67 replies to this topic

[dalekcann]

I have two brushes: 1 is a light fluffy brush (probably for makeup) that I use to wipe 'fresher' dust from models. It works best for tiles. The other brush is a much stiffer one that I used to use for painting; this is really good for getting around all the studs on exposed plates.

The best method, though, is to was the bricks if you know you are going to keep the model out on display for a long while. Dust builds up at the joins of plates and bricks which cannot be brushed away, and from experience I know if you leave it for a few years you will never get rid of it!

[just2good]

Thanks for all the replies!
I'm going to try the tooth brush and paint brush ideas in the coming days. Hopefully they work.

[Hrw-Amen]

I have a very fine fluffy duster which is just on a little six inch handle. I think a large normal duster would be too big and likely to break things. Thankfully most of the smaller things are in glass cases so don't really need dusting.

[BrickPicker]

www.artifexcreations.com has a cool LEGO duster.

[fluffybunny]

I have an ostrich feather duster that works very well.  I go over my city layout once every month or so when I notice it getting bad and seems fine.  At first I wasnt doing any dusting and it was setup for about 6 months the roof on one of my houses which was black was turning to gray because of all of the dust and the ostrich feather duster worked great.  I think my gf got it at bed bath and beyond.

[LEGO Historian]

As was stated already... the longer you wait to dust... the harder it is to get it clean again.  Regular dusting will save you headaches in the long run.

And anytime you use water on a MOC surface... do make sure you use an oscillating fan afterwards to dry up any water that may have seeped into the areas between LEGO parts...

[SNIPE]

I simply store my parts in individual drawers, before I used to have two big boxes which collected much and dust, when I tipped the lego out to use it it used to set of my allergies.

As for models I don't really buy lego models to play with but when I had my lego ferraris assembled they used to get dusty, I used to use a bruck fitting on the end of a hoover, it was ok but was not brilliant, some canned air will work better but takes time, try tipping them upside down. you could take it out into the garden when it is fairly windy and point it to where the wind is blowing. or maybe store the models in a sealed bag or box.

[Brickus]

For cleaning my sets I bought a handheld Dyson vacuum cleaner, and use it approximately every month. The only downside is that the charge only lasts 6 minutes, but it's enough to do what I need it to do.

[Sparhawke]

Brickus, on 04 July 2012 - 05:53 AM, said:

For cleaning my sets I bought a handheld Dyson vacuum cleaner, and use it approximately every month. The only downside is that the charge only lasts 6 minutes, but it's enough to do what I need it to do.

Doesnt the vaccum cleaner suck up the pieces as well though?

[Lego Ghost]

dalekcann, on 29 June 2012 - 06:17 PM, said:

I have two brushes: 1 is a light fluffy brush (probably for makeup) that I use to wipe 'fresher' dust from models. It works best for tiles. The other brush is a much stiffer one that I used to use for painting; this is really good for getting around all the studs on exposed plates.

The best method, though, is to was the bricks if you know you are going to keep the model out on display for a long while. Dust builds up at the joins of plates and bricks which cannot be brushed away, and from experience I know if you leave it for a few years you will never get rid of it!

Thank you for the make up brush suggestion. Works very well. I used a new one, didnt want to risk on old one getting my mothers mascara on my minifigs :)

[LEGO Historian]

I've got MOCs so old... that even the dust is collecting dust....

[rriggs]

Big Cam, on 16 February 2010 - 04:59 PM, said:

Canned air is your best friend for fighting dust.

I'll second that one!

I keep the dust away by keeping my parts in sealed boxes.  Built models get air dusted every so often but I have also found that just keeping the door to my LEGO room closed reduces dust hugely too.

Cheers

Rog

[Fugazi]

Merging similar threads.

[Brickus]

Sparhawke, on 04 July 2012 - 07:22 AM, said:

Doesnt the vaccum cleaner suck up the pieces as well though?

Only if I'm not careful, I only use it for put together sets, not on minifigs or unstable connections, mostly for my UCS and other large sets. The brush at the end is long enough to sweep over the grooves without disconnecting the bricks.

[AwesomeStar]

I recommend paintbrushes. I use a medium sized paintbrush and a very small one to get the dust out - sweep the whole thing with the larger one, then go in and out of the studs and tricky places with the small paintbrush to finish off. Takes a while but it's pretty much a necessity if you're going to be photographing or displaying old sets or even just when building a MOC over a long period of time.

~A.S.

[Lyichir]

One time I remember dusting a model using a standard vacuum cleaner with pantyhose over the end so that no parts would get sucked up. I don't remember what set or MOC I was dusting, though, or for that matter how well this method worked.

[splatman]

Before dusting, take the model (or anything else in the house that needs dusting, that's not nailed down) outside, along with your dusting tools, and dust away! No dust resettling on your things. Keep wind direction in mind. Good old fashioned lung-driven compressed air will probably do the trick.

[SheepEater]

Whenever I see the adjective "creaky" it reminds me of this baby  



And this one