Turning over a New Leaf...Recycling in Modelling

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ok I have not become some granola eating pot smoking hippie. Some people seem to have a knee jerk reaction to recycling and conservation that I have never really understood
I have always recycled as much as I can and it seems to becoming a hot topic news and politics wise these days.
I looked at my habits in modelling to see if I could change anything and I came up with a few things to alter how much waste I make and toxins I put down the drain.

1. Recylce paint thinner: I now gather up my Mr Hobby thinners used to clean airbrush and brushes and put into a settling jar. Allow solids to settle and decant the clear top stuff for re-use. The solid paint particulates can be added to paper shavings and then thrown out. I will still use the "purer" MLT for my paint, but for cleaning I will be using the decanted stuff. Apparently we should be doing this for all lacquer thinners, white spirits, turpentine as petroleum distillates have infinite use and shouldn't be put in the drain. I have been putting them down the drain my entire life, so that changes now.



2. Glass Pipets for paint: This tickles my inner lab nerd and brings back school memories. It was a cheap mixed multi pack about $12CAD. I really like the 1 mm pipet. Got sick of throwing out the plastic ones or trying to clean them out, though I will still use those for 2K clear.



3. Metal paint trays: Some cheap metal paint trays and metal mixing spoons that can be easily wiped clean. I also use my plastic diposable contact lens cases as small volume paint and glue vessles.


4. Reusable lab ware: some glass beakers, some plastic spray and mixing bottles. All can be cleaned and reused.


Are you doing anything to recycle and reduce waste in modelling???

[digger303]

I have been recycling my thinners for years including what I use to paint the house with. So I'm good there.
Small volume painting. I did buy nail painters cups for that and they hold about a ml, but I have recently graduated to using the tops of bottles or long life milk tops.
I have saved a old wood blind with the idea one day of reusing the wood slates. It is a fine grained wood and cut thin so should be very suitable, plus there's a heap of it.
I keep the small empty paint and glue jars just in case I need to mix a heap of paint. Also some packaging from the bits and pieces today's consumer age throws up.
That's about it, nothing too spectacular.

[Twokidsnosleep]

I have been recycling my thinners for years including what I use to paint the house with. So I'm good there.
Small volume painting. I did buy nail painters cups for that and they hold about a ml, but I have recently graduated to using the tops of bottles or long life milk tops.
I have saved a old wood blind with the idea one day of reusing the wood slates. It is a fine grained wood and cut thin so should be very suitable, plus there's a heap of it.
I keep the small empty paint and glue jars just in case I need to mix a heap of paint. Also some packaging from the bits and pieces today's consumer age throws up.
That's about it, nothing too spectacular.

Good stuff mate
You were ahead of me on recycling the thinners
I am super embarrassed to admit to not ever doing that before, hearing or knowing about it ...hence the impetus of this thread

[digger303]

I have been recycling my thinners for years including what I use to paint the house with. So I'm good there.
Small volume painting. I did buy nail painters cups for that and they hold about a ml, but I have recently graduated to using the tops of bottles or long life milk tops.
I have saved a old wood blind with the idea one day of reusing the wood slates. It is a fine grained wood and cut thin so should be very suitable, plus there's a heap of it.
I keep the small empty paint and glue jars just in case I need to mix a heap of paint. Also some packaging from the bits and pieces today's consumer age throws up.
That's about it, nothing too spectacular.

Good stuff mate
You were ahead of me on recycling the thinners
I am super embarrassed to admit to not ever doing that before, hearing or knowing about it ...hence the impetus of this thread

Nothing to be embarrassed about friend, I just thought I was being a tight arse....

[Twokidsnosleep]

I have been recycling my thinners for years including what I use to paint the house with. So I'm good there.
Small volume painting. I did buy nail painters cups for that and they hold about a ml, but I have recently graduated to using the tops of bottles or long life milk tops.
I have saved a old wood blind with the idea one day of reusing the wood slates. It is a fine grained wood and cut thin so should be very suitable, plus there's a heap of it.
I keep the small empty paint and glue jars just in case I need to mix a heap of paint. Also some packaging from the bits and pieces today's consumer age throws up.
That's about it, nothing too spectacular.

