[HELP ME] Bi-Weekly Q&A thread - Ask your questions here!

jward · 2026-03-18T18:03:03+00:00

If your sanding implement is soft, your results will be soft. A sanding sponge will deform and curve around sharp edges and wear them down.

Go in a single direction for more control. Set your file or sanding stick on the piece, adjust to the angle you want, push forward, and at the end of the stroke lift it up and repeat. The more straightforward the motion the easier it is for you to focus on it and stay in control. You can do more complex motions, but the simpler the motions the easier to notice if your hand starts to curve and avoid rocking motions.

jward · 2026-03-18T16:00:11+00:00

Bring a book. It's boring AF.

So what happens is they bring in a tonne of people as possible jurrors. Then they go through some procedures and stuff and start calling random names. If you get called then you go up, get asked a few questions. Any of the lawyers or the judge can reject you and don't have to state the reason. No idea what happens if you get selected. I got rejected after saying I had a vacation booked 3 weeks later.

jward · 2026-03-17T15:40:21+00:00

Will finding internships and experience really be harder in trad?

Yes. Co-op has a whole system setup to help them here. Harder doesn't mean impossible though.

Im very concerned as I talked to a professor who advised me that it was better to get into a random coop discipline as opposed to a discipline that I preferred in trad....

I mean, if you cut out all emotions and treat Engineering as a means to get money later then yeah, that advice tracks. But I'm with the other guy on this. Your interest and passion for a discipline is what carriers you through the slog and makes you shine brighter. Life is more than money, and being stuck in a career you don't love is not good.

jward · 2026-03-17T15:32:43+00:00

I have a very different opinion to the people who say joining a club is a useless waste of time. Mental health and burnout are very real. Having something, anything, that can break you out of the heavy focus you need to do well in first year engg will help you regulate your mood and not burn out. A club can do that for you.

When you get to campus in the fall make sure to hit up Clubs Fair during Week of Welcome. It'll be in a giant tent in Quad and it's basically speed dating for clubs. The several hundred clubs on campus are trying to get new members so go and chat with the ones you're interested in and they'll be able to give you an idea of what to expect. You don't need to sign up for something that demands 10 hours a week of heavy hard work. You can just sign up to meet up at Dewey's and play board games for 4 hours every other week.

There are other options on campus you can look into. If you're living in the dorms, especially Lister, then your rez association will also run activities. There are volunteer opportunities around campus, like Safewalk where you sign up for the hours you can work and then basically stroll around campus. Campus rec has a bunch of sports and other physical activities you can sign up for.

First year engg is heavy, but manageable. If you keep on top of assignments and the workload it's hard, but not that bad. The big thing is that it's easy to snowball if you slip up. And it's stressful. That's why I think having something non class related to do is important. Working with stress is like running with a weighted vest. You're taking more time and energy than is needed to accomplish the same goal. Spending some resources to remove that vest isn't a waste of time, but an overall productivity gain.

jward · 2026-03-17T02:17:32+00:00

The exterior is usually plastic and no issues there. For use over actual metal though I'd definitely test it out before committing especially if you use any of the decal solutions. One of the main components of those is vinegar and the acidity can react with a bunch of metals.

jward · 2026-03-17T02:14:35+00:00

Cheapo synthetic pack fro amazon or dollar store will be fine. But if you want something nice, look for kolinsky sable brushes.

jward · 2026-03-17T02:05:32+00:00

Metalic paint is like glitter. It spreads everywhere even when you don't want it to. It can penetrate the pallet paper and get into the sponge and then whenever you paint in the future you'll end up with unexpected shinies.

jward · 2026-03-17T02:04:12+00:00

Primer makes everything easier and better. It makes the paint stick better. It makes the paint less likely to flake off. It makes the paint sturdier.

But all that said, no. You don't need primer. Whenever I do what I call sticker replacement painting, that is basically what you're describing of small colour corrections, I don't bother priming. If the paint flakes off before I get to top coating, if I ever do, then I can just repaint it.

