminds me of Weird Al’s song (well, remake) “Living In The Fridge”
“If you can identify the contents of that baggie over there, then mister your a better man then I”
Sounds like you live in a real humid area!.[?]…Throw a few of those little Camera envelopes in with your tools that suck up the moisture.[oops].Leave the lid open so theres no condensation building up inside the closed/air tight tool box[oops] and that looks like ‘White Rust’ [:O]on the handles…0000 steel wool and Brass-O will take care of the discoloration or should!.. Or get out your Dremal and polish the handles with the brass-o…[8D]
And like the Man said: A used tool gathers no Mold! [#ditto]ha,ha…Get busy working With those tools! It’s Fall and no more yard work!.. So get to getting those models back on your work bench…[}:)]… Ha,ha…
“RC”