ASK HERE How to clean your LEGO sets/parts?

[natelite]

i have one of those catalogs and it said lego is safe below 104F. It is also safe to wash below 104F max water temperature. it also said to use mild dish detergent for your washing instead of laundry detergent. :-P

i'll take a scan tonight if i can still find that catalog.

[natelite]

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/godfrey/...ck/legowash.jpg

bump - sorry for taking so long. :-P click on the link above to read the catalog. the top was from the 1992 catalog. the bottom was from 1990. apparently they reduced the limit from 110 to 104F. interesting!!

remember kids! it's mild liquid dish detergent only! :-P i doubt anyone follows these rules vigorously.

[WetWired]

So I've only recently gotten back into lego, and I've found all my old stuff from my childhood, pulled it all out and I'm disappointed to find it's in pretty poor condition, broken pieces, teeth and dent marks in the pieces, yellowed white pieces, faded/worn prints, stickers peeling off etc

Some of them are nearly 30 years old so I guess I can't expect them to be perfect, but has anyone got any tips for restoring old pieces? I'm assuming there's no way of getting out dints and teeth marks. I've looked around on the net and some people have recommended bleach to bring back the colour in the white pieces, has anyone got any experience with this?

I started cleaning my pieces individually with a toothbrush but after 30 mins I had only done 3 small space vehicle sets out of my nearly 100 old sets which included a 4-5 large buildings, and I don't think I have the patience to do all of them that way.

The washing machine technique, I'm assuming you don't put printed parts in there? should I just do those ones by hand? what about rubber tires with metal axels? clear parts? do they all hold up well in a lukewarm wash?

[LegoLyons]

I find toothpaste and a electric tooth brush is good for cleaning and getting rid of some fading.

[BerndDasBrot]

The washing machine technique, I'm assuming you don't put printed parts in there? should I just do those ones by hand? what about rubber tires with metal axels? clear parts? do they all hold up well in a lukewarm wash?

my experiences: I dare washing rubber tires, metal axels, clear parts and printed pieces, but no stickers pneumatics, electrics, strings... but you don't have to trust me on this. ;-)

[metalandi]

haha, 30 minutes for 3 sets? i recently got 6090 Royal Knight's Castle, and think i cleaned it part for part, taking me about 4 hours. But check out this thread, couple of good ideas in there: http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/eurofo...opic=15486&st=0

[astoriabluelegos]

To clean LEGO's that are dirty, I fill my sink with soapy water and give 'em a bath! :-D As to restoring faded parts, I'm not sure of an effective way to do that, and to my knowledge there is NO way to restore faded printings, so I just handle them cautiosly. :-)

Edited March 13, 2008 by astoriabluelegos

[SlyOwl]

...As to restoring faded parts, I'm not sure of an effective way to do that, and to my knowledge there is NO way to restore faded printing...

Faded parts, no. Yellowed parts (white, grey, maybe blue), yes. Clicky. ;-)

[WhiteFang]

It took me a long time, to understand these posts. And, I am quite confused. Before I start cleaning my Breezeway Resturant, I hope to get some assurance from the ones whom had experience before. Most of the white bricks are yellow due to direct sunlight. Furthermore, this set is remain with dust and stuck onto them.

My only experience of cleaning, is cleaning road base plates with toothbrush and body foam (those kind of liquid soap, used on my body) Most of the users here, keep mentioning about bleach. I wish to know if there is other safer alternative? Or is my propose solution suits for the restoring purpose.

Oh, I can't use the washing machine techinque either. My house don't use washing machine.

[indyj19]

heres an idea i am in the process of trying to use when i have time

use a ultrasonic jewlery cleaner (the good ones not the cheap ones) i found a few that are under $50 US

a little liquid dish detergent and let the machine do its thing without the heating cycle

should work to safely remove grime without damaging parts

[JimBee]

some advice: Never put small parts in the wash/ leave them in your pocket. Especially chrome pieces. I lost about 5 lightsabers w/ chrome hilts to the washing machine; the blades fell through the little holes, but i managed to save two chrome hilts. They were ruined, all rusty. Fortunatley, this was when i was seven years old, and didnt know the difference between lego and megablocks, so some megablocks pieces (some chrome were washed on accident too.

[martinsuper]

So, what is the best method to clean old sets?

I have painstakingly washed a few with a toothbrush, and I would like to see if anyone else has any good idea?

For instance, my Imperial Flagship needs a really good cleaning.

Any ideas? Common practices?

[dhaas06]

I asked a question about dust a while back, and one interesting response suggested trying a GoDuster. I got one, and it works pretty well (especially if you use the included spray). It is gentle and generally does not mess up the construction at all. I especially recommend using the mini head attachment.

[Commodore Hornbricker]

I've spent many an hour with the old tooth brush. I've often wondered about compressed air (key board stuff) but never tried out of fear it would launch smaller pieces. If you wanted to keep it together you might just try dipping the whole set and gently running some water through it. I've been putting my completed sections of the port into storage containers (not very space effiecent) to keep the dust off so that they don't get covered by the time the thing is finished. It seems to work as some have been in the containers for months and they don't have a speck (while the lids have a lot).

[djo]

for big piece parts like my 9V train tracks, i spray them with strong water jetspray.

