Best way to clean figures?

[nbamsg]

Hey all, new to the game here. Don't have any room in the apartment so I'm looking to sell my entire collection of HeMen I had as a kid. The question I have is how do you clean them? My gf suggested baby wipes, but I don't know if that would have an adverse effect on the paint or what not. Figured you guys would be the experts. Thanks.

[scott metzger]

Vick's Vaporub, the thicker kind (like Vaseline). An old Mego buddy put me onto that trick a long time ago, especially for vinyl heads. Does nothing to the paint and is surprisingly good at getting off dirt that's been there for years. Cleaned up old Matt Mason heads with it.

[Gimporama]

Vick's Vaporub, the thicker kind (like Vaseline). An old Mego buddy put me onto that trick a long time ago, especially for vinyl heads. Does nothing to the paint and is surprisingly good at getting off dirt that's been there for years. Cleaned up old Matt Mason heads with it.

My Goodness Scott!... you must never have a blocked nose in your house!

[Trev-Or]

Over Christmas break I plan on cleaning some of my figures from when I was a kid. There was a period of about 2 years (around age 7-9 or so) when I had my figures in an a cardboard box in a tin storage shed. During this time some of my figures got pretty dirty and some even had a weird mold growth on them (especially the soft headed figures). Anyways, I'm wondering what would be the best way to clean these figures. In the past I've used a cup of water mixed with dish soap and a toothbrush. I worry though that using a toothbrush may be a little too harsh and I get freaked about possibly creating paint damage. Hoping some of you could give some good suggestions on what the best way to go about cleaning figures would be. Also some of my figures have the yellow torso syndrome. Especially my blue figures like Skeletor and Faker. Is there a way you can fix this or are these figures always going to look like they're suffering form Liver disease?

[Arkangel]

toothbrush is the only way to remove dust from corners, no cotton will ever do the job

[KidRandor]

I use antibacterial handsoap which is gentler than dishsoap. Handsoap does not have the harsh grease cutters which can possibly harm paint. If it is good for sensitive skin, it is good for sensitive plastic. If you cannot simply get it clean with your hand, i use a q-tip for crevices

[kylefromdirtnapp]

I use regular soap and a toothbrush, but I'd be worried about Skeletor's face, he seems to have very flaky paint. The yellowing is from sun damage. If there is a way to reverse it, I'd like to know.

[Rakashian Calamari]

If this is posted somewhere else on the boards just redirect me. I need some advice though on how to clean and store my vintage He-Man figures. I had a discussion with a friend a few weeks ago that concerns me as I'm not the most domestically gifted person and I hate dusting. Turns out he says dust can cloud or take off paint if it's too long between dustings. So I either need to find a good way to clean them (swiffer? Duster? Dunk in soapy water and rinsed to dry?) or a good way to store them so they aren't damaged. My other half suggested using acid free archival paper to store them in a rubbermaid container. Any advice is appreciated. I love my display but realistically if it cleaning them isn't an easy task I don't want to damage them by leaving out my toys.

[MOTUiac]

Just wanted to throw this out there and open it up to others with experience cleaning toys. I recently went through some of my old stuff and over time a lot of dust and muck had built up on some figures. I used A Mr.Clean Magic Eraser on them and the stuff lives up to its name of being magic. The scrub pad removed all of the dirt on some of the figures heads and crevices.

Just thought this would be useful for folks looking to clean up those old attic/basement toys. If anyone has any other tips throw em out there.

[Johnny Depp]

Hey guys!
I'm going to set about the task of cleaning my vintage figures, a pretty big chore, since I had everyone (released in the US, anyway).
They're in pretty good shape, just a little dust here and there, or maybe the occasional sticky legs, etc.

Does anyone have any tips for cleaning the vintage figures? Just some dust off spray and a damp/dry rag? If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be really happy for them!

