dust

[union pacific 844]

how do i get the dust off my engines

[Doneldon]

844-

Start with a small, soft brush. If you really have caked on crud (it can
happen even to the cleanest of us) I think the best thing to do is get
the loose material off of the model and view the rest as weathering.
Cleaning delicate models can often do more harm than good.

                                                                                            -- D

[union pacific 844]

dust is light it will wipe off with a finger  but get it  all off  and the dust is driving me crazy 
on black engines and my AFT 4449 GS4 4-8-4

[Doneldon]

844-

If it's that loose a soft brush should do a great job for you. Get one of the brushes which window painters use for letering and
pinstriping. They have very soft bristles about an inch long and with a quarter- or half-inch oval business end. Do the cleaning out
of the train room or the dust will quickly migrate back to your layout.

                                                                                                               -- D

[Jerrys HO]

UP844

I have used air in a can and it works great without damaging the fine details on the shell.

http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-6771/Aerosols/Air-In-A-Can?pricode=WU353&gadtype=pla&gclid=CJr28uj50LQCFSWoPAodd3QAeg

Jerry

[electrical whiz kid]

Jerry's reply was a good one.  There are also adapters for a vacuum cleaner that you can use.  If you do that, think it through and make sure you put some kind of "parts-catcher"-like an old piece of panty hose to catch errant parts.  It would be a drag and a half to have to empty a vacuum cleaner bag...
Rich C.

[CNE Runner]

UP - It would seem the solution to your overall problem is to eliminate (or drastically reduce) dust in the first place. In my train room, I use an Ionic Pro air cleaner to clean the air. These units are not cheap...but they seem to work.

If your layout is not located in an interior room (ie. it is located in an attic or basement space) the problem gets more involved. If in either space mentioned, is the room finished? Is there a ceiling? Is the floor painted/tiled/sealed? What kind of HVAC do you use (hot water baseboard, forced air, portable heaters)? If you are using forced air, there are add on whole house air cleaners available. They must be serviced (cleaned) every 6 months maximum.

'Just some ideas for you to ponder. BTW: I [rarely have to] use a soft makeup brush to clean my locomotives/cars/structures/scenery. Don't tell my wife.

Ray

[union pacific 844]

my train layout is in my bedroom  does a bed sheet draw dust to it? im using a green sheet for the ground cover

[CNE Runner]

I would say that a bed sheet provides minimal dust protection...largely based on its thread count (the higher the thread count - the denser the weave). You would be amazed by the amount of dust, dander and fibers that are produced in the typical bedroom.

In lieu of the air cleaner I mentioned in my earlier post, you might want to 'engineer' a dust barrier that is mainly composed of very light plastic sheeting (like the cheaper painter's cloths). Please understand that any such plastic sheeting should not come in contact with the layout itself. Plastic is nonporous and should provide a good, cheap, dust cover for your layout. Other than touching (and damaging) your structures, one could be concerned with trapping moisture between the plastic sheeting and your layout. I don't think that will be a problem in a bedroom with a stable environment.

Ray