Cleaning baseplates

Section8 · Post by **Section8** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 9:35 pm

Does anyone have a sure-fire way of cleaning up old baseplates, you know, ones with crud stuck between the studs, sometimes spill marks on them? I just got a bunch of old baseplates, including printed road and space plates, and I would like to clean them up as best I can. I tried using water, rubbing alcohol (70%) and paper towels already. The alcohol does wonders on flat parts without studs and doesn't seem to hurt the paint, but the paper towel just shreds over the studs. Does anyone know of any safe solution I could make, maybe to soak the plates in for a little while?

Thanks!

Drucifer · Post by **Drucifer** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 9:38 pm

Soapy water and a soft toothbrush have worked quite well for me, and shouldn't hurt the paint at all. I usually soak the plates in a tub of warm,soapy water. Then scrub them with the toothbrush. Rinse them off and repeat for any problem areas. As long as the toothbrush has soft bristles it shouldn't damage the paint at all.

wlister · Post by **wlister** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 9:41 pm

I had this same problem with an order I made. After soaking the baseplates in soapy water for about 2 days, I used a medium soft tooth brush to scrub the plates. It was time consuming, but it was worth it. I now have the plates stacked with my newer plates and you can't really tell the difference. The Duration of soaking was due to the fact the plates were from a seller who smokes. The soap and water combination got rid of the smell from baseplates as well as some other parts. One day was not long enough.

Man I wish sellers would warn about that, I quit smoking couple years back so I really notice it. I never smoked in the house though, my wife is a very opinionated womanand hers usually wins.

Will

Oops, look like someone beat me to the punch. The advise for smokey Lego is good though.

LEGOFREAK · Post by **LEGOFREAK** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:59 am

Drucifer wrote:Soapy water and a soft toothbrush have worked quite well for me, and shouldn't hurt the paint at all. I usually soak the plates in a tub of warm,soapy water. Then scrub them with the toothbrush. Rinse them off and repeat for any problem areas. As long as the toothbrush has soft bristles it shouldn't damage the paint at all.

this works well for dust too. periodically I have taken to doing this with all plates larger than 6x6 and all baseplates.

Wills answer for the smokey stuff above is pretty good too.
If you ever need to clean bulk lego, try this:
I stitched up a pillow case full and washed them in the washer on warm gentle cycle, no bleach, a little bit of detergent.

worked great and then I just spread them out to dry on a towel.

Section8 · Post by **Section8** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 6:09 am

LEGOFREAK wrote: If you ever need to clean bulk lego, try this:
I stitched up a pillow case full and washed them in the washer on warm gentle cycle, no bleach, a little bit of detergent.
worked great and then I just spread them out to dry on a towel.

Thanks for the advice, I may do that with some of my dirtier bricks. I don't think the 32 x 32 baseplates would make it through the washer intact though

Drucifer · Post by **Drucifer** » Mon May 02, 2005 6:00 pm

LEGOFREAK wrote:If you ever need to clean bulk lego, try this:
I stitched up a pillow case full and washed them in the washer on warm gentle cycle, no bleach, a little bit of detergent. Very Happy
worked great and then I just spread them out to dry on a towel.

That's a great idea. I've run some pieces through the dishwasher in some of my wife's old nylons tied up at the ends, sort of the same thing, but the pillowcase would allow me to fit a lot more bricks.

Do the pieces get beat up at all from the spinning action of the washer and rubbing together in the pillowcase?

LEGOFREAK · Post by **LEGOFREAK** » Fri May 06, 2005 9:59 pm

mine didnt, but then again, they werent brand new pieces anyway...
and I did use the gentle cycle.