How to clean figures

[Hermes888]

I'm moving and transferring my collection over to a new set of shelves. Some of them have gotten very dusty, and I was wondering how to clean them up.
What's the best method of cleaning plastic and vinyl figures?

[joossa]

I use paper towels with ammonia-free window cleaner. The cleaner works well and helps the dust stick to the paper towels. Armored, plated, and spiked dinos are challenging to clean since you have to fold the towel to get it into the nooks and crannies.

Moving them off the shelf in a large group is fun too. This was a part of my dusting adventure last weekend. I started with the carnivore shelves first.

[Quen]

I usually dry-dust my figures or use a wet cloth/paper towel. But when they look really dusty, I give them a bath with soap and water in the sink. I don't bathe figures that aren't meant to be toys or would get full of water, like Kaiyodo figures.

[Arul]

Usually i clean my figure in the sink, Put it under the flowing water and clean it with very soft sponge. Let it dry between 3 minutes and use tissue to make it completely dry

[Invicta Hunter]

Pressurised air cans are a pretty good way to take the dust off plus it will never damage your figures and their cheap to buy.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

The simple cheat for this is using the plastic tub style towelettes that are made by Clorox and come wet and dispensable within the bottle type holder...cheap, fast and works well.

[tyrantqueen]

I like to use baby wipes.



They're 98% pure water, so fine to use on plastic. For really heavy dust/lint, I will use a portable vaccuum then clean them with the wipes.

[sauroid]

must be terribly tedious to clean/dust off your displayed figures if you have thousands...

[tyrantqueen]

must be terribly tedious to clean/dust off your displayed figures if you have thousands...

Not necessarily. Cleaning and dusting can be soothing/relaxing to some people

But if you had thousands, it'd probably be better to put them in a glass case.

[Halichoeres]

must be terribly tedious to clean/dust off your displayed figures if you have thousands...

Not necessarily. Cleaning and dusting can be soothing/relaxing to some people

But if you had thousands, it'd probably be better to put them in a glass case.

My collection isn't even old enough to be dusty yet, but I agree, I think I'll rather enjoy dusting it when the time comes. (Though I definitely don't have thousands.)

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

To clean mine I soak them in warm water and if the dust does not come off easily I use a paper towel though that will probably change to a baby wipe (Thanks, TQ!) now. Is there a particular level in a room where dust accumulates faster? I keep the figures I have out on a high shelf near the ceiling and they seem more dusty than the ones lower down, but then I rarely touch the ones up high.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

To clean mine I soak them in warm water and if the dust does not come off easily I use a paper towel though that will probably change to a baby wipe (Thanks, TQ!) now. Is there a particular level in a room where dust accumulates faster? I keep the figures I have out on a high shelf near the ceiling and they seem more dusty than the ones lower down, but then I rarely touch the ones up high.

Never use anything entirely dry to remove dust or fine settling on any surface you wish to preserve. It leaves fine grain scratches as you drag the grains across the surface. This is why I suspect that both myself and TQ have taken to using a moisturized type of wipe to remove the dust. When I clean the spheres I make, I NEVER use anything dry , it is a cardinal sin

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Ever see the pictures of Don Glut's dinosaur collections where the dust is so thick you could write in it ? Lol

[Victoria's Cantina]

To clean mine I soak them in warm water and if the dust does not come off easily I use a paper towel though that will probably change to a baby wipe (Thanks, TQ!) now. Is there a particular level in a room where dust accumulates faster? I keep the figures I have out on a high shelf near the ceiling and they seem more dusty than the ones lower down, but then I rarely touch the ones up high.

Never use anything entirely dry to remove dust or fine settling on any surface you wish to preserve. It leaves fine grain scratches as you drag the grains across the surface. This is why I suspect that both myself and TQ have taken to using a moisturized type of wipe to remove the dust. When I clean the spheres I make, I NEVER use anything dry , it is a cardinal sin

What about something like the Swiffer 360 dusters? Those are dry and very fine, and what I've been using for the last several years to dust my collectibles with. I usually don't go more than two months without dusting, and there's usually not much dust at all. It's work, but the routine maintenance makes it so that it never gets very bad.

[tyrantqueen]

To clean mine I soak them in warm water and if the dust does not come off easily I use a paper towel though that will probably change to a baby wipe (Thanks, TQ!)

Just don't flush them down the toilet, put them in the bin. Flushing them will clog your plumbing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ81Xpe9rvA

Don't watch this if you're eating your lunch though...hurrghhh.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

To clean mine I soak them in warm water and if the dust does not come off easily I use a paper towel though that will probably change to a baby wipe (Thanks, TQ!) now. Is there a particular level in a room where dust accumulates faster? I keep the figures I have out on a high shelf near the ceiling and they seem more dusty than the ones lower down, but then I rarely touch the ones up high.

Never use anything entirely dry to remove dust or fine settling on any surface you wish to preserve. It leaves fine grain scratches as you drag the grains across the surface. This is why I suspect that both myself and TQ have taken to using a moisturized type of wipe to remove the dust. When I clean the spheres I make, I NEVER use anything dry , it is a cardinal sin

What about something like the Swiffer 360 dusters? Those are dry and very fine, and what I've been using for the last several years to dust my collectibles with. I usually don't go more than two months without dusting, and there's usually not much dust at all. It's work, but the routine maintenance makes it so that it never gets very bad.

Anything that does not use moisture to grab and hold the dust particles allows it to move about, sliding around and depending what the dust is made of....and hardness, you are in fact creating fine scratches.Just not the best method, for anything collectible of any kind. Consider why they make sprays like Pledge...to grab the dust and hold in in place on the dusting surface. Aside from that , as you use the same surface over and it gets imbedded with particles and acts similar to sandpaper...creating, yes more scratches. You want a soft, moist and disposable method....TQ and her method are good, as are the wipes I use .

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Never use anything entirely dry to remove dust or fine settling on any surface you wish to preserve. It leaves fine grain scratches as you drag the grains across the surface. This is why I suspect that both myself and TQ have taken to using a moisturized type of wipe to remove the dust. When I clean the spheres I make, I NEVER use anything dry , it is a cardinal sin

I should have said damp paper towel  .

To clean mine I soak them in warm water and if the dust does not come off easily I use a paper towel though that will probably change to a baby wipe (Thanks, TQ!)

Just don't flush them down the toilet, put them in the bin. Flushing them will clog your plumbing

Yeah, it's annoying that they advertise as 'flushable' when clearly^ they are not.

[sauroid]

is there a possibility that accumulated dust on figures would be embedded in time? also, i have to point out, that you wont entirely be able to clean a figure without soaking it in soapy water.
i dread the thought of dusting my collection that 's why i just put most of them in storage (inside resealable bags within plastic bins). of course the downside is i dont get to enjoy the sight of them, and i have to rummage through everything to get a particular item.

[Pawnosuchus]

Thanks for the tips. Since my collection is out in the garage they collect a lot of dust and cobwebs.  I usually dust a few every day but it's a never ending job. I'm going to try the baby wipes. Seems like a great idea.

[TJ_Terrorsaur]

Thanks for the tips. Since my collection is out in the garage they collect a lot of dust and cobwebs.  I usually dust a few every day but it's a never ending job. I'm going to try the baby wipes. Seems like a great idea.

I like (tyrantqueen mentioned)to use baby wipes, now I swear by them. They don't have a scent and they don't make my hands breakout. If my dinos are really dusty I usually run them under some cold water and then pat them dry with a towel, or use a swiffer duster.