Scratched parts

[CaptainCRO]

Hello guys.

I am not really sure if this is a good place to post this thread but I hope it is.

So, I have a 10179 UCS Millennium Falcon. I have had it for years now.

And since it is displayed on a shelf without glass it gets really dusty from time to time.

So I have always cleaned it with a compressor and after that with a brush.

Until today I havent noticed that i have scratched the parts with this brush.

It was not a soft brush, but I didn't think anything could happen to plastic by using it for cleaning

Today I have accidentaly broken one piece from the model while walking through my room.

I then used a flash light and fixed it, but while fixing it I noticed some parts are scratched when looked

At with a light.

I dont know what to do now. Should I BL new parts(not the whole set)?

Did anyone experience anything similar and how frequent are scratches on Legos?

Thank you and I apologise if this is not the right forum to ask this.

[Only Sinner]

You can actually buff ABS back to a smooth shine. Use 1200 or finer sandpaper, then use some buffing compound or a polymer safe polish and a Dremel tool with a soft buffer head. Very gently polish the plastic back to normal. I thought it was crazy the first time I saw sombody do it to a Mercedes. But, hey it's worth a shot, right?

[CaptainCRO]

You can actually buff ABS back to a smooth shine. Use 1200 or finer sandpaper, then use some buffing compound or a polymer safe polish and a Dremel tool with a soft buffer head. Very gently polish the plastic back to normal. I thought it was crazy the first time I saw sombody do it to a Mercedes. But, hey it's worth a shot, right?

Thanks!

Did anyone try this? Can someone confirm that it works?

[BrickieB]

I have not tried this exactly, but I do have some experience with a dremel and the buffing tool. I would start trying this on a spare brick: a lot of things can happen, creating spots, dips, melting the plastic, etc. Depending on how bad the scratches are, you could also try doing it manually: get a rubbing compound and a cloth and just try it out. I would start trying it manually - or if you use the dremel, set it to the lowest possible speed.

There are several versions of rubbing compounds, going from coarse to even out deep scratches all the way to a 'finish' version, which should make it shiny again.

Tip: some toothpastes work perfectly for this; if you want to be safe you can also get a fine modelling compound used to buff plastic static models. Tamiya is an excellent brand with several products you could buy. I don't know where in the world you are, but this store ships anywhere:

http://www.etamiya.com/shop/tamiya-87068-tamiya-polishing-compound-coarse-p-6608.html

http://www.etamiya.com/shop/tamiya-87069-tamiya-polishing-compound-fine-p-6609.html

http://www.etamiya.com/shop/tamiya-87070-tamiya-polishing-compound-finish-p-6610.html

imho trying toothpaste / rubbing compound and a cloth couldn't do a lot of damage...

Hope this helps!

[into the blue]

Jeez, what kind of brush were you using, a wire one?

[Faefrost]

There is probably a cheaper way to put all of this together, but here is a good example of the tools used to buff scratches out of opaque plastic.

http://www.amazon.com/SC-Johnson-11182-Pledge-FutureShine/dp/B000ARPH4C

I've used these on model kits and they work quite well. Personally I don't like using the Dremel buffing pads on plastic as I find I tend to do as much damage with them as I do repairs, but depending on your skills you mileage may vary. (Ill also concede that I probably do not have the patience to hand buff every visable piece on a UCS Falcon, and would most likley resort to the Dremel, after a few tests.)

[Hey Joe]

Jeez, what kind of brush were you using, a wire one?

Yeah, really; this whole topic kinda blows my mind. I could imagine all that work for a deep scratch but for minor stuff I'd have to say you're fighting a losing battle.