 | | | | | |
Hi all,
Just requesting a bit of advice from you Lego experts.
What the best way to clean old Lego? I have some vintage Lego that is quite
grubby from years of play and wish to restore it as best I can.
Any suggestions will be gratefully received.
Thank you,
Geoff
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| |
|
In lugnet.general, Geoff Snell wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Just requesting a bit of advice from you Lego experts.
>
> What the best way to clean old Lego? I have some vintage Lego that is quite
> grubby from years of play and wish to restore it as best I can.
>
> Any suggestions will be gratefully received.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Geoff
I am using a mesh bag that I purchased at Linens 'n' Things, a store similar to
Bed, Bath, & Beyond. The ~$5 bag is designed for washing lingerie, and it has
pictures of pink undergarments as decoration. The nice thing about this bag is
that the mesh is fine enough that even the smallest parts won't escape. I throw
the bricks in the bag, tighten the drawstring, and throw it in the sink to soak
with warm soapy water. I rinse it a few times and then let it sit in the sink
for a bit to drain off the excess water. After that, I hang it on some tension
rods under the heat vent in the bathroom. The more frequently you shuffle the
bag, the faster they will dry. In the past I have dried bricks on a sweater
drying rack that sits over the tub. This is basically a tight mesh that is
stretched over a frame. The advantage of the rack over the bag is that the
bricks dry faster because they are spread out more as opposed to the bag where
they are all jumbled together. The advantage of the bag is that the bricks stay
in the bag from start to finish, with no gathering up of every little 1x1 plate.
Also, before I wash the bricks I usually do a pre-sort and pick out the
stickered pieces so the don't become unstuck during the soaking process. I wash
those seperately for a shorter period of time. I hope this has been helpful.
Dan.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Geoff Snell wrote:
> What the best way to clean old Lego? I have some vintage Lego that is quite
> grubby from years of play and wish to restore it as best I can.
I do it as Dan suggested. (in previous mail)
But, to add something to your question:
Has anybody tried to bleach yellowed parts?
--
Jindroush <jindroush@nospam.seznam.nospam.cz>
Remove both 'nospam's from the address to reply.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
In lugnet.general, Jindrich Kubec wrote:
> Has anybody tried to bleach yellowed parts?
Bleach is great for dirt, but yellowing of ABS is caused by a chemical breakdown
of the plastic molecules, not surface dirt. ABS is not UV-stable, and natural
ABS (which has a milky beige color) will turn brown and brittle/powdery over
time. Some coloring agents will lend a touch of UV-stability to the ABS (black
ABS, which is colored with carbon, is 100% UV-stable), but white doesn't appear
to be one of them. The only way to clean the yellow color off is to scrape away
the surface until you get back down to white plastic, and that's not advisable
if you care about the condition of your bricks.
Now, I know cigarette smoke will cause ABS to yellow, but I don't have any
experience with that. It's possible that you can bleach smoke-yellowing out,
but I'd suggest trying it out on one small brick that you don't particularly
value before subjecting large portions of your collection to the process.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| |
|
In lugnet.general, David Laswell wrote:
> In lugnet.general, Jindrich Kubec wrote:
> > Has anybody tried to bleach yellowed parts?
>
> Bleach is great for dirt, but yellowing of ABS is caused by a chemical breakdown
> of the plastic molecules, not surface dirt. ABS is not UV-stable, and natural
> ABS (which has a milky beige color) will turn brown and brittle/powdery over
> time. Some coloring agents will lend a touch of UV-stability to the ABS (black
> ABS, which is colored with carbon, is 100% UV-stable), but white doesn't appear
> to be one of them.
Lego has produced different shades of white and I always wondered if they were
experimenting with additives. Some of the white bricks are just milkier, less
brilliant, out of the box.
One commercial product which absorbs UV (mainly for plastic film?) is Cyasorb
UV-1164, described as "light yellow" "with minimal color contribution". Made me
wonder if there IS an ideal way to protect white plastic without making it less
white.
-Erik
supposed to be doing PDE homework
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| |
|
In lugnet.general, Erik Olson wrote:
> Lego has produced different shades of white and I always wondered if they
> were experimenting with additives.
It's entirely possible. I've noticed that there are two distinct versions of
the old classic brown when produced in ABS (just the harder plastic used for 2x4
bricks, not the softer plastics), but they only really show up under blacklight.
> Some of the white bricks are just milkier, less brilliant, out of the box.
I just remember that I have some 1x2 flat liftarms that have a slightly grey
tint (and one that clearly has a dark blotch). Do what I'm going to do. Check
'em with blacklight, just to see what they look like. You can get lots of weird
effects with blacklight on LEGO bricks. For instance, red looks almost exactly
the same under 100% blacklight as it does under basic room lighting. Some of
the transparent colors glow, and others don't (this is actually the easiest way
to tell which of the two trans-light blues you have, though I should point out
that the glowing variety doesn't glow anywhere near as brightly as trans-neon
green or trans-neon orange).
> One commercial product which absorbs UV (mainly for plastic film?) is Cyasorb
> UV-1164, described as "light yellow" "with minimal color contribution". Made
> me wonder if there IS an ideal way to protect white plastic without making
> it less white.
Yes. Use a different plastic that's fully UV-stable. If that's your biggest
concern (like, oh, if it's used inside a tanning bed), you pick a plastic that's
completely UV-stable, no matter what color it is. Styrene is UV-stable, if you
don't mind using really cheap plastic that's not going to hold up to much abuse.
Increasing the styrene content of ABS should contribute to UV-stability, but at
the cost of decreasing the heat stability and aging resistance given by
acrylonitrile, and the strength and impact-resistance of butadiene.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
"Geoff Snell" <geoff_snell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Hrzrq1.o82@lugnet.com...
> Hi all,
>
> Just requesting a bit of advice from you Lego experts.
>
> What the best way to clean old Lego? I have some vintage Lego that is • quite
> grubby from years of play and wish to restore it as best I can.
In addition to other suggestions, I use Dawn liquid detergent and a
toothbrush for tough spots.
Rosemary
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
I've got an old electric toothbrush which is great for dusting and cleaning
(as long as the dirt isnt to heavy - or sticky)
--
James Stacey
------
www.minifig.co.uk
Lugnet Member #925
I'm a citizen of Legoland travellin' Incommunicado
"Geoff Snell" <geoff_snell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Hrzrq1.o82@lugnet.com...
> Hi all,
>
> Just requesting a bit of advice from you Lego experts.
>
> What the best way to clean old Lego? I have some vintage Lego that is • quite
> grubby from years of play and wish to restore it as best I can.
>
> Any suggestions will be gratefully received.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Geoff
| | | | | | |
