Instagram thought it’s a cool idea to show me Bionicle stuff and a few hours later I bought some used stuff for a couple bucks off a market place haha
Is there a way to clean this? The ball joints look like as if there was paint on it at some point.
Ive tried soap water but that didn’t really get anything off and I’m not sure what the plastic can take in terms of chemicals.
My advice would be to disassemble the figure, put all of the parts that need to be cleaned inside of a small bin or whatever else might work filled with warm or cold water (you could even throw in some mild dish soap if you think that might help in the cleaning) and then just scrub them down with a microfiber cleaning cloth or other materials that are non-abrasive. I've had to do this with a couple of figures that have had dust build up on them and so far this process works like a charm for me.
Alright thanks. I’ll look for a soft toothbrush. I guess micro fiber cloths don’t reach into all the crevices of the more detailed parts.
If you use it gently, that works too.
Q-tips might work in the smaller areas that you wish to clean as well
Hand soap and warm water, let sit for a little while, 10 - 15 mins, brush with a soft bristle tooth brush and dirt and trim will glid off.
Revoing texta or permanent maker, isopropyl alcohol, or a alcohol based hand sanitiser do the exact same job and are just as effective.
Isopropyl alcohol works pretty well. Unless permanent marker is involved.
I left them in Soap water for like a day, but yeah alcohol work probably...
For rubber tho... If I had to clean it I would do it twice or thrice, cause if the material isn't damaged then there's still a chance to get mostly anything off.
You can probably test if the rubber is the problem... If it sticks and leaves a sticky touch on your fingers it's probably a bad sign (I still recommend washing it in soap water multiple times (with either a brush or a softer toothbrush only if it's that bad, since those can damage even more))
It’s not sticky yet and feels like it should feel but I think alcohol could fuck it up bad.
Then I’ll try some soap water marinade 👍🏻
I got a LOT of sticky rubber, cause I finance my Bionicle obsession by getting lots and selling sets under the global market price... 90's and 2000's technics suffer the same problem... Solid rubber tires are becoming sticky if someone leaves those under the sunlight and it's almost impossible to remove that tiny slime on the surface of said tires...
Same with PS4 and PS5 controllers cause those joysticks are covered in a softer rubber than Xbox's
So keep anything rubber off the sunlight
Good to know! I’ve got a huge collection from 2003-2009 in my parents attic so it’s probably mostly fine. I should hit them up so I can take a look at it.
Yeah do that, but don't be surprised if the stickers are peeling off... It's like a "genetic disease". Had a Formula 1 Ferrari, whose sticker peeled off over time.
Tho the thing I said for the rubber is mostly for smaller wheels, these huge sport car ones are probably fine even on the sun (tho still not recommended). Allways the "smooth' rubber surfaces are the ones to "melt" first
I would NOT use alcohol for soft rubber like this. Not sure how lego rubber fares, but usually using alcohol on rubber (in my experience) tends to allow the plasticizer to start leeching out, resulting in the object becoming oily over time and warping.
What I would do, personally, is use an ultrasonic cleaner, like what they use to clean jewelry. You can get em fairly cheap if you get a tiny little one. That way you dont risk damaging the part, and it gets into all the nooks and crannies. I suppose afterwards a little toothbrushing might help if it's still stained.
That’s such a fantastic idea! I even have one for my glasses but it didn’t come to my mind to use it for the Lego parts.
It's REALLY good for those ball socket joints too. When dust gets in all the little tiny grooves it tends to cement in there and you get this lovely (note: awful) squeaking noise when you move em, so running it in the ultrasonic can really help to get all of that gunk out.
Just be sure to use distilled water, otherwise you might get mineral deposits from the tap water and it'll still squeak like mad.
I usually use dishwashing liquid and a brush.
soak the in soap water for a while then use a towel to carefully dry em off
I’ve had luck with “LA’s Totally Awesome” it’s a gentle degreaser that works well for cleaning plastic