Finding lost small parts

Most technicians, every once in a while, drop a tiny clip or fastener into a small, dark, and usually inaccessible place. Telescopic pickup magnets are fine for ferrous objects, but what if the part you’ve dropped is plastic, or aluminum? One solution is to suck the parts up with a shop vacuum, but then you’re fishing through the dust to find the part, hardly an improvement. The solution is to fit a piece of old panty hose over the hose end. The airflow through the material maintains suction, while the part stays on the surface, where it can be easily picked up.