resin and PE

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Techniques
1

what is the preferred method for cleaning resin and PE prior to construction?

2

I wash everything, kits, resin & PE in ordinary dish washing liquid to start with, part of my ‘ritual’ [*-)]

With Resin, a used toothbrush or cheap paintbrush from $ store is usually enough. One of my hobby group gang swears by lighter fluid (not petrol or ‘Gas’!) as a final degreaser.

I also use an Olfa P-cutter (or it’s Taniya eqv), to score & cut parts from the pouring block , as this cuts down on dust from sawing! then finish with wet sanding, It’s the dust that’s not health friendly! When you finish wet sanding, rinse.

For PE, lightly wet sand with fine wet&dry, degrease & rinse. If you don’t solder, superglue or paint won’t stick. Gator Glue is IMO, the best glue to stick PE to plastic.

I usually do a final carefull degrease, rinse & blast with a/b to dedust before painting.

3

For heavy mold release residue I use Westey’s Bleche White tire cleaner (auto parts store item). Soak, brush, rinse, and allow to air dry.

PE has been rinsed & cleaned by the manufacturer (else it would continue to etch in the packet). But it may have residual finger oil & grease from handling (manufacturer & you). A brief soak in lacquer thinner will generally remove it.

Careful sanding PE. Fine structures will be damaged. Another method to provide ‘tooth’ to the metal is a soak in vinegar. No more than an hour. Rinse and air dry

Clean/unpainted PE is needed to solder, but if you are not soldering and the part is not structural there is generally no problem with painting first. Glue on well adhered paint will hold the part in place. I’ve also used Future to cement PE in place.

Many craft store glues work as well as Gator and have the the added advantage of being less expensive than a product packaged for modelers. I think Gator is nothing more than Crafter’s Pick Ultimate Glue. I use that and Aleene’s Tacky Glue (another craft store item). Sometimes it pays to shop around.

4

For heavy mold release residue I use Westey’s Bleche White tire cleaner (auto parts store item). Soak, brush, rinse, and allow to air dry.

PE has been rinsed & cleaned by the manufacturer (else it would continue to etch in the packet). But it may have residual finger oil & grease from handling (manufacturer & you). A brief soak in lacquer thinner will generally remove it.

Careful sanding PE. Fine structures will be damaged. Another method to provide ‘tooth’ to the metal is a soak in vinegar. No more than an hour. Rinse and air dry

Clean/unpainted PE is needed to solder, but if you are not soldering and the part is not structural there is generally no problem with painting first. Glue on well adhered paint will hold the part in place. I’ve also used Future to cement PE in place.

Many craft store glues work as well as Gator and have the the added advantage of being less expensive than a product packaged for modelers. I think Gator is nothing more than Crafter’s Pick Ultimate Glue. I use that and Aleene’s Tacky Glue (another craft store item). Sometimes it pays to shop around.

5

thanks, i thought i’ve seen folks refer to westley’s, but wanted to be sure before i go thouroughly ruin my first attempt with resin!?

6

Iv been having a hell of a time with removing resin pieces from the mold blocks. I wana do this verlinden samurai I have, but its taking me like 20 min with a hobby saw just to remove each piece from the block. I dont know how im gona get the small thin brittle parts off of it…

7

well, i’ve decided to attack this 1/32 a-10 n/aw with the full-on verlindon cockpit details, which is mostly resin and i have no experience with, i’m minimal on the PE. heck, i haven’t got as far to thinking of removal from the blocks! i’m back-awards thinking that cleaning comes first it looks likes.

now i’m really confussed?>?>?@? do i clean, snip, sand… do i saw, clean…

8

If you clean then saw you may still have skin oils from pawing the parts. The oils may affect glue and paint adhesion.

if you saw then clean it will remove skin oils before gluing/painting.

9

If you clean then saw you may still have skin oils from pawing the parts. The oils may affect glue and paint adhesion.

if you saw then clean it will remove skin oils before gluing/painting.

10

so, as in the very small pcs(the NACES seat) i should saw, clean, then glue?

11

Hi,you have a plethora of ways to attack this step.I,who recently found a way to use resin parts without the irritation will be the first to tell you CLEANLINESS is paramount here!. I wash ALL my resin in :WESLEYS BLECHE-WHITE" then I wash it and all the P.E.in a mix of warmwater and “DAWN” dishwashing detergent.Then after all is washed clean,I do NOT handle it with anything but gloved hands and lacquer thinner cleaned tweezers.If you MUST sand then definitely WET SAND.It is cleaner ,quieter and dust free.The biggest thing to watch out for is static electricity! DO NOT use ANY kind of cloth to dry your P.E. or the resin stuff. Let it air dry overnight in a covered container. I use an old ROTISSERIE chicken container from WAL-MART. Wash it super clean and keep it in a dry shady place when not using it.Keep the lid locked on tightly. try it you,ll like it!! I also use one to let my painted car parts dry in. tankerbuilder

12

that’s great info, thanks! when i first contemplated this project, i met Fermis, actually met him in person, and he has sent me great info and pictures of his A-10(1/32 scale) and i’m gonna give it a shot. i’ve recently turned my life back in the proper direction, (i now own that big blue thing), i get ome every weekend now,(to spend more time with the little doll in the shirt), and try to learn again how to build these dang boxes of plastic. as a former AT3{a long time ago}, i know cleanliness, never thought about needing gloves to handle the parts though. are you using standard surgical (non-powdered i would guess) gloves?