Another newbie asking for advise....please

[spanner570]

Although I have Swann Morton blades, which I tend to use just for scraping seams on plastic, I far prefer the good old Stanley knife ( other knives are available)

The blades are good and strong and last for ages.

Scalpel blades are just for that - Cutting skin, not plastic........

Your servant,
Sweeney Todd

[Dave Ward]

Stu,
before you get to actually applying paint - it can be helpful if you wash the plastic surface ( with soapy water ) & dry - this should remove any surface grease ( from your hands etc ), which could cause adhesion problems - this is the same for acrylics, or enamels. If a sprue feels particularly greasy - I dunk the whole lot in the sink with warm soapy water, rinse & air dry before taking any bits off, not only paint adhesion can be improved, but gluing as well. With some of the older models, especially the old Eastern Europe variety, I used an uktrasonic bath to get them really clean ( OK, a bit OOT! )
Dave

Stu,
don't take a hair drier to the plastic - it'll warp & you'll have a really hard time correcting it. I normally lay the rinsed parts on a sheet of newspaper & let dry overnight. - Knives? I'm a Swann Morton Scalpel user - 14A blades - they're very sharp & you have to take care, but hey, who needs a complete set of fingers!
Dave

[Stubod]

...duly noted thanks....

[Tim Marlow]

Which one is a 14A blade Dave? I’m a bit of a scalpel groupie and don’t think I’ve come across that one.....as to Ron and his box cutter....sledgehammer and nut come to mind :tongue-out3: Mind you, they're good for Lino and carpets LOL....

[Dave Ward]

Which one is a 14A blade Dave? I’m a bit of a scalpel groupie and don’t think I’ve come across that one.....as to Ron and his box cutter....sledgehammer and nut come to mind :tongue-out3: Mind you, they're good for Lino and carpets LOL....

Oops - getting late - I meant 10A - in a #3 handle.................
Dave

[Tim Marlow]

Cheers mate... had me going there....have you tried a 15a? They are great for parts clean up. The curve doesn’t leave a flat on the part.

[spanner570]

Tim.
Yes, indeed great for lino and carpets ,but just as good at intricate stuff.....and safer. Try cutting lino and carpet with a scalpel. So there!

[Tim Marlow]

LOL, number four handle and a number 25 blade will do it no trouble.....mind you, I have at least three Stanleys as well.....the ones I don’t like are the snap off type, only have one of those :tongue-out3:

[spanner570]

I don't like those snap off ones either, preferring the 'One piece' turnaroundable blade.

Anyway, best stop this as we are going off subject a tad. Besides which, a Horlicks is calling! :sleeping:

Regards,
Rip van Winkle

[PaulTRose]

dont know why they still make the snap off type......technically not legal in the workplace any more.......horrible things, and wasteful too i think

[GerryW]

Must admit that years ago, I always used to use nail clippers to separate from sprue, but now that I've re-started, thinking about getting some snips.

[Dave Ward]

This is an interesting shop.................... https://www.tafsproducts.co.uk/collections/swann-morton
A psychopaths wonderland!
Dave

[Tim Marlow]

I haven’t thought of a use for the skin graft blades yet Dave......

[stillp]

Last year I scoured the internet trying to find the best price for scalpel blades, and bought a couple of boxes of numbers 15 and 11... then found they're cheaper in John's shop!

I bought a bucket of second-hand tools that were advertised locally, and found that among the car tools that were the reason I bought them there was a small box of scalpel blades that included some 11P - the P seems to mean pointed, very handy for masking canopies.
Pete

[Bobby Conkers]

Must admit that years ago, I always used to use nail clippers to separate from sprue, but now that I've re-started, thinking about getting some snips.

I find these really useful for tiny bits!

Also, proper podiatry/manicure snips seem to be better than specialist modelling snips for me, and a good deal cheaper!