Ok all you science/model railroad guys i must have been asleep that day in science class or eyeballing some cheer leader instead of paying attention. I just finished building a Walther Single track truss bridge and the thing was a dust magnet. I try and keep my work area pretty clean but the dust just seems to cling to this thing.
When I paint i use a tac cloth right before i spray to get rid of any dust oils etc. I was considering giving that a try and then the wife comes up with an idea why not rub the parts with a dryer sheet, their made to stop static electricity? Anyone else have this problem and what did you do to fix it?
I’ll bet you have gas heat and a central air system. And yes the drier sheets will help. You can also use a humidifier to get the static down. Ask the wife if her plants dry out in the winter time or need more water. A sure sign your house is too dry and a dry house makes static electricity.
A dryer sheet does usually do a good job on cutting static, but I’d suggest only using a used one, one that has been through a dryer cycle. I once used a new sheet from the box to get rid of balsa dust from the shop TV, and it smeared something fierce. Took some serious scrubbing with Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol to get the gunk off the screen. A new sheet is quite oily, or whatever the goo is.
EM1 that was my first thought that what ever they put in that dryer sheet would most likely leave a film on the styrene and boy wouldn’t that be fine when it comes time to paint. Nope no gas heat oil fired forced hot air and we have plenty of humility in the air. I have a brand new humidistat on the furnace and my son has serious sinus issues so I also have a hepa filter as well as UV lights in the system to kill any bacterias. Not saying were in a clean room by no stretch of the imagination but this only seems to happen with styrene. I just finished two wood craftsmen kits and cast up a bunch of tunnel portals and some retaining walls and had zero problem with dust.
That is what we call it anyway, it is a gizmo that looks like a hairdryer, but contains a radioactive isotope. When used on plastic parts (wich attracts dust like crazy, and not good for painting…) it makes all the static disappear!
Go to a computer store and buy one of those anti-static wrist straps that grounds you to the house’s electrical wiring as you handle the styrene, and your body will act as a ground to eliminate the static problem.
LOL a radioactive Isotope? ah it’s not that much of a problem i seriously doubt that they allow such an item to be sold in the US. A static strap would be an idea if i was working in a carpeted room but I have a wood work bench and a concrete floor. Besides when I rewired the house it has all plastic electrical boxes and and there is no metal exposed to ground to even then main is fed through a pvc pipe. A good thought though. I’ll give the tac rags a try and see how they work
They existed, in my lifetime and I’m not even 30 yet. Anti-static guns used a radioactive material in their use. Heck, if I remember right, those Timex Indiglo watches had a radioactive material in them. They sell bananas and those are radioactive too.
Maybe your generating too much static when you are choking your Smurf![swg] Sorry - couldn’t resist.
Anyhow, since the workshop environment would not seem to be the source of the static charge I wonder if it might be coming from your clothing? There are anti-static sprays available (designed to prevent ‘static cling’) which might be worth a try. The problem might also be simply solved when you wash the styrene with soap and water before painting.
I have similar work shop conditions and reasonable humidity and suffer no static what so ever. Now dust - that is another issue![:'(]
This doesn’t help solve your problem, but as I understand it, static electricity can be created during the molding process of plastics. I have also read that it can be exacerbated by some plastic colorants, particularly black. I don’t know what color your bridge kit is, but that would explain why the black plastic base of our new TV is also like a dust magnet. Since I’m not a physicist, engineer or chemist, I don’t have any good ideas for eliminating it, but that might explain why the parts for that particular kit seemed to have so much static electricity.
Jim, Believe it or not I have hear the same thing but hadn’t put 2 & 2 together until you just mentioned it and I guess the Walthers bridge kit is some what black/gray I will have to note if it has the same effect with structure kits etc. Thanks for the heads up.
Over the years I’ve found a lot of static is generated removing parts and sprues from the plastic bags parts are organized in. I’ve been tempted to try some of the techniques we used in the electronics lab I worked in. Static was an occasional problem during circuit development, especially with CMOS and MOSFETs. Of course, no way am I going to pay $125.00 for a 5 gallon jug of static dissipative floor wax, or $375.00 for an ionizer, but a grounding strap tying an anti static work mat to a wrist strap and then to either a cold water pie or to the GROUND terminal of a plug would be a lot more reasonable. But, I’ll probably stay with the slightly used fabric softner sheets.
I agree completely I worked in a lab environment a few years back where we did research on hydrogen fuel cells so I don’t have to tell you how much of a boom can be caused by even the littlest spark or static discharge.It must be old age but I commented before about the radio active isotope gun now I can recall using one on plastic trays we used for measuring carbon both of which were good conductors of static electricity. The “gun” was originally designed to remove dust particles from vinyl records some of you may not have a clue what a record is but thats for another day So I stand corrected I have used one before but was unaware it contained an radio active isotope I think I may give your static strap idea of connecting a wire to a water pipe and the sprue on the next styrene model i build. Fortunately for me I wiped down the bridge with 91% isopropyl alcohol before spraying and the end result was a dust free paint job.
I’ve still got one of those record zappers. It’s called Zerostat and was made in England. As far as I can tell it generates negative ions to repel static. I don’t know how effective it ever was though. But back in the 1970s when everyone was into vinyl records, high end stereos and gadgets, it was popular.
I have noticed some of the static problem that you have. It seems so far, we can’t come up w/ the actual reason or a remedy.
I would start by washing w/ Dawn detergent and warm water. Scrub w/ a soft brush and try to air dry out doors or somewhere out of the problem area. You should be doing this prior to painting anyway. Couldn’t hurt, why not give it a try. I don’t know if blow drying would help, I usually let air dry at least overnight.
Actually, you can just use liquid fabric softener diluted to about 15% concentration. Mist it on and let it dry. Wash it off if you need to paint later.
And while we’re talking about radioactivity and dust, has anyone ever checked coal dust with a Geiger counter? Scary…