Use Q-Tips with the cotton cut off as mixing sticks for epoxy, JB Weld, or whatever else needs mixing. You get hundreds in a package for cheap, so you never run out.
Topic: Tech Tips
Save that Junk Mail
Use old magazines, sales flyers, cardboard boxes, and other junk paper products as a mixing surface for epoxy. Then just tear out a few pages or rip off the art with epoxy on it and trash it. It also lets you tell when the epoxy is fully cured without messing up the parts you just glued.
Minimize the mess
Make a messy job a little cleaner with these ideas
- Use old magazines, sales flyers, cardboard boxes, and other junk paper products as a mixing surface for epoxy. Then just tear out a few pages or rip off the art with epoxy on it and trash it. It also lets you tell when the epoxy is fully cured without messing up the parts you just glued.
- Use Q-Tips with the cotton cut off as mixing sticks for epoxy, JB Weld, or whatever else needs mixing. You get hundreds in a package for cheap, so you never run out.
- When working on your model, lay an old bath towel on your workbench as a mat. When screws or other small parts fall, they won’t bounce or roll away and get lost. When it gets dirty, just wash it.
- Some medicines come with nice flexible plastic measuring cups. Use these for mixing Epoxy or JB Weld and clean-up is as simple as squeezing the cup to pop out the cured up residue.
- To clean up or pick up small pieces of stuff from the carpet or workbench, keep a roll of packing tape handy and use a piece to stick and peel your way to cleanliness.
- If you’re working on really dirty or greasy parts, grab a few paper towels to lay parts on. When the paper towels get dirty, roll them up and throw them away.
Cleaning your model
Land vehicles get really dirty! These tips will make cleaning them easier
- After you get those parts clean, black parts like a good shine. Use a toothbrush with a drop or two of silicone shock oil to make them shine. This will also prevent dirt from sticking to them.
- Use a toothbrush to get into those little spaces and get the dirt out. This works best when the dirt is dry.
- Brake parts cleaner is great for cleaning your engine during a rebuild too. Just watch out for brittle plastic which can melt when exposed to brake parts cleaner.
- When tearing down for a good re-build, many parts can be cleaned with a toothbrush and some brake parts cleaner. Be sure your parts are not made of ABS though since the parts cleaner will eat them. To test this, put a little on a paper towel and rub the part. If the towel turns black or the part gets sticky, do not use the parts cleaner.
