Cotton Buds/Q Tips

[Mr Bowcat]

Hi Guys,

So I've been thinking about cotton buds (or Q tips for our friends in 'merica).

You often see on forums the advice to use a good quality cotton bud, and this has made me wonder what constitutes good quality? I usually use Johnson & Johnson brand buds which are about £1 for 200. I buy these rather than the supermarket own as I assume the brand will mean a higher quality product. However I often fine with using them that I get little cotton wisps on any pointy bits of the model, even catching on a bit of rough paintwork sometimes, which are then a pain to remove.

I've also seen that model companies such as Tamiya and Mr Hobby offer cotton swabs which are allegedly specially formulated for modelling. However they are a lot more expensive, around £3 to £4 for 50!

So I guess the question is, are these hobby swabs worth it, or just hype. What other alternatives of "good quality" cotton buds/swabs are there available in the UK, and from where?

Cheers,

B

[Jim R]

Hi Bob
I gave up on cotton buds from supermarkets/chemists for the reasons you give. I now use a selection of THESE from our own shop. They last longer and have none of the drawbacks of the cheap ones.
Jim

[martin9428]

For my ears, I use the J&J Brand as they have a fluffier, looser wound tip but, found the same as you when it came to models. I use the cheaper store brand for hobby as I found they have a tip with less cotton and a tighter wind. I did pick up some of the Tamiya tips at a swapmeet but have yet to use them

[papa 695]

I find most of the cotton buds are the same, in relation to the tips, I tend to go for the ones with the plastic shafts rather than the paper ones. But they maybe getting fazed out due to waist plastic.

[Guest]

I find the Tamiya buds have shaped ends. Very few fuzzies initially but will start to breakdown with prolonged use.[ATTACH=CONFIG]n[/ATTACH]

[Mr Bowcat]

Thanks for the replies gents.

Jim, would you say the Tamiya swabs are worth the money then, and live up to the hype?

[Jim R]

Hi Bob
Simple answer is yes. The different shapes are useful.
Jim

[minitnkr]

Gave up on Q-tips many years ago (before Tammies' offering) when used up Dr's handful. Medical sourced swabs have long wooden shafts & tighter cotton. Use tissue or wifes' makeup sponges now. PaulE

[Steve Jones]

My go too are foam buds. I use the cone shaped ones but you can get round ones as well. No issues with bits of cotton all over the place or snagging on bits of detail. If you give them a good clean afterwards you can reuse the.

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers guys.