Dust

[ndbprr]

After many layouts and much dust I am deternined this one will be kept clean. The backdrop will curve into a sky painted ceiling over the layout with a valence at the edge. It is around the walls and I plan on curtains of some material maybe even plain old 10 mil plastic sheeting to keep the dust off. Any suggestions that have been tried that work?

[orsonroy]

I'd suggest buying an air filter for the train ropm. That and doors to the room and a "real" ceiling". I've got all three in my basement room, and I don't really have a dust issue. And in the long run, it'll be a whole lot less of a PITA than plastic sheeting all over the place.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jfugate

....One common mistake on model scenery is to make the colors too intense. Muted colors, and subtle color variations go a long ways torward making your scenery look more realistic. Ironically, the best thing that can happen to some model scenery is a year's layer of dust! The dust will blend and subdue the colors, actually making the scenery look better!...

A little dust will actually help weather the layout. Check out Joe Fugate's Mini Clinic on "BUILDING REALISTIC SCENERY" and scroll down to; The Topic of This Post - "Philosophical point 1 - Proper scenery COLOR", 5th paragraph.

[RoyalOaker]

QUOTE: Any suggestions that have been tried that work?

I have a unfinished basement and did not want to put in ceiling tiles.

I have done something that works great and only cost about $10.

I bought 1" PVC piping and some elbows to make a frame that is slightly larger than my 9x6 layout. This frame was hung from the ceiling by some rope so that it sits just above my largest structure. I then draped some old sheets over the frame and held it tight with some of those plastic zip ties. Cutting holes in the sheets was no problem and I am not experiencing any tears. I used old flannel sheets. I attached the seems of the sheets together with some baby pins.

In order to work with the layout I have some large hooks screwed into the ceiling that the PVC frames hooks onto. The whole thing lifts up to ceiling height and I just drape the overhanging sides over the top.

Keeps everything neat and mostly dust free. (I can't do anything about the dust the settles when I am playing with the trains)

One thing I did need to do is move one of my florescent lights over because the sheets were blocking it. I should probably add a light along one of the sides to brighten things up a bit.

Good luck

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by gsetter


A little dust will actually help weather the layout. Check out Joe Fugate's Mini Clinic on "BUILDING REALISTIC SCENERY" and scroll down to; The Topic of This Post - "Philosophical point 1 - Proper scenery COLOR", 5th paragraph.

Yeah, I chuckled when I read that. Not sure he's suggesting a years worth of dust for realistic scenery as much as to hide the mistake of too vibrant colors in the scenery. A years worth of dust on the roof of a structure will look like a years worth of dust. And a year's worth of dust on the tracks might require firing up the N Scale rotary snow plow. I'll think I'll let that tip slide for now.

On the other hand, a lot of places around here do look a whole lot better when covered with a couple of feet of snow. Hm, maybe Joe's on to something.

Wayne

[Anonymous]

I have an unfinished basement too and with all the steam pipes in the way it's impossible to put up a tiled ceiling. So I have extra dust. It's not a big deal, I just dust the buildings off either with a duster or air gun. I don't leave the rolling stock out. Just put them back in the box when I'm done.

I live near the Rouge Steel plant, I figure why should my layout be cleaner than outdoors.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by gsetter


I live near the Rouge Steel plant, I figure why should my layout be cleaner than outdoors.

I think you may have hit on a new concept: protodusty.

With the windows open in the summer you can get a nice coating of protypical steelmill dust. Now that I would leave on my structures.

Wayne

[ham99]

With an unfinished ceiling above my layout, I got too much dust. So I built a drop ceiling that overlaps my layout by 4 inches; it uses standard 2x4 fiber ceiling tiles. Then I installed eyeball spots [R30 bulbs] every 3 feet. The combination of the white ceiling and the incandescent spots really helped visually, and I haven't a dust problem any more. I'm now in the process of installing 1" strips on 3" centers across the rest of the room. The strips are painted sky blue [same color as my backdrop], and give the feeling of a ceiling while still allowing access to wiring and plumbing.

[howmus]

Definition: Dust (n), "A protective coating that falls on objects that should never be disturbed unless absolutely necessary."

I do try to keep it off the rails, however. A bigger problem for me is that the cellar spiders love to make cobwebs in, under, and near the layout (particularly in the forested areas, and between buildings). Those I carefully remove (being sure not to disturb the dust).

[jfrank138]

Years ago Linn Westcott wrote that he installed a large low-speed fan in a box with a furnace filter at the box inlet and wired the fan to run whenever the layout room lights were on. The fan slowly circulated room air, capturing the dust on the filter. He said it almost entirely eliminated the dust.