Cling Free Models

One thing I have always loved about hobbies is the way limits are only set by yourself. There is a simple excitement in finding things outside the realm of things found in hobby shops to solve problems or enhance your hobby.

As a kid, the hobby shop guy told me how to use sewing thread dipped in clear nail polish to make spark plug wires for model cars. I tried it it was a terrible mess but it gave me the idea that there was a freedom you could have at creation if you were willing to think.

I built my first stick balsa planes around the same time and it all became possible because the hobby shop guy told me to get a ceiling tile and wax paper to build my plane, by the way, it was a Guillows Fairchild 24 build by number. Previously I had been deterred from the project at the cost of a building jig I thought I needed.

Years later when I raced off-road R/C cars we found that hand brushes glued upside down in Tupperware bins filled with Simple Green was the best thing for cleaning tires and making the rubber tacky for the next heat. Best of all it beat fancy expensive traction compounds.



Hobbies make you innovative, it tickles your brain unlike other things do, helps you find a solution that might be in your kitchen drawer, down the floor polish aisle in the store or in your wife's sewing kit.

At this point in my rambling, you may wonder what the title has, if anything to do with this post, well it does.

I both wet and dry sand models in prep for painting and building as well as buff them. When dry sanding or buffing,  I have noticed a large amount of static build up where it's done, even with a tack cloth. I set it aside for a moment and it starts to yank particles in the air back to it. I use the Tamiya Paint stand a lot to hold bodies, parts etc. so I grabbed my Static Guard and sprayed the stand's underside and boom no static on the body or parts when I set it on the stand. I also sprayed the underside of my table and that really helped on sweeping up the dust from my sanding.

I occasionally build R/C planes from Foam and I plan to try this when I sand and cut the styrofoam that usually clings to anything and everything. I have to admit I have not heard anyone comment about battling static when dealing with plastics, but maybe someone might find this useful.

• Hobby Dude