Good stuff mate
You were ahead of me on recycling the thinners
I am super embarrassed to admit to not ever doing that before, hearing or knowing about it ...hence the impetus of this thread

Nothing to be embarrassed about friend, I just thought I was being a tight arse....

well you see I am like that too, so I am am surprised I haven't been re using for that reason alone
Honestly $ is why I started on thinking of recapturing my waste thinner..then the recycling and green thing is a good cloak to cover one's cheapness with

[digger303]

Good stuff mate
You were ahead of me on recycling the thinners
I am super embarrassed to admit to not ever doing that before, hearing or knowing about it ...hence the impetus of this thread

Nothing to be embarrassed about friend, I just thought I was being a tight arse....

well you see I am like that too, so I am am surprised I haven't been re using for that reason alone
Honestly $ is why I started on thinking of recapturing my waste thinner..then the recycling and green thing is a good cloak to cover one's cheapness with

[digger303]

Good stuff mate
You were ahead of me on recycling the thinners
I am super embarrassed to admit to not ever doing that before, hearing or knowing about it ...hence the impetus of this thread

Nothing to be embarrassed about friend, I just thought I was being a tight arse....

well you see I am like that too, so I am am surprised I haven't been re using for that reason alone
Honestly $ is why I started on thinking of recapturing my waste thinner..then the recycling and green thing is a good cloak to cover one's cheapness with

Save a lot of cash if I could stop buying kits honestly it is the hardest thing to do. Maybe it's because I spend too much time alone. I do have to curb this monster though or build another house (LOL ) it's ridiculous so much so it's embarrassing .

[GMahaffey]

I have a small medicine cup that I got from a pharmacy. I use that to mix my paint and thinner together. When I finish with the paint, I will wash the cup out to reuse.

[alextheblue]

Totally with you all the way on this one Scott. We all need to do what we can to help the environment etc., always felt strongly about it. I'm surprised that our hobby hasn't come in for more criticism already, although you can't class the plastic we use as "single use".

The one thing that does hack me off though, is how come that it is us, the little man, that is left to carry the can, whilst the big corporates get away with it. Here in the UK, we have to pay for plastic carrier-bags when we visit the shops and apparently the money raised goes towards environmental projects (yeah, right!). But hang on a minute, why don't they impose huge fines, levies etc on the manufacturers and the supermarkets instead. They would raise much more money and maybe even force somebody to come up with a much more sustainable alternative. Nah! It's easier to nail the little man!

Sorry! Rant over. I get a bit passionate about this stuff - can you tell!

[digger303]

Totally with you all the way on this one Scott. We all need to do what we can to help the environment etc., always felt strongly about it. I'm surprised that our hobby hasn't come in for more criticism already, although you can't class the plastic we use as "single use".

The one thing that does hack me off though, is how come that it is us, the little man, that is left to carry the can, whilst the big corporates get away with it. Here in the UK, we have to pay for plastic carrier-bags when we visit the shops and apparently the money raised goes towards environmental projects (yeah, right!). But hang on a minute, why don't they impose huge fines, levies etc on the manufacturers and the supermarkets instead. They would raise much more money and maybe even force somebody to come up with a much more sustainable alternative. Nah! It's easier to nail the little man!

Sorry! Rant over. I get a bit passionate about this stuff - can you tell!

Your right they bury trucks loads of rubbish.

[jmurphy18]

I never thought about reusing my thinner. I will need to get me a bottle & start saving my cleaning stuff

Glue caps: I use bottle caps from milk bottles, drink bottles & other closed bottles my wife saves for me. I drink water so no caps on my end. I also reuse my toothpicks. After I glue to the sprue to paint the part. When I am done I cut off the the toothpick and use it to apply glue

I reuse and clean the mixing cups. Only my epoxy and p2k ones get pitched. Pipets: I still have ~ 300 of these so the urge to clean them is not there as I do not have a lot of thinner. I found them a real pain in the tail to clean. I will reuse the thinner ones but cleaning the paint ones.......

