I just purchased a few G1 Transformers, including another Fortress Maximus, that I am planning to apply new Reprolabels on them and I wanted to ask my fellow board members... What is the best methods of removing stickers and cleaning up your Transformers? I was planning on using Goo-Gone to remove the sticky sticker residue and I wanted to know if it is advisable? Will Goo-Gone damage the plastic in any way? Will it cause white plastic to yellow? After using Goo-Gone, I was going to use a damp terry cloth and soft bristle toothbrush with soapy water, more than likely dish washing soap, to remove any dirt and dust in hard to reach places. If anyone has another method they would like to share or cleaning products they can recommend, it would be really useful for myself and other forum members. Please post your suggestions.
one thing that has worked for me, is if you take a paper towel and a little vegetable oil, it helps remove the adhesive safely with no chemicals, it will not change any colors either. remove what you can by hand and what is left use this method, once finished just take another damp or dry paper towel to wipe off the veg. oil. It will not leave a residue. for dusting i use a makeup brush i got from my gf that works perfect, also canned air can work too but it doesnt remove that surface dust that tends to stick to the plastic, thats where the brush comes in. I would avoid water and soap for cleaning, if you do use q-tips.
I would not advise using goo-gone. I havent used it on a transformer but I do know from experience that it will change the color of most plastics. I have used a but of water and soap on a q-tip to clean some areas.
One thing I want to add... AVOID using Goo-Gone on gold plated plastic pieces! It will cause the gold plating to lose its shine and dull it up. I learned this the hard way by trying to remove stickers on a G1 Grimlock that was at a C9 condition prior to using it... It really sucked. So, I may avoid using Goo-Gone and try vegetable oil.
I've used Goo Gone and have not had any problems. I didn't use it liberally though, and after removing the sticker residue I washed the figures with soap and water. After several years, none of my figures have any plastic coloring issues.
I've always used lighter fluid to remove sticker residue; it's never removed any paint or had any bad effects on the plastic, and it evaporates away leaving no trace. I've used it on a lot of TFs, including every robot in 5 different G1 combiners. It also didn't damage G1 Megatron's chrome. (Hint here, BTW - if you're restoring a G1 Megs, do NOT pull the stickers off without using something to loosen the glue first and get it to the point where you can just lift the sticker away. You run a very big risk of removing the chrome with them. I found this out the hard way, on his upper chest sticker; fortunately the replacement sticker itself covers it, but nontheless it's a bad idea in the first place) After removing the stickers I dismantle the Transformer as much as possible (some pins are difficult to get out; others, such as G1 Overlord's chest cover pins, are pretty easy) and wash the parts in warm soapy water, cleaning with a soft brush if necessary. As I said, I've used these techniques on a lot of TFs, Zoids and GI Joe figures & vehicles, and I've never had a problem.
This is all very informative. Vegetable oil, lighter fluid, rubbing alcohol, baby wipes... Also, I read in a previous thread WD40 works well too! Now does anyone have any tips for removing stickers and cleaning up G1 Fortress Maximus? I noticed that G1 Fortress Maximus has a decent size sticker on the blue painted metal waist piece and some stickers in places that are hard to remove due to it being located in recessed areas. I also tried to peel off some stickers already, but due to the stickers being there for so many years, they are definitely not pealing off easily. Advice will be greatly appreciated.
On cleaning those tight spaces I use really small painting brushes. I dip them very very lightly into water and just getting the small part of the tip wet. I brush the tight spaces and then ready with some thing to dry it with. That cleans the dirt and grim that you thought you might have gotten with other methods.
What I did when I removed thopse stickers on my Fort Max was to pour some lighter fluid on the sticker and gently try and lift it with a fingernail. Fort Max's stickers are paper, and so once the lighter fluid had soaked through them they came off fine with a little effort.
I would not recommend vegetable oil. Organic oils like that can go rancid and smell quite bad when they do. Mineral oil might be better, but I'm not sure about that. One thing I always say when this subject comes up is be careful not to use bleach. It is an oxidizer and will cause metal parts like pins, screws, and G1 TFs to rust.
I'm very conservative with sticker removal. All I use is my fingernail, small damp brush and paper towels for the residue. Other methods might be faster but this is what I do.
Ugh! Goo Gone f'ed me up again! It's supposed to rid the figure of the adhesive stuff, NOT worsen it. I just used it on a figure, and it left a shiny residue all around the areas I used it. Coincidentally, the areas I used rubbing alcohol on are perfectly fine.
I have a question, but I have to explain this first: If you have the DOTM Wreckers, you'll see that they're decorated to look like sponsored NASCAR vehicles. I love the molds, I love all the sculpted circuitry and weapons on them, but I don't like all the sponsorship logos and decals they have all over them. What would be the best way to remove those decals?
I've bought some really filthy G1 Transformers in recent years. In cases like this: - I disassemble them as much as I can for cleaning prep. - I wash the parts with water and Dawn soap. Dawn has been the best for me as it is gentle on plastic but also effective in cleaning. - I take my time. And it WILL take time. Retroblasting on YouTube has a couple videos on how to restore old toys and handling old stickers.
Sounds strange, but peanut butter and lighter fluid will also break down the sticky residue. I've used lighter fluid on parking stickers on my car and peanut butter on my kayaks and Transformers. I don't think I would use light fluid on Transformer plastics, but peanut butter works great. Spread a little on and leave it on for a few minutes and then wash off with soap and water.
Lighter fluid is just Butane and it will not break down plastic and is "safe" to use. If you think about it, all those plastic lighters filled with butane can sit for years without having any problems. It works really well and as long as you are careful to not be smoking a cigarette while you are cleaning your figures, you'll be fine. My grandfather used to clean sticky crap off his hands by pouring a little zippo fluid on them. I don't recommend that.
A somewhat related question to this thread: I just bought a bunch of Reprolabels for some TFs and an old Power Rangers zord. Should I clean the figures before attemting to add the stickers? I mean, they're not horrible dirty, but I'm wondering if a little dust is something to worry about affecting the adhesiveness.
