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Like a lot of modellers, I make heavy use of alligator clips on wooden sticks to hold small parts when painting, etc. But the thing that always annoys me is that you have to be very gentle and use padding when you place a part in the grip. Typically I use paper towels. And you also have to deal with the issue of the metal teeth damaging the plastic.

So I tried something that worked really well.

http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

This is basically a rubber coating you can apply to pretty much anything. Cures in about 4 hours. About $6 at Lowes. What I did was this:

- Using a pair of wide pliers, I flattened all the teeth of the alligator clips inwards and then gently crushed them down so the clip becomes nice and flat instead of toothy.
- 2 dips in the plastidip

What you end up with is a nicely padded, -gentle- gripper that you can use on anything. No plastic damage and no fibers and goo sticking to paint from paper towels. I'm going to try putting a coat on my tweezers as well to make it easier to drop parts in place for gluing.

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