What I like is those little mixing bottles you have Scott! They look cool and easier to clean than the plastic mixing cups

Mixers. I have 2 of the metal ones and I also use small wood scraps from the shop or chucks of dowel rods. Just keep cutting it down

[Twokidsnosleep]

I am glad I m not the only one not reusing their thinner.I was just testing it out, saving my a/b cleaning thinner.
Funny how that isn’t on the manufacturers label I have been thinking what I am going to do when I run out of these thinners as it isn’t easy to get in Canada. Now I will just use the regular mr thinner over and over and save MLT for paint dilution only

[Hawkmoon]

Any glass paint pot for instance Tamiya/Gunze is always washed out and used as a mixing pot I also use 22cl glass mixing pots a lot the best price I have found for the 22cl's is below 1st post for 10 pots-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from ... s&_sacat=0

[jmurphy18]

I am glad I m not the only one not reusing their thinner.I was just testing it out, saving my a/b cleaning thinner.
Funny how that isn’t on the manufacturers label I have been thinking what I am going to do when I run out of these thinners as it isn’t easy to get in Canada. Now I will just use the regular mr thinner over and over and save MLT for paint dilution only

Splash paints say just use regular thinner from Home Depot.... But remember what happened to me with their thinner and the seals on my Airbrush. I figure the HD thinner is just as hot as the Splash thinner. May be good for cleaning thought. You can get basic thinner by the Qt & Gal at both HD and Lowes.

Hawkmoon: Thanks for the link! Hobbytown here sells these here locally so that should be no problem. I have seen some somewhere.... I will keep my eyes open when I go looking. Thank you!

[OttawaIrishGuy]

3. Metal paint trays: Some cheap metal paint trays and metal mixing spoons that can be easily wiped clean. I also use my plastic diposable contact lens cases as small volume paint and glue vessles.

What an ingenious idea! I never knew what to do with them when getting new solution. Love it.

[Twokidsnosleep]

3. Metal paint trays: Some cheap metal paint trays and metal mixing spoons that can be easily wiped clean. I also use my plastic diposable contact lens cases as small volume paint and glue vessles.

What an ingenious idea! I never knew what to do with them when getting new solution. Love it.

See, every little bit counts.
But my little containers make perfect glue wells for a nice small amount of CA glue for example

[Twokidsnosleep]

Digger asked me if I was still recycling in my modelling.
Answer is certainly yes
This is decanting some lacquer thinner used to clean airbrush from dirty jar to the cleaner jars after letting it settle and also filtering it





I use an old shot glass to hold my medicine cups so they don’t spill and these little Mr Hobby mixing caps make great hats for the medicine cup

[cor]

I like these ideas, never really thought about recycling the chemicals before.

[digger303]

Digger asked me if I was still recycling in my modelling.
Answer is certainly yes
This is decanting some lacquer thinner used to clean airbrush from dirty jar to the cleaner jars after letting it settle and also filtering it





I use an old shot glass to hold my medicine cups so they don’t spill and these little Mr Hobby mixing caps make great hats for the medicine cup

I hadn't got around to using filter paper to clean my thinner yet. I'm a bit lazy and just let it the paint settle then pour off the clean liquid. The shot glass holder is a good idea, but when I'm not finished with my paint and it's a a blended color I wish I had a lid that seals so I can store it for a week. A silicone stretchy cover would be nice.
I'm still using those disposable pipettes which don't last long if you press on the seam lines. It was a 100 pipettes and I'm still working my way through them. I may have to buy a 3 glass ones. One for paint,one for thinner and a spare.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Digger asked me if I was still recycling in my modelling.
Answer is certainly yes
This is decanting some lacquer thinner used to clean airbrush from dirty jar to the cleaner jars after letting it settle and also filtering it





I use an old shot glass to hold my medicine cups so they don’t spill and these little Mr Hobby mixing caps make great hats for the medicine cup

I hadn't got around to using filter paper to clean my thinner yet. I'm a bit lazy and just let it the paint settle then pour off the clean liquid. The shot glass holder is a good idea, but when I'm not finished with my paint and it's a a blended color I wish I had a lid that seals so I can store it for a week. A silicone stretchy cover would be nice.
I'm still using those disposable pipettes which don't last long if you press on the seam lines. It was a 100 pipettes and I'm still working my way through them. I may have to buy a 3 glass ones. One for paint,one for thinner and a spare.

