Using discarded household items in modeling

[Greg Myers]

I was wondering if any here have used common household items for hobby needs?

I was thinking, got a new electric tooth brush, the old one still works. modify the head to hold sand paper and wa La, a small power sander.

There are probably many other items around the house that could do double duty or recycled uses.

[FordRodnKustom]

The wife's old hair dryer to use to settle decals.

 

[oldnslow]

I use an old iron to heat cans of spray paint , I mount it in a vise upside down , set it on low and set the cans of spray paint on it for about 10 minutes before I need them . Take them off , give it a good shake ( I shake them before they go on the iron too ) and spray. The top of the can is cool and easy to hold .

Edited December 21, 2018 by oldnslow

[Casey]

3 hours ago, Greg Myers said:

I was wondering if any here have used common household items for hobby needs?

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

I used to use my ex's old stockings to filter paint and resin. Works great, but as she had very little imagination, she just thought I was "weird". 

[blunc]

micro screens from electric shavers can be used for custom grilles

(I think I've seen the toothbrush idea in a magazine..)

[TarheelRick]

I have a collection of wooden clothes pins that have been cut and sanded into different shapes on the ends according to what I need them for.  Since outdoor clothes lines are few and far between these pins are getting harder to find, but their plastic counterpart can also be used.

I also have a plastic coffee can screwed to the side of my homebuilt paint booth.  I keep it full of wadded up paper towels and use it to spray my airbrush cleaner into between colors.

One of the more common items is a food dehydrator which has been modified to serve our paint drying purposes.

[ChrisBcritter]

On 12/22/2018 at 6:57 AM, TarheelRick said:

I have a collection of wooden clothes pins that have been cut and sanded into different shapes on the ends according to what I need them for.  Since outdoor clothes lines are few and far between these pins are getting harder to find, but their plastic counterpart can also be used.

Michael's has bags of both wooden and plastic clothespins; nice thing is they come  in various sizes down to very small for those delicate clamping jobs.

[Intmd8r]

Our household recycling bin usually is a treasure trove for discarded materials I sometimes use for fine details.  Mainly for plastic or metal used in scratch building.

Old Styrofoam containers can be used to replicate seals or weather striping. Discarded plastic mesh creates interesting paint designs.

I have a broken HDMI cable in my toolbox that has been a source of fine gauge wire used for detailing engine bays.  The list goes on.....

[iBorg]

What about soft drink screw on lids to mix paint in?

 

[Darren B]

On 12/26/2018 at 1:20 PM, ChrisBcritter said:

Michael's has bags of both wooden and plastic clothespins; nice thing is they come  in various sizes down to very small for those delicate clamping jobs.

I really like the tiny ones that they have at Michael's, they come in great when you do not need a lot of clamping pressure to attach smaller projects.....

[Snake45]

8 hours ago, iBorg said:

What about soft drink screw on lids to mix paint in?

 

I use those for acrylic crafts paints, which are often quite thick. Squirt a dab or two of paint into that cap, add a drop of water, stir with a toothpick, use, toss the whole mess in the trash when finished. The crafts bottles have enough paint in them to do this dozens if not hundreds of times.