Author Topic: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles  (Read 43787 times)

Offline Matt_Fury

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Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« on: December 25, 2008, 09:59 PM »
Hey Y'all,

I'm in the process of shipping out all my old vintage playsets and vehicles but after 20+ years in my parents' basement I've noticed a few problems:

-lots of dust in the corners and grooves
-the foam on the Dagobah and the Trash Compactor from the Death Star playsets have really deteriorated.
-The cardboard pieces of the Death Star walls are really frayed at the edges and would probably need replacing.

Anyone know of a cheap way I could replace the foam and cardboard cheaply?  I'd also like to print out hi res images instead of purchasing anything.  Also, what's a good cleaning technique?
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Offline DSJ™

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2008, 12:51 AM »
Quote
-lots of dust in the corners and grooves

Good old soap & hot water & Q-Tip's, may want to also use toothpicks with small pieces at the end for those hard to get places plus a soft/medium toothbrush should also help. Comes down to it, elbow grease.  ;)

Quote
-the foam on the Dagobah and the Trash Compactor from the Death Star playsets have really deteriorated.

That is common for the foam & nothing you can really do I'm afraid. You can get repro replacement foam & that's going to be as good as it gets. The Dagobah brown foam just get's all gooey/sticky & the Death Star foam just crumbles. Keep an eye out on the bay, search Dagobah Foam or get some dish sponge & dye it brown.  :-\

As for the Death Star foam, give toyrestore.com a shot. They have a 3 color sheet for $10. & you have to cut it yourself.

Quote
-The cardboard pieces of the Death Star walls are really frayed at the edges and would probably need replacing.

12back.com has scans but not hi-res. Best to go to erikstormtrooper.com, very nice scans that will help you plus other things.  ;)

Hope that helps you out a bit Matt.  :)

Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2008, 05:17 PM »
Cool Dale.  Thanks!

I remember someone saying they found a cheap way to replace the foam on the Dagobah playset.  It may have been over in the vintage forums on Scum....but I can't ask over there.  :-\
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Offline Biffette

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #3 on: January 1, 2009, 11:59 AM »
Just like DSJ recommended, I used a dish sponge for the Dagobah foam and I am very happy with it.

Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #4 on: January 1, 2009, 03:24 PM »
Cool.  I also might check out Hobby Lobby and see what they have.  If there's anything that works really well, I'll post it here.

Hey Dale, what kind of soap do you reccommend for this?  Would regular dish soap work alright or is that too harsh.  I have a few days before UPS drops off these items, but I'd like to get right to work when they show up.   :D
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Offline DSJ™

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #5 on: January 1, 2009, 03:49 PM »
Regular dish soap will work fine, you don't want anything that is gritty as it will scratch & use a soap that is not too scented.

Offline john todd

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #6 on: January 1, 2009, 10:46 PM »
i'm not sure if Rob ever mentioned what exactly he used, but on page 19 of the latest acquisitions thread, he shows where he did a pretty damn nice job of cleaning up an ewok village. which reminds me that i have a death star boxed up somewhere that could use a little tlc.

Offline solrac

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #7 on: January 2, 2009, 02:58 AM »
I use Q-tips and baby wipes. its been more than 10 years since i started using to clean my collection and there has been no residue. You can wrap the wipes around the tip of the swab and scrub with that...
« Last Edit: January 3, 2009, 02:41 AM by solrac »
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Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #8 on: January 2, 2009, 05:54 PM »
Great!  Thanks for all the advice y'all.  I've never done any of this before and I'm totally paranoid about ruining my childhood toys (and the foundation of my collection).
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Offline Darth Broem

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #9 on: January 5, 2009, 03:12 PM »
Yeah, I am kind of sad because my original Imperial Shuttle has that "yellowing" crap going on now.  It was fine until I moved from Illinois to the dessert here in Phoenix.  A couple of other vehicles are doing it now to.  I guess it's the dry environment.  I do have a humidfier and run it so I guess it may have been worse but oh well. 

Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #10 on: January 11, 2009, 05:22 PM »
Crap.  That toystore.com website seems to be down.  Shame too, they had some great stuff on there.
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Offline DSJ™

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #11 on: January 12, 2009, 05:04 AM »
Hopefully it's just a server issue.  :-\

Offline Rob

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #12 on: January 19, 2009, 10:59 PM »
I've used watered down rubbing alcohol (maybe like 1:1) and q-tips with great success.  More on vehicles than figures... sometimes you can wipe eyebrows and such off of figures.

It'll take off some pretty stubborn stains.

I've also used carpet cleaner on some of the cloth like Klaatu's skirt.

As mentioned, foam replacement for the Dagobah set is available on eBay or can be made from scratch.

Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #13 on: January 20, 2009, 12:14 AM »
Nice points Rob.  Luckily, my figures are in pretty good (if not over-played with) condition.
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Offline McMetal

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Re: Restoring Playsets and Vehicles
« Reply #14 on: April 13, 2010, 11:08 AM »
Figured this would be the best thread to submit this question for the group:

Anyone have any good suggestions for removing stickers from vintage toys? Specifically, the Star Destroyer playset base?

I bought one a few weeks back but the stickers are atrocious...ripped, faded, taped, many not even in the right location. I've resigned myself to a restoration rather than discarding it and looking for a better version.

I'm just wondering what is the most effective and least potentially damaging method for geting the old stickers off.

I'm very hesitant to use anything sharp or abrasive, or caustic. So razor blades, exacto knives, lighter fluid, etc are proabably out.

Any tips? THANKS A MILLION!
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