The glass pipettes are a pain to clean paint out of so I often use the plastic
Both plastic and glass can have thinner drawn in and flushed out a few times with the cleaning thinner to live for another paint session, but it is tedious. A pipe cleaner works pretty well for the glass ones though

[digger303]

Digger asked me if I was still recycling in my modelling.
Answer is certainly yes
This is decanting some lacquer thinner used to clean airbrush from dirty jar to the cleaner jars after letting it settle and also filtering it





I use an old shot glass to hold my medicine cups so they don’t spill and these little Mr Hobby mixing caps make great hats for the medicine cup

I hadn't got around to using filter paper to clean my thinner yet. I'm a bit lazy and just let it the paint settle then pour off the clean liquid. The shot glass holder is a good idea, but when I'm not finished with my paint and it's a a blended color I wish I had a lid that seals so I can store it for a week. A silicone stretchy cover would be nice.
I'm still using those disposable pipettes which don't last long if you press on the seam lines. It was a 100 pipettes and I'm still working my way through them. I may have to buy a 3 glass ones. One for paint,one for thinner and a spare.

The glass pipettes are a pain to clean paint out of so I often use the plastic
Both plastic and glass can have thinner drawn in and flushed out a few times with the cleaning thinner to live for another paint session, but it is tedious. A pipe cleaner works pretty well for the glass ones though

I never clean mine except to draw in either water or thinner a few times and squirt it out quick. There is never enough residue to alter any new paint I use and my plastic ones sometimes last for 3 or 4 kits. I'm a tight blighter..

[Twokidsnosleep]

[/quote]

The glass pipettes are a pain to clean paint out of so I often use the plastic
Both plastic and glass can have thinner drawn in and flushed out a few times with the cleaning thinner to live for another paint session, but it is tedious. A pipe cleaner works pretty well for the glass ones though
[/quote]

I never clean mine except to draw in either water or thinner a few times and squirt it out quick. There is never enough residue to alter any new paint I use and my plastic ones sometimes last for 3 or 4 kits. I'm a tight blighter..
[/quote]

Yes exactly. Depending on colours needed you can use the same slightly dirty plastic pipette a few times
I keep a couple used plastic pipettes with common colours I need so they can go a few rounds

[DRUMS01]

As for pipettes, I'm on board with Scott; flush those with water base and re-use them. I don't use glass beakers or measuring devices to I have nothing to recycle there.

The county which I live in holds a day each year for recycling different items, one day for paints, tinners, cleaners, aerosols, etc; another for plastics of any kind, and another for out of date medications, etc. etc. I just bag or box my stuff and wait for those days to turn them in (recycle). I might have thrown away a dried up bottle or two of enamel of acrylic paint in a small glass hobby thin instead of recycling them, then again perhaps not (?).

About four years ago I was cleaning out my father-in-laws house after he passed. My wife (his daughter) and I recycled various metals by cutting them up and bringing them to a smelting yard. I was paid by weight and left with several hundreds of dollars.

He also had every edition of the National Geographic from 1943 to around 2017 in the attic. I asked our local library if they wanted them but they indicated they already have them digitized on-line. I should've kept some of them but they were all recycled.

Do we want to include coin and stamp collections in the recycling remarks? If so, I have a couple stories to tell there.

Ben / DRUMS01

[Twokidsnosleep]

As for pipettes, I'm on board with Scott; flush those with water base and re-use them. I don't use glass beakers or measuring devices to I have nothing to recycle there.

The county which I live in holds a day each year for recycling different items, one day for paints, tinners, cleaners, aerosols, etc; another for plastics of any kind, and another for out of date medications, etc. etc. I just bag or box my stuff and wait for those days to turn them in (recycle). I might have thrown away a dried up bottle or two of enamel of acrylic paint in a small glass hobby thin instead of recycling them, then again perhaps not (?).

About four years ago I was cleaning out my father-in-laws house after he passed. My wife (his daughter) and I recycled various metals by cutting them up and bringing them to a smelting yard. I was paid by weight and left with several hundreds of dollars.

He also had every edition of the National Geographic from 1943 to around 2017 in the attic. I asked our local library if they wanted them but they indicated they already have them digitized on-line. I should've kept some of them but they were all recycled.

Do we want to include coin and stamp collections in the recycling remarks? If so, I have a couple stories to tell there.

Ben / DRUMS01

Yes yes,tell about coin and stamp recycling
Your county is on the ball for doing that