[MrRoboto]

I just did this the other day and i had fun giving my vintage figures a once over. Normally what i use is a lint free cloth, dip it in lukewarm water, squeeze excess so it becomes damp as that will clear any dust off. I use another lint free cloth to go over the figure just in case and make sure the figure is properly clean. For any sticky bits, i've personally used a multi-purpose cleaner as that will remove any grease, dirt, grime etc... again using the 2 cloth system. For any "hard to clean" bits where you can't clean with a cloth i've used an earbud and it works great.

I'm sure it's not an exact science lol, but it's how i've cleaned my figures and they come up a treat - nice, shiny and clean. Just be careful when using any sprays etc... that you don't over-clean as it could remove the paint.

[Johnny Depp]

Hey! Thanks for the advice.
It's been going pretty well so far, a little at a time, I haven't just dove into it like I think I probably will this week when I get the time.

It is a cool time though, right? It's long overdue, and it's neat to see some of my old friends again, even though it's a little sad seeing them a bit worse-for-wear. My poor Moss Man's leg has fallen off from the rubber rotting.

[bigassbuzz]

I've used a product called FIZZION and an old toothbrush to get into the cracks. Fizzion is something like oxy clean, as it uses bubbles to do the cleaning work. I'm not sure how dangerous this might be to your old paint apps though.

[Dawg88]

Lysol wipes

[kylefromdirtnapp]

I just use regular soap and an old toothbrush. For stubborn marks, Magic Eraser.

[MrRoboto]

Hey! Thanks for the advice.
It's been going pretty well so far, a little at a time, I haven't just dove into it like I think I probably will this week when I get the time.

It is a cool time though, right? It's long overdue, and it's neat to see some of my old friends again, even though it's a little sad seeing them a bit worse-for-wear. My poor Moss Man's leg has fallen off from the rubber rotting.

No problemo. Glad to hear it's going well, it's always nice when you can spend a bit of time with the figures whether you're cleaning them etc... Not so glad to hear about Moss Man''s leg I had that happen to my Hordak but thankfully there's an easy solution. Now he's as good as new!

[catlord]

How did you fix him? I'm having that same problem with my Skeletor.

[Jon-O]

I used Gorilla Glue on my King Hiss. I bought him on ebay and two minutes after him arriving, I was moving his legs around and off it came. The glue worked like a charm. Just follow the directions and good as new!

[Dr Kain]

Use compressed air.

[MrRoboto]

How did you fix him? I'm having that same problem with my Skeletor.

I'm sure there are various ways as stated, i did it this way as described in this link to He-Bro's site (hope it's ok to post!):

http://he-man.us/Innovations/BrokenLegs.html

or this old thread:

http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...d.php?t=154132

Hope this helps!

[catlord]

Thanks for the tips, I'll try them ASAP.

[MrRoboto]

Thanks for the tips, I'll try them ASAP.

Cool

[Crippler]

Hello Everyone,
I just recently came across a couple vintage figure still sealed, but the packaging was very beat up so I opened them to add to my loose collection. A few of the figures have a sticky residue on the legs and arms...does anyone know how to clean this without ruining the figure/paint?

Thanks

[Crusader]

A few of the figures have a sticky residue on the legs and arms...does anyone know how to clean this without ruining the figure/paint?

Some of my vintage figs are sticky as well, but only on the unpainted area's. I haven't noticed any residue on them however.
I tried cleaning them in water with a little bit of soap and rinsing thoroughly, but they remain sticky. I think that the plastic is slowly decomposing or something

[Gracie]

My poor Moss Man's leg has fallen off from the rubber rotting.

This was one reason why I chose to bite the bullet and go for the Matty figures. I remember my best friend having problems with the inner "rubber bands" snapping and breaking. It wasn't a simple fix either -his mom eventually started buying new ones to replace the broken ones. Of course, this was when one could easily purchase new replacements.

I recently purchased a vintage Sorceress and though she was in decent shape, the eBay seller wrapped her in NEWSPAPER to ship her in! I used hand soap and a toothbrush to gently remove the ink print and managed to get it all without disturbing any of the "feathers" on her bodice.
One of her legs is loose, so I'm sure I'll eventually consult the how-to on fixing vintage limbs. For now she stays in a safe place since she is the resident "granny" of my mixed MOTU collection.

Great topic!