Cleaning black streaks/smudges?

Post by **rogue27** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:24 pm

Hi,

Any ideas on what causes black marks to appear on LEGO parts? I'm guessing it might be a tire rubbing on another part while in a bin full of parts.

Also, does anybody know how to clean or remove these marks?

The white domes in the picture linked below show what I am talking about.
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/rjcar ... mudges.jpg
(sorry to people with very slow computers or internet connections, but the picture and file size are not as small as they could have been.)

Thanks

Sir Vincent · Post by **Sir Vincent** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:28 pm

I just scrape them off with my nails [claws]...it's worked wonders...

Post by **rogue27** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:34 pm

Sir Vincent wrote:I just scrape them off with my nails [claws]...it's worked wonders...

???

Really? I was scrubbing those stupid marks with a damp paper towel and it was having no visible effect. I guess I'll have to try my thumbnails when I get home.

forester3291 · Post by **forester3291** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 6:01 pm

I know what you mean. I find that when I use a damp rag with some cleaning solution( Anti-bactireal soap, Lysol, exc.) gets most of these marks off.

Hope it helps,

-Jordan

LusiferSam · Post by **LusiferSam** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:09 pm

There is no reason on earth to use anti-bactireal soap (it truly isn't better the regular soap). Goo Gone can work miracles. When I got the Scorpion Palace the onion dome had green smudges on it. I try washing it with a number of different cleaners but no avail. A little dap of Goo Gone and smudges where gone.

CAI · Post by **CAI** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:16 pm

How about white blocks in general, i have a lot...and most of them seem faded or turning a shade of yellow. I wonder if bleach would help...or melt?

Scnicker · Post by **Scnicker** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:31 pm

I sadly have three black falcons and their insignias on their torsos faded away because of the over use. Is there a way to bring them back

LusiferSam · Post by **LusiferSam** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:50 pm

CAI wrote:How about white blocks in general, i have a lot...and most of them seem faded or turning a shade of yellow. I wonder if bleach would help...or melt?

There is nothing you can do about this. It's called yellowing. It happens to a lot of older toys. It's a chemical brake down of the plastic, so about the best you can hope for is to slow it down. Keep it out of the sun (this goes for just about anything), cool and dry.

For more info on yellow of toys in general check the vintage or modern sections of SSG's forums (my favorite haunt) or Rebels Scum's forums (Better vintage section, but I like the SSG crew more).

forester3291 · Post by **forester3291** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:27 pm

LusiferSam wrote:There is no reason on earth to use anti-bactireal soap (it truly isn't better the regular soap).

I actually just ment soap in general. Anti-bactiriel sound so much more professional.

No really. I just ment ragular soap. By the way. What the heck is "Goo Gone"

doctorsparkles · Post by **doctorsparkles** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 11:07 pm

Scnicker wrote:I sadly have three black falcons and their insignias on their torsos faded away because of the over use. Is there a way to bring them back

Unfortunately, no. The printing has rubbed off permanently.

LusiferSam · Post by **LusiferSam** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:12 pm

forester3291 wrote:No really. I just ment ragular soap. By the way. What the heck is "Goo Gone"

Well this should answer your question: What is Goo Gone?
The stuff's pretty cool. You don't necessarily need to be using it all the time when a cheaper cleaner will get you the same results, but like I said the stuff can work miracles.

Scnicker · Post by **Scnicker** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:31 pm

Oh no my falcons!I must get that ship category award for some more =)

Post by **Robin Hood** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:36 pm

I also have had the odd problem. Some second hand Lego I got had some dirtied pieces. One that comes to mind is a white pant leg that was greyish. All I had to do was scrape with a nail (finger) and it came off.

The worst experiance with stains was when I found that three bid Oreint Expedition sets had dry blood all over. I assume that when I had a nose bleed in the night, I drip a bit on my Lego. Don't remember doing it though.

If you have stains on clear pieces, I suggest that you treat the piece like glass and use windex, or an equivalent .

Dan

Umgarla · Post by **Umgarla** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 8:13 pm

I actually wanted to ask the same question: "Can yellowing be stopped", but now I'm sad... I have a lot of old "white" bricks and now I don't know what to do with them...

I actually thought it could just be washed away or something... I'm sad...