Sticky Laser-cut Terrain

[nic-e]

This interesting topic.
I'm not the world's biggest fan of mdf kits. I see the as dollies rather than a finished model.I do own a few.
 
My personal observation is that This issue runs right across the whole mdf sector of the hobby. It's not limited to one type of cut or the complexity of the nets ,or simply the quality of the mdf.
As I've the Supreme Littleness boxes ,and barrels. All completely bone dry.
I also bought three kits from Sarissa at York last Sunday. I've only opened the one(streets of Rome temple.)and that's as tacky as hell.

Which leads me to question just how common this issue is? If it is common then why isn't it being addressed? But if there own quality control IS aware of this issue.Then why do they feel its acceptable to pass it on to its customers?
No matter which company you've purchased mdf from , Each frame is manually handled and packed. So there's no excuses.
Personally I've emailed to complain. I suggest you do the same. Because we'd all kick-off if we'd payed £35. For a figure and it was miscast. These issues are miscast's (for want of a better word)and unacceptable . It's time we treated them as such.
What use is a product that is potentially covered in a skin irritating compound and requires sealing on the frames before you even assemble.(otherwise you'd be handling the raw parts whilst constructing )
Metal ,resin,and plastic all require mould releasing agents . These can be washed off,as cleaning figures is part and parcel of getting a good bond for the paint.
Personally I'm not keen on trying to wash mdf in warm soapy water😉

I think it may be an enviromental issue caused by kits being left/stored oddly.


 the problem that we haven't addressed is that we're dealing with mdf, Plywoods ugly step child. It's often produced cheaply and bad batches are very similar to good ones for most off the shelf retail standard boards.It isn't structural so if one batch from a producer is worse than another it isn't worth bringing up since it's generally still fit for purpose in panelling and light furniture construction. The problem is that MDF manufacturers aren't churning out miles of the stuff with a view to making highly detailed kits, they're doing it because the construction industry needs to cover X many square miles of wall.

The issues with a bad batch (weak resin/inconsistency in wood distribution/stickiness/badly set binders ect ect) are fine if the wood is going to a lumber yard and sold by the truck load, But when a modeller orders 200 boards of mdf they are probably expecting a higher quality of timber than the supplier normally produces.
 the chances are that the company making it won't know that the batch they got has a weaker resin or is weaker than the other batch until the products are packaged and sent out.

The problem is that despite being the wooden equivalent of a pound shop action figure, MDF is still really bloody useful and cheap in ways that thin plywood or timbers aren't.


what can be done? well you could try heating it lightly under a heat lamp/in the oven at a very low temperature in the hope of melting the binding glues back into the wood or evaporating them.
you could try giving them a scrub with some wire wool and see if it helps at all?

[tin shed gamer]

It was bugging that nothing seemed a satisfactory answer. So I've popped off and done a little reading up rather than contemplate the issue.
The most logical and probably answer is hygiene,or the lack of good house keeping. As it appears its possible to get a degree of transfer of debris from the laser base plate back onto the mdf. Which would explain the random nature of the problem. Because in order to get a full frame sticky would require a considerable build up of debris.
So its seems likely we're getting the crappie piece before someone notices the cutter needs cleaning.

Here's a screen shot from a company which Brierley mentions the issue . There's a load of marketing blurb that goes on to explain how they minimize and or avoid the issue.

[Peithetairos]

If you cut your own designs it may pay to just go acrylic. it is more expensive, yes, but you won't have these issues or any warping. However, only really makes sense for small pieces, highly detailed pieces or frames, that need to be sturdy.

[Spooktalker]

It's great to be sharing experiences with you all! I decided to open all my packs and set them out to offgas for a few weeks, and I have some encouraging news! The stickiness is markedly lessened over the past weeks, even more than the smell has. The other day I took a few of the stickiest pieces (stairs with engraved tread, like inverse diamond tread, and brown and sticky all over the top) and sprayed it with trusty Dupli-Color primer. And what stickiness was left is gone on the sprayed side. I'm encouraged enough to do up a kit now and spray it, and check the results.

It was bugging that nothing seemed a satisfactory answer. So I've popped off and done a little reading up rather than contemplate the issue.
The most logical and probably answer is hygiene,or the lack of good house keeping. As it appears its possible to get a degree of transfer of debris from the laser base plate back onto the mdf. Which would explain the random nature of the problem. Because in order to get a full frame sticky would require a considerable build up of debris.
So its seems likely we're getting the crappie piece before someone notices the cutter needs cleaning.

Here's a screen shot from a company which Brierley mentions the issue . There's a load of marketing blurb that goes on to explain how they minimize and or avoid the issue.

Good stuff, thanks for sharing! In my case there was even more stickiness on the top, so that should be factored in with this info. For example the inverse diamond tread doesn't cut all the way to the back, and the top is sticky all over, but the bottom just at the edges, altough I think there may be some "splotchiness" tot he back side stickiness in places, where the top is more universe (I see to remember this but haven't gone over to fact-check this statement).

I am also wondering whether shipping could be playing a role here. Though it's winter all the way from Poland to here in California, there might still be opportunities for fluctuations in temperature, and maybe even strong heat.

I would definitely say that some mdf kits have been very soft and flexible and some have been very rigid with beautiful sharp edges.  The source/type of mdf could be the root cause.

Hmm... can you out the soft kit manufacturers? The Multiverse MDF is of the hard, crisp variety, and I was pleased with how good the cut edge on the piece I primed was without any sanding first, and how nicely defined the inverse tread.

Plan to come back with a further report with pics. Don't wait up on me, though, as I have other big projects I'm trying to focus on and am actively trying to cut down on my habit of sneaking in a side project like a laser-cut kit in almost behind my own back.  So could be weeks or months or...