Finished work so thought I'd have a go at tackling the miniatures showing signs of potential lead rot.....
I'd ordered some brushes used to clean spark plugs and similar. There are a nylon, brass and steel brushes in the set. I thought the brass would be the most suitable.
I'd also ordered some gum turpentine and mineral oil; sceptical at first, I'd discovered that gum turpentine is used as a solvent including being used to remove varnish and old paint, including notorious white lead paint.....
So, I set too brushing the figures to remove the grey dusting which I suspect is lead oxide (or carbonate). The paper didn't show much in the way of removed material and then I noticed the figures of the gloves I was wearing.......
For the record, in addition to the household gloves, I was wearing a half face mask, such as used for spray paint. Now the gloves had some black paint on them but most of this is from brushing with the brass brush.....
After cleaning (the figures are shiny and there appeared to be no loss of detail) they were dunked in the magic mixture of 50:50 gum turpentine and mineral oil. I'm not entirely sure what the oil is for, whether to dilute the turpentine or as a protective coating to keep out moisture, but it certainly changes the appearance of the miniatures.....
The only downsides are figures being a bit oily and the smell of the turpentine! It's certainly a distinctive odour!
Results look good! Now give them a bath, let them air out to dry, and you should be ready to go.
ReplyDeleteJonathan,
ReplyDeleteI was debating giving them a wash; lots more to scrub and dip though! Not too onerous, just monotonous!
Neil
Result! Fine looking Old School figures.
ReplyDeleteYes. Nominally 30mm but are dwarfed by current 28mm. Slender and anatomically correct.
ReplyDeleteNeil
I hope that does the trick. This seems like a lot of work for some really old figures that probably could be replaced with newer ones.
ReplyDeleteThey BETTER appreciate it. 😀
I wouldn't normally go to these lengths, but as my French SYW /F&I war army is composed of them, I needed some to complete the forces. They are difficult if not impossible to obtain in the UK; RSM (if they are still in business) will ship to the UK but you are likely to get hit for additional tax at import.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they will all run at their first battle......☺
I tackled all the infantry today, brushed, dipped and washed. Couldn't face the cavalry and artillery....
Neil