FYI my train tracks put in public display for almost 1 month and they collect many sweaty dust.

after spray them one by one, i wipe them with chamois, synthetic leather cloth used for absorb water after washing car.

then i put them on open air indoor for 1 day. they're clean as new now.

Edited April 24, 2009 by djo

[Brickthus]

I recently bought a set 2nd hand and found it was seriously smoky - ugh!

I decided that I had nothing to lose by trying the parts in a washing machine, in an old pillow case.

The pillow case was a think material, not thin cotton.

First I made sure the pillow case had no holes!

Then I double tied it with string, folded over the tied opening and double tied it again - making sure it would not open. It was still tied OK by the end of the wash.

I used a normal 40 wash, set to "heavy soil", making it 105 minutes long.

The spin had less impact on machine vibration than a normal wash, once the drum was up to speed.

Afterwards:

I spread the parts out on an old tea towel for sorting while they dried.

The parts were drier than they would have been from a bowl wash. They were dry by the time I had sorted them.

A few white bits of cotton were on some parts - easily removed by blowing on them.

Some scuffing on a couple of polypropylene parts and a few small bumps on parts but nothing serious.

The smell was fresh

Previous experience with hand washing had partly melted a few parts when they strayed under the hot tap as I was filling the bowl in the bath.

I recommend:

Wash polypropylene parts by hand.

Wipe (don't wash) decorated and chromed parts by hand.

Wipe (don't wash) electrical and pneumatic parts by hand. The box includes this instruction for electrical parts.

Wash any parts longer than half the distance between the washing machine drum paddles by hand. This reduces impact on parts in the machine.

Use old tea towels for drying - they make fewer bits than hand towels or bath towels.

Keep your old toothbrushes for cleaning, some for dry dusting and some for washing.

A computer keyboard brush can also work well for dusting.

Don't get smoke anywhere near LEGO bricks. Treat your bricks as you would a child's lungs!

When hand washing:

Don't soak parts in a hand wash for long. The water makes the bricks swell, so they stick together too well afterwards!

Fill a bowl with water and dip the parts with your toothbrush in the other hand.

Use rubber gloves (or equivalent if you're allergic to them).

Put the bath plug in to stop parts going down the plug hole.

Use an old sieve for rinsing parts.

When using a washing machine:

Use a sturdy old pillow case with no holes and double tie it twice. You are responsible for your machine's warranty!

Keep wash temperatures at 40 degrees C or below. Melted bricks in the machine would be unthinkably expensive!

Wash about 300-400 parts at a time, just enough for one tea towel on the kitchen work top. Don't swamp yourself with too many parts to dry at once.

Mark

[UserNameInvalid]

Don't the bricks get damaged and scratched in a washingmachine?

[Tanotrooper]

Don't the bricks get damaged and scratched in a washingmachine?

Even more, I heard the corners of the bricks fade off when washed in a sawhingmachine...

TT

[Brickthus]

Even more, I heard the corners of the bricks fade off when washed in a sawhingmachine...

TT

It was Technic parts that I was washing, so there are fewer corners to be damaged.

The ABS parts were mostly unscathed, just one or two minor dents with no functional consequence.

The fact that I used a thick pillow case helped - cushioned the impact against the drum.

I wouldn't do it with parts I intended to sell, but selling LEGO is not on my agenda

Mark

[Colonel Bulstrode]

I am selling some old legos which need to be cleaned. I clean my legos

by putting them in a bin filled with soapy water. I was wondering if you new

any better ways to clean legos without making stickers or print come off.

I would be very helpful if you could suggest the ways you clean your legos.

Thank you, The Colonel

[Spyder]

That's exactly how I clean my Lego, but if you have a large quantity, then you can put it into a pillow case with some other clothes for padding, then tie the top, and throw it in the washing machine. There's a topic out there somewhere that has details on that.

EDIT: Oh, by the way, if you put it in the washing machine, it will was the stickers and the printing off, or so I hear.

Edited July 3, 2009 by Spyder

[JCC1004]

I had a old fig head with alot of fading and I was testing stuff on him and rubbing alcohol made the eyes come off. On old pieces avoid that stuff. If anyone has a good meathod for cleaning minifigures please post!

[Modulex Guy]

I had a old fig head with alot of fading and I was testing stuff on him and rubbing alcohol made the eyes come off. On old pieces avoid that stuff. If anyone has a good meathod for cleaning minifigures please post!

As long as there are no stickers, plain water and a soft toothbrush work well for dusty figs, mild dish soap with brushing might work for really dirty figs.

[CommanderFox]

Well ive haven't done much on cleaning Lego because my pieces and sets hardly ever fade or get the chance to anyways, but some things have worked when i have been cleaning pieces.

1.try using some Toothpaste, i've herd this works but haven't tried it before.

2.Methalated spirits has worked before with "some" of my pieces. There are some other things but my memerys failing me

Hope this helps though

CommanderFox

Edited July 4, 2009 by CommanderFox

[brickzone]

I think it is rubbing (esp. while wet) that removes printing. Simply getting printed bricks wet, even with soapy water, seems to have no effect on printing if you simply let the parts air-dry (i.e. no towelling etc.). I have left grimy printed parts to soak with no ill effects (even mild bleach for less important, more dirty parts, I use a bleach for baby beakers etc. called "Milton" - fairly harmless to Lego and tough on dirt, helps lighten any dirt ground into scuffs/scratches). I still do them separately though and take get care in handling the wet parts and drying them.