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antampatz posted an update in the group
Advanced Modeler – Modeling Competition 2013 9 years, 5 months ago WIP 1 (washing)
The first thing I did was washing the runners to remove mould release. This will help the following steps such as gluing and painting as both plastic cement and paint/primer is meant to work on plastic (PS and ABS) rather than the release agent.
So the runners were dipped in water with washing up liquid and mould release was brushed off carefully, to avoid damaging delicate parts, such as the V-fin. Runners were then dipped in clean water to remove excess foam, rinsed, shaken and finally placed on absorbent kitchen roll tissue overnight to dry.
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Advanced Modeler – Modeling Competition 2013
So I am in the Beginner comp, and read a few things about the need to wash before you build. Have you had issues in the past with non washed runners? I started to do this on my most resent build but just trying to see what would happen if you did not.
For me it is standard practice to wash the runners to remove the residue from the release agent. I have not had any particular problems when skipping this step. However, if you think about it, both plastic cement and primer for plastic is meant to be used on plastic, not that oily residue. Regarding the plastic cement, as it fuses the cemented parts together into one, I think it is important to make sure parts are as clean as possible for best results in removing seam lines. Therefore, if washing does make a difference it is definitely for the better. Also, note that before priming I will wash the sanded parts again.
Thanks for the follow up. I am going to keep washing mine from this point on. Have not got down the path of painting yet, but will prob start looking into that in the next few months. Guess it gives me a reason to get an airbrush 🙂
If you are not fully painting the kit, but do panel-lining or maybe even paint details directly on plastic without priming, then washing is even more important for the same reasons plus because paint is less likely to stick on an oily surface than primer is. In any case thumps up for washing!