I’d be interested in finding out what people do to keep the layout looking nice? Especially finished, scenicked pikes.
Thanks,
Chris
First be sure the room is finished’ by that i mean no bare concrete floors wall’s finished with paneling or better yet sheet rock and painted,same for the ceiling no bare truss’s.
after that a set schedule for cleaning the area,for the layout with structures and delicate scenery i would use a small hand held vacum with a piece of discarded nylon fitted over the end with a rubber band to keep from sucking up any small piece’s…figures etc.and a small 2inch softbristled brush to gentle whisk away the layer of dust that believe me will accumulate
I 'm sure others will chime in with their ideas as well, Oh’and don’t forget the track!! [:D]
I keep the layout covered when it’s not in use. I use a king sheet with a top layer of black lawn/leaf bags taped together to cover it.
As for cleaning, I have a micro attachment for the vacuum that works well and doesn’t make things disappear.
I bought some super soft brushes from Micro-Mark I think…They’re called “Dust Floggers” and come in a pack of various sizes. The are super for cleaning off tops of structures without damaging any rooftop details.
Matt
I know this sounds crazy but if you spray 409 on finished scenery it will eat the remaining dust left by the vacuum and brighten the scenery back to new.
There’s a reason for that. Can you say ‘sulfuric acid’? Cleaners like 409, Windex and a bunch of others have it. It’s only a small amount but it’s there nonetheless. Do you doubt me? Read the label.
being out here in the desert the layout can collect dust in bunches… I like the idea said earlier about the soft brush , i got a couple at Micheals Craft place in the artist area , the work great… If not too late also finish the room the best you can…
Clean?? But dust is natural weathering and my giant cobwebs are great for simulating those left created by Giant New Hampshire Spiders that populate the region I model!
[swg]
Living in AZ with an outdoor HO railroad, a track cleaning car before each operating session is standard. Once a week, I use the bright pad manually to control build up and get the stubborn spots not removed by the track cleaning car.
That is absolutely true. Many years ago I used to repair copy machines for GAF Corp. We used 409 because it did a good job cleaning up toner then after we used a proprietary glass cleaner on all the glass surfaces to remove any 409 because left long term it would etch the glass,reducing it’s optical properties.
I just checked the MSDS (material safety data sheet) for 409 and Windex. There was no sulfuric acid listed. See the links below for the MSDS for each:
http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/safety/MSDS/FORMULA%20409%20CLEANER.htm
http://www.maskedflowerimages.com/windex.html
Ed
I’ve seen those same MSDS listings. I went down to my parents place earlier and looked on the label of a bottle of Windex and it most definitely stated that it had sulfuric acid in it. Admittedly it is an old bottle from the mid 90’s.
As far as MSDS sheets are concerned, you need to double-check the “release date” of the MSDS itself. MSDSes (Material Safety Data Sheet) can be updated on a regular basis - especially when the chemical formula of the product has changed. That could explain why there is no longer sulferic acid listed in the percentages.
Tom
I am not the one who claimed it has sulfuric acid. I do not know what the reason was, I just know that in 1968 and 69, 409 left long term would damage our optics.
Interesting that so many responses are from folks in Arizona! Maybe because we have plenty of dust and dirt. Actually my layout is in the house in a spare bedroom. But as many of you from the Phoenix area know, it’s that dang powder fine dirt that gets everywhere. Being that there is nothing but open desert behind my house I may need to prepare some type of cover when the layout is not in use. Has anyone used a compressor to blow things off?
Chris
Chris, if you plan on using compressor air to clean your layout, I think you’d better change your screen name to “Wizard” and re-name your layout “Oz”!
I can just see it now: trees flattened, buildings with torn off roofs, little people caught up in swirling winds.
Might as well bring in the garden hose and get it really clean, but then you’d have to deal with washed out track!
Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore! ROFL
I went home last night and read my bottle. It does not have sulfuric acid listed. Didn’t you know we all went “enviromentally freindly” Yes I will admit that probably 25 years ago it had acid in it, but not today, I got the nice “Lemon Scent” version. I f I close my eyes I feel like I’m in a Lemon tree forest…
Who cares whether or not the solution has sulfuric acid in it. He uses it and it works for him and if in a couple years it starts to ruin his layout then we will have our answer won’t we. It simply amazes me that we can waste bandwidth over a pissing contest, let it go already.
Anyway back to the original question. Try using a spritz bottle with water and spray down your layout. Now in the interest of full disclosure I do not have a permanent layout and nor do I use this method but I have seen it used several times with great success. Thats my 2 cents.
Will
At the club I belong to, we use cans of compressed air to lightly bow air across delicate structures/scenery. On the opposite side of the compressed air blowing the dust around is a shop vac with a wide opening sucking in the dust blown off the scenery. It works very well in eliminating the dust simply circulating around the layout room and settling on the scenery elsewhere. In open areas we simply use the shop vac. Works great for us!
Chuck
Let me see if I understand this. A discussion among people who are trying to warn a poster that a substance being considered might harm his layout and people who believe that is obsolete information and no longer a threat is a pissing contest?
I don’t know about the others, but I won’t be spraying my layout with water, either.
I maintain mine with various things in different areas. I use a feather duster in tunnels and places where everything is secure. I use an air compressor and/or a shop vac between the rails to keep stuff out of switches and road crossings or anywhere else debris could foul wheels. Other places I use a very soft, never used, paint brush. Even a soft cloth has it’s uses. I never use any liquid.