It depends on the kit manufacturer, how oily your fingers are, and what you plan to use to paint it.
I don't think washing the kit in beer would be a good idea, but I also wipe down the model with alcohol before painting for the same reason as you.
The reason? Common rubbing alcohol is usually isopropyl, 70% concentration. It is made by diluting 90% with tap water. While tap water may be safe to drink (YMMV) it often contains quite a lot of dissolved minerals, which can be deposited on the model surface. I've had this happen, as where I live the water is saturated with calcium ("hard" water). So when I wash the kit parts before assembly (to get rid of any mold release) I then rinse it with distilled water.
I couldn't agree more about MM (Model Mucker) acrylics. As for the rest, I hope you have a good spray booth.
I do. I spent the money to get a Pace booth and have it vented outside. Also, using an airbrush vs rattle can, the quantities of paint/solvents going in the air vs on the model is quite small anyway.
Good! That makes me happy.
While acrylics are generally far safer than enamels or most lacquers, one must also consider the cumulative effects of all the junk and garbage we cannot help but inhale every day. Also, the chemicals in modeling supplies may be legally "safe," but the legal definition of "safe" is not. "Safe" is anything that has not been proven far beyond reasonable doubt to be toxic or carcinogenic. This is very hard to do, since all statistical proofs, properly done, will not result in a 100% result. If the testing resulted in 99% percent toxic, and 1% non-toxic, the material can be labeled and sold as "safe." I once wrote an article for FSM on this subject. Paul Boyer almost didn't accept it because it was so frightening. I also gave a presentation on this to a local IPMS chapter. People turned white. One of the member's wife was there with their newborn. She turned to her husband and said, "You will not touch another model until you have a spray booth."
I have zero medical training, I took High School Biology in about 1979/1980, so much of what we were taught could even have been superseded by now.
Hence my bullet analogy—don't stand down range. Sad but true: Every day we are bathed in toxic or carcinogenic substances, usually at relatively low concentrations. As for genetics, they do play a role. My father spent most of his adult life working in an environment laden with asbestos particles and smelling of hydrocarbons, including carbon tetrachloride. He also smoked for a time before I was born. No cancer. My mother smoked like a chimney most of her life. No cancer, just emphysema late in life. Yet with that genetic background, I got cancer after lower rates of exposure to carcinogens. I got hit by one of those bullets. Genetics are only one factor, but it also has a lot to do with the variables of exposure, and the strength of the particular carcinogen. Using the example of asbestos, which is a fear buzz word, it's a relatively weak carcinogen. But if it does cause cancer, that particular cancer is particularly nasty. (Sort of sorry about the unintentional pun.)I have zero medical training, I took High School Biology in about 1979/1980, so much of what we were taught could even have been superseded by now.
But I adhere to a theory that many do, that cancer has more to do with genetics than environment, it is definitely something you can inherit, but even that is no guarantee. I've known people 90+ who smoked multiple packs of cigarettes a day who have no lung cancer while others get it in their 20s or 30s. Again, I'm making generalizations and assumptions with no formal education on the subject. But observation is a core component of the scientific theory. I just spent all of my science credits in college on Astronomy
Do not take this to mean that I eschew safety equipment, or in the case of toxic chemicals even basic common sense. Do not play with guns, run with scissors, play golf in a lightning storm, or tempt fate in any way. I wear a real respirator (change the cartridges regularly based on use) and have the garage door open if I am spraying lacquers or enamels, and if the acrylic session will be long I open the door, which sucks in Texas summers.