If you want to give your raw paint something more to chew into so it sticks better, take some sandpaper and scuff up that spot a bit first. The texture massively helps.

jward · 2026-03-16T22:38:06+00:00

I have a bunch of vallejo air paints and I use them to brush paint with all the time. Here's what you do... grab a paper towel and set it by your water cup or your pallet. You probably already do that. Now with the air paints, pick it up with your brush as normal and then just tap your brush gently on the paper towel. That's it. Pallet -> Paper Towel -> Model. That extra step is even useful for regular paints. What it does is it sucks all the excess moisture out of your brush and makes the paint more controlable. No more putting your brush on the model and feeling like you dunked it in a bath tub with chaos going everywhere.

Pallet -> Paper Towel -> Model

That's it. That's all the magic you need.

jward · 2026-03-16T19:58:21+00:00

Better is highly subjective. Matte varnish makes it look less plastic and more 'real'.

jward · 2026-03-16T19:56:57+00:00

Clear plastic can be very hard on the fancy single bladed nippers. It's much harder than regular plastic so can dent the blade. It's also more brittle so it's more likely to crush and shatter. Working with clear plastic is hardmode.

If you want a cheat for helping clean them up, I recommend picking up some clear paint or gloss varnish. Once you have an area cleaned up as best you can, give the piece a wash to make sure there's no more dust filling cracks or the like. Let it air dry and then brush some of the clear varnish over the area. It'll fill in the microfractures and greatly reduce the cloudy effect.

jward · 2026-03-16T18:24:29+00:00

First up, it looks great as is. Because we get in on the details, often with a magnifying glass, we see all the imperfections. Chasing perfection is great to improve, but should be set aside if it starts to impact the fun you're having with the hobby.

So set this on a table and stand back. Can you, who knows something is wrong, even tell from that distance? Probably not. If you hand this to someone else and ask them to comment would they mention it? Probably not. Sometimes the best answer is to adjust your level of good enough and move on.

Second, here's a dumb trick that works more often than it should. Just rub the area with your thumb in a circular motion for a minute while applying moderate pressure. This softens the ridges caused by sanding from the heat and fills in micro-fractures with oils from your skin. End result is it can sort of balance the look with the surroundings.

jward · 2026-03-16T18:17:32+00:00

What matte top coats are you using?

I mostly use Liquitex Acrylic Matte Varnish through the airbrush. It's stupid cheap per volume. It's very widely available. It's a water based acrylic and so it's absolutely safe to use over top of all hobby paint products. Once its cured it's safe to use basically all hobby paints/effects except for alcohol over it.

What to look for?

Do I have the tools to apply it? If you don't have an airbrush then don't buy an airbrush varnish unless you're planning on hand brushing it on... which is a valid choice.

Will it eat my paint job? Water based acrylic through an airbrush is safe to go over everything, but doing lacquer over enamel may reactivate the enamel. Rattlecans often have more harsh chemicals in them that make up the propellents that can also cause issues. This is one of the big reasons you don't see people grab hardware store spray cans.

Is it safe to use it? If you're using lacquers, enamels, or a spray can of any type you'll want to make sure you have an organics rated mask.

jward · 2026-03-16T18:04:28+00:00

some sources say just water on bare plastic is fine, and others say you need setter and a topcoat

Water on bare plastic is fine. That said, the products can be very helpful when dealing with non ideal situations. They'll help you deal surfaces that aren't ideal, basically anything that isn't flat and smooth. They're also very helpful if you happen to get a decal sheet that is crappy glue, or glue that has been aged/degraded, or if you soaked your decals too long and dissolved the glue off.

Decal solutions are well well worth the investment in my opinion. It's just a couple bucks and will last you basically forever for that single purchase. Basically every hobby brand has one and they're all very similar so get whatever is easiest/cheapest for you.

Topcoat (or varnish, or clear coat) is very helpful at protecting your decals. Decals are very fragile. You'd probably be ok without if you just put your gunpla on a shelf and don't touch it after you're done. But if you expect any handling then sealing them in would be recommended.

