This is probably a common problem for anyone who likes to make G1 Transformers look nice and pretty again. Here's my problem. My son has a couple of junker Powermaster Primes his uncle gave him. He wants me to take the best parts from each and frankenstein together one good figure. I've already ordered replacement decals from Repro, but a majority of the screws are completely rusted. Does anyone know of a good chemical I can buy from Home Depot, Lowes, etc. that will eat the rust off? Or better yet, where to find replacement screws? I had this same problem with a G1 Scorponok I just restored, but I was lucky enough to have a broken remote-control WALL-E toy that had the exact same size screws.
veggie oil, wd40..basically any kind of oil...oh and elbow grease. I let the screws soak in a bit of veggie oil then wipe hard with a paper towel. It'll also ensure they won't rust for a good long time.
How long did you soak them in for? It's a semi-popular method for rust removal. Not the best, but it does work.
About a day. Didn't see any noticeable change. I'll try a screw with each method mentioned above, including Coke again, and see which yields the best results. Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far! Just had another thought. After soaking, how about filing the heads of the screws down a little with a dremel? Or will that chew them up too much?
i thought myth buster proved coke is really just due to the weak acid and water doesn't work any better than other cleaners, might as well just use vinegar
I have small sandpaper bits for my dremel. Maybe I should've explained better. All I want to do is grind enough off to where the screw looks silver again. I'm gonna try a soak/sand method on a test screw. See how it goes. Thanks everyone for the input!
I suppose that'll work. LIke I said, just be careful not to strip them. They're older screws after all.
I've used Isopropol Alcohol and some q-tips with some success. Also, when done, I've coated the exposed screws, carefully, with clear nail polish. You can't tell there was ever an issue. Just be careful with the alcohol. If it gets on stickers or paint it will harm them. Might be better to just use WD-40. Taco Bell hot sauce maybe? That works well for cleaning up coins that I've found in the heating vents of my house.
I haven't tried any rust remover personally but I remember someone at Shoryuken.com being able to restore an old and badly rusted arcade joystick control panel using a green gel rust remover (I believe it was Bull Frog Rust Remover) There's also Evapo-Rust and Rust Release SuperGel but again I haven't tried any of these personally (but I guess you can google these products to gather some feedback)
Baking Soda is the way to go. I tried WD-40, that stuff does not work too well. It helps to prevent rust, but to remove rust, it takes a lot of rubbing, and I mean A LOT. I also tried soaking screws in Coca Cola, but they turned black. Baking Soda is the way to go. The way it works is like sandpaper, just that it is a lot milder than sandpaper that it would not deform your screw, or scratch your plastic in case you can't unscrew it.
I am also interested in replacing screws. Anyone know of a kit or some way to get the most used sizes?
Any update on this? Midnight bliss, try hobby screws on ebay or maybe buying KO cheap toys at a local big lots?