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Hi,
I have a breakdown lorry what has been out of its box for a while and accumulated a thin layer of settled dust.Iwas thinking of a cotton bud with tepid water. What would you recommend as the best method.
Thanks

Using a half inch decorators' brush I first brush off all the loose dust. I then use soft supple artists paint brushes to carry on removing the loose stuff but the smaller brushes get into small areas and corners.

If I have to use liquids, it will be nothing stronger than scilicon based house polish in the spray can, sprayed on a flat surface such as an old bathroom wall tile and dip the brush into the polish and apply to the model. Follow up with clean dry brushes and or a clean dry duster cloth to buff up where you can.

I know some collectors do use warm water with a touch of washing up liquid but so far I have not used this method.

Ghosthunter.

I use warm water and washing up liquid.
Then rinse with running water, dab the excess water off with a kitchen towel and put it on the heater radiator to dry.

Avoid this method if the models have paper stickers, though.

Thanks for the replies. I will invest in a couple of artist brushes.

I wash models as above. So long as all parts are secure to the model, I use a hair dryer on a warm setting to remove moisture that can't be dabbed off

Ive been lucky in that all the models I've cleaned have needed nothing more than water and mild liquid dish soap. I apply that mixture with a Q-Tip or a piece of old T-shirt. Decades ago, I'd use a paint brush, but I noticed that particular brush put fine marks in the paint. For really dirty models, I might be tempted to use my air compressor cranked down to about 10 PSi.

I also wouldn't use soap and water on labels or decals that I wish to keep intact.

I have found that the old original waterslide transfers survive the cleaning with soapy water.
They must be of a similar material/glue that was used on bicycle frames, probably even the same.
Replacement decals don't and like you say, water shouldn't even be near paper labels.

I seen some people use household alcohol to clean their models. Warning, alcohol will strip the ink right off the decal film and leave you with a blank decal (older decals are especially sensitive to alcohol).

Tinman wrote:I seen some people use household alcohol to clean their models.

I was also thinking about solvents, especially for e.g. adhesive residues.
Two important considerations: I) compatibility with the paint/decals (you don't want it stripping paint/ink or resulting in discolouration), and ii) purity (you don't want the solvent evaporating only to leave behind an insoluble residue).

For removal of adhesive residue, I always try lighter fluid (such as Ronsonol) first. It usually does a bang-up job, and I've yet to have it damage paint or plastic.