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Do you ever find that your pet, especially cats, wish to contribute to your painting efforts in rather unintended ways?

Such as how they manage to get hair all over a miniature that has just been primed?

Or that you go to paint a large flat surface over which you have just laid a base color, only to discover immediately after applying a wash that the base coat is full of cat-hair (and that there is an additional layer of hair in the wash itself)?

How does one go about removing pet hair from a painting area when one does not have the luxury (as I formerly did) of having a painting area where pets are forbidden to enter?

I currently have a tiny desk, doing triple duty (computer, miniature painting, and sculpting areas), and my most co-dependent pet (a very adorable cat named Marciel who loves me more than Catholics love the Virgin Mary) seems to think it his duty to inspect all of my work.

I cannot banish him from the room, as it is also my bedroom.

I need hairy help!

MB

Keep isopropyl alcohol in a pot next to your painting surface and he will steer clear, and if he doesn't, light it.

I live with two short haired cats, plus a Maine Coone and a hairy goth, and quite honestly the only answer is vacuuming an extra time each week, and a very delicate pair of tweezers. In super sheddy season, box your minis when you're not painting, or cover them with something.
Also get a soft clothes brush and brush yourself down before sitting to paint. I was forever finding pet fur on my sleeves had got onto my hands. Never managed to get it into wet paint though, perhaps a box for your brushes when they're at rest?

Edit: I know that's not how it's spelt. Didn't realise that cat breed set off the forum filter.

My cats more or less leave my hobby stuff alone, though every once and a while I'll find something on the floor near my desk in the morning that they knocked off. My entire basement is my "zone" so I have the luxury of leaving projects out on my desk for as long as I like. I do find the occasional piece on a model, but it usually isn't a problem because I wash everything before I prime/paint it anyway.

I would suggest buying a can of compressed air (like they use for dusting keyboards). You can blast your miniatures every now and then while working, to remove any debris. If the cat comes over to "help" you can blast him too.

Even without pets, miniatures can pick up bits of lint and dust fairly quickly if left out. I've looked at some new ones under a microscope, and it's disgusting what gets stuck to them. That's why washing is so important. After I wash stuff, I usually keep it in an ice cream tub with some paper, so it doesn't pick up any more debris, and I try to keep things covered while they are drying.

Can't say I've ever let my dog's hair dry in paint. He isn't really allowed in my hobby space (he can't reach the desk, but the floor is always full of dust and shavings of all sorts), but every permeable surface in the house is liable to become riddled with hair, so it gets tracked around. The upside is that the hair is so tenacious that it weaves itself into the very fabric of clothing, refusing to come out at inopportune times... or when you want it to, for that matter. Even if my chest and sleeves are covered in hair, the stuff is likely to stay on my clothing, not jump onto my work. Double-edged sword, that fine, fluffy undercoat.

If we ever get a cat, I'll be damned sure it gets trained or physically barred (both, ideally) from my hobby area. I don't even want my wife in here, and she could scarcely give less of a damn what's on my workbench.

shave him nude. It be funny

I just found a used Elfa table and hanger set for about $60 that I can use to move my computer and graphic's tablet to another area of my room (It will mean that my cats will lose one of their favorite play areas under the bed, as the suff in the closet will be going under the bed).

But doing this will allow me to move my tools to the desktop, add another shelf for work projects, to keep them out of the way, and ease dust and hair build-up, and get a cover for the minis I am working on.

Plus, when I move permanently back to LA, it will mean that I will have a better organized room/apartment wherever I wind up.

And.... If I manage to get a Cintiq at the end of the year, the new Elfa Unit is designed to hold three monitors (I currently have two, the Cintiq would be the Third).

MB

Hey at least your cat didn't EAT YOUR ENTIRE SKAVEN MORDHEIM WARBAND! *ahem* well...anyways...yeah, cats are cute it's hard to stay mad at them...*growls*

I have a cat Here are my tips:

1. Keep a fresh short sleeve t-shirt to wear for painting. Lots of cat hair transfer is actually from your clothing.

2. Use a hepa filter -- the fan should be pointed AT where you are painting, pushing clean air towards you.

3. Buy a pair of really sharp tweezers, like what a lady uses to pluck eyebrows. Don't be cheap; get the $20 razor tweezers. You will be able grab the 1 cat hair, even if it's very small, and yank it out cleanly. But, only if the tweezers have a very good grip and point.

4. Goes without saying, vacuum the room regularly.