How can I restore cloth ship flags?

[knight_40k]

After several years of storage the cloth flags for my Imperial Flagship 6271 are wrinkled and have several crease marks. Is safe to iron the cloth flags if I put a hand towel or something over top so they don't get burnt accidentally or is there another way you would recommend? I don't want to damage them in any way.

[62Bricks]

I believe the cloth LEGO elements are made from acrylic-coated cotton. I have safely ironed creased and wrinkled flags using an iron on the cotton setting with low steam, and ironing directly onto the back side (the side without printing). You want an absolutely clean iron - a dirty one can stain the fabric.

If you have stubborn creases, you can dip your finger in water, run it along the crease, then iron it. The "nuclear" option is to soak the whole flag in room-temperature water, lay it out flat to dry, then iron it.

The flags are pretty durable. I would just avoid ironing directly onto any printing. If you want to be extra careful, put the flag printed side down and then put a very thin damp towel over it. Iron on a medium setting and see if that gets the wrinkles out. If not, try it again at a slightly higher setting and do that until they smooth out. If the flags are printed double-sided, then use this method. Also, if your iron is not completely clean (if it has any black spots on the heating surface), use the thin damp towel method.

[Peppermint_M]

Flattening it out and pressing it under some heavy books also works. I stuck a sail and a tent under some hardback tomes and after a few days they were fine. I suppose this is the more patient less ironing based method! (Uch, Ironing....)