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Dealing with dust from La Doll

May 17, 2014

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    1. hello!

      I'm in the process of making a BJD using La Doll clay. I absolutely love the wonderfully smooth finish I can achieve with it.
      I've found, like many others, that La Doll creates a lot of dust when sanded. I've been sanding indoors and using a disposable respirator (I will be purchasing a reusable one soon).
      However, no matter where in the room I sand, I find that the dust travels across the room and very thinly coats everything within a 10 foot radius. I'm going to be vacuuming it (w/ HEPA filters) as much as I can and I'll also be purchasing a proper air filter for the room, but I'm still worried that I won't be able to get rid of it all. I'm so nervous about health hazards that I'm now afraid to be in the room without a mask no matter what I'm doing. I have a strong feeling I'm overreacting but I just can't help it... Is my preparation really inadequate or am I just being ridiculous?

      My main question is: Can anyone provide other fairly inexpensive, reliable methods of minimizing/getting rid of dust from sanding LaDoll? And are my current plans for dealing with it adequate?
      I'm a very, very nervous person and would like to be able to work on BJDs without being in constant fear of harming myself and others in my household. I'd also like to be able to sit in my workspace without a respirator while performing tasks that don't even call for a respirator, and not be terrified that I'm stirring up dust and very slowly subjecting myself to silicosis.
      I'm planning to work outdoors at some point as well.

      Also, I was wondering if it was possible to effectively wet sand LaDoll (to minimize dust)? Or would it just ruin the sculpt?

      I need some peace of mind. I'm really passionate about BJDs and I would love to make their production a long-term hobby, but it has come to a point where I have almost abandoned my project out of fear. :'(
       
      #1 sunnysea, May 17, 2014
      Last edited by a moderator: May 17, 2014
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    2. Well, the easiest way is just to sand outdoors. It's what I do, because of the amounts of dust it creates.

      As for wet sanding, you can't do that with LaDoll. This clay vulnerable to water, so using it to sand will destroy all detail and possibly more.
       
      #2 Silk, May 18, 2014
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    3. ah, I see. Thank you; I thought that wet sanding might have that effect, guess I shouldn't bother testing it out then.
      Luckily, the weather has been nice lately so I'll be able to sand outdoors.
       
      #3 sunnysea, May 18, 2014
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    4. To contain the dust I'm planing on making a glove box, so I can sand with my cats around. Like this one on instructables.com

      http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Glove-Box/

      I'm currently looking at boxes and trying to figure out what size will give enough room vs. limited storage space.
       
      #4 de_arundel, May 22, 2014
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    5. I just might try the glove box tutorial, thanks for posting it! I've been using something similar (based off of this dust box http://www.aimi-doll.com/howto/box.html), But it's less effective--less dust proof where I put my hands in, harder to see.
       
      #5 Yukamina, May 26, 2014
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    6. You're welcome, Yukamina.
      I've picked up a 54 qt. Sterilite gasket box at my local Target. Its large enough for my doll pieces and dremel. Now to find a dead mans switch for the dremel, to quickly shut it off if needed. :sweat
       
      #6 de_arundel, May 26, 2014
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    7. #7 leopardessmoon, May 28, 2014
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    8. How would you clean up the glove box afterwards? I imagine that opening it to dump out the dust would just kick it up into the air anyways? Maybe a hole can be made to fit a vacuum cleaner hose (with a hole on the opposite side to let air in)? But then dumping out the vacuum cleaner compartment would kick dust up in the air too? I guess at that point I'd just call it quits lol.
       
      #8 idlehen, May 28, 2014
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    9. Hi Leo,
      Thanks for that idea. My dremel has a 3 prong plug and most household cords don't provide for the ground prong. Besides I want an instant off switch, something like a sewing machine pedel, where its not running if you're not standing on it.

      Hi Idlehen,
      Very carefully I suppose or find a vacuum that uses bags. I might try adding water and reuse it as a slurry.
       
      #9 de_arundel, May 28, 2014
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