The Energon Pub

Hi,

First time poