[:-^] Hello out there in never, never land. How do you railroaders keep the dust off of the layout? I tried to spread a sheet on top but that causes a problem at times. Need your help. Thanks.
Try the ultalight painters dropcloths, a very thin saranwrap like material.
I know its not always feeseable but I built a drop ceiling over my laoyout and even though its in the garage it helps emensly. keeping the door closed especially on windy days helps too.
If you have a backdrop on the layout maybe you could have some fold up brackets on the front so when you put a drop cloth over it the cloth won’t damage or disturb the details.
Dust actually ties all the detail together a bit. Think about it for a moment, Its lands on everything and blends the colors. I know it sounds a bit crazy but if you look at some layouts that is what subdues many of the otherwise garash colors.
My question is, can you seal the dust onto the structures with dull coat for lasting efects?
Spidge I sprayed dull coat on part of my layout that had accumulated some dust and when it dried it worked very well I thought. Just my opinion. Merry Christmas Dave
Well, when the dust gets really thick, I just couple my wedge plow in front of a couple of DD13 class diesel-hydraulics…
Seriously, I’ve been pretty fortunate so far (the plow has yet to run.) Even with open air vents (required by code) I haven’t had excessive dust buildup. An occasional cruise around with a mini-vac and a soft-bristled paint brush has kept the problem under control.
Later, when I get into serious scenery building, I intend to have Joe Fugate-style valences over the layout. Rolled up sections of clear shower curtain will be unrolled from the top down to keep airborne dust out while the layout isn’t being operated. For construction, only the curtains protecting the work area will need to be raised. When display-running for visitors, no fancy switching, the curtains can remain down.
Just an as yet untried idea.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Thank each of you for your suggestions. Half the room is n-scale and the other half is a computer work station. All of this gets a coat of dust within a couple of weeks and the heat here is hot water. Go figure. ANY WAY. I am a fussy one and like the clean newish look of buildings etc. As for the grass, you can sprinkle some new green on that allready there. Have a SPECIAL HOLIDAY AND remember the reason for this season.
I designed my layout with a solution for dust figured in. My layout is 2’x8’ 2" foam around three walls on white two rail 24" shelf supports. Two 24" shelf supports per bracket - one for the layout the other for the roof of the shadow box which is 1" foam. I will hang two curtains off the top shelf, the first a valance the other a long curtain that hangs to the layout level keeping dust out. I am having some curtains made with button holes every foot and a half to hang these two layers of curtains. I will only need to take down the outer curtain two operate trains, the other hangs there acting like a valance
Mike P ABQ,NM