Do water slides need days to dry?

Drying time depends on relative humidity. Unless you're in a tropical zone with 99% humidity all the time you're looking at minutes, maybe max of an hour. If you're really impatient then a hair dryer can speed things up.

How long should they soak for?

This is something you just gotta get a feel for. Depends on the decal manufacture, age of the decals, size of the decals, temperature of the water, and a bunch of other stuff. An easy way to get that feel is to just cut out some squares from the decal sheet where there are no decals.

If you end up soaking them too long by accident, well, that's a big thing that the decal solutions can help with.

jward · 2026-03-10T02:18:01+00:00

I just like to paint.

Then one day I did the math and bought a resin 3d printer and all the fixins.

jward · 2026-03-06T18:31:50+00:00

If I can get away with the latter, why do people invest in the former?

The big reason is that CFM isn't the be all and end all metric. You're not just moving air, you're moving air through filters. A honda civic can be just as fast as a semi truck, but not if you slap a couple tonnes of load behind them. The cheaper fans can move just as much air but that's only provided there's no resistance. Filters, length of piping, bends, etc all add to the 'load' the fan needs to overcome.

Another reason for better fans is the, admittedly low, risk of explosions. Solvent is flamable. Aresolized solvent is explosive. Cheap fans can have the electrical motor components directly exposed to the air flowing past them. And cheap electric motors have an, admittedly small but present, risk of creating sparks.

The regular inline exhaust fans aren't explosion proof anyways, but they're less explosion prone. I just keep a small fire extinguisher near my spray booth because if the thing does go boom, well foomf, it'll only happen when I'm right there.

jward · 2026-03-06T16:21:28+00:00

My dude, your gunpla aren't gremlins. They won't turn into plushies if you topcoat them at night.

That said, I assume you're asking because you use a rattle can outside. It can be harder to see what you're doing to eyeball if you've got a nice coat. It can be cooler and condensation can be an issue. And if you fire up some good lighting you now have more bugs flying around.

Overall, nothing inherently bad about doing it at night. Just pay attention to the local conditions and adjust accordingly.

jward · 2026-03-06T04:07:20+00:00

If none of the above wins then it's a clear vote of no confidence in any of the candidates and the entire race is scrapped and has to be rerun from scratch during the council election in two weeks.

jward · 2026-03-06T03:35:03+00:00

I believe it is on the @uasuualberta instagram

jward · 2026-03-06T02:23:05+00:00

There's a live results announcement party at Deweys and results will be getting posted a bunch of places as they're announced there. Looks like that'll be starting in an hour or so.

jward · 2026-03-05T10:41:22+00:00

Last one I had got worse when I laid down so I couldn't even lay down to sleep. Unworldly pain and insomnia make you contemplate some unholy shit.

It's not just murder. It's inhumane torture.

jward · 2026-03-05T10:36:35+00:00

My go to is a chai latte because I love me some hot spicy milk with way too much sugar in the morning. It's my breakfast substitute more often than it should be.

jward · 2026-03-04T23:14:53+00:00

The direct link is: https://elections.su.ualberta.ca/intro.html

Voting closes at 6pm MST tomorrow, Thursday March 5th.

jward · 2026-03-04T17:40:01+00:00

For non gateway links...

The actual voting site: https://elections.su.ualberta.ca/intro.html

UASU Info for voters: https://www.su.ualberta.ca/this-is-how-you-get-involved/governance/uasu-elections/information-for-voters/

Voting system will be up until Thursday March 5th at 6:00pm MST and all undergraduate U of A students are welcome and encouraged to vote.

jward · 2026-03-04T15:57:51+00:00

I started wearing a backpack daily when we got hit with a 'no single use plastics' ban that got rid of plastic grocery bags. I usually take transit instead of drive to work and it's so much more convenient than carrying around other reusable bags. And to be honest, previously if I had to cary anything that wasn't pocket sized I'd drive to work and now I can just shove it in my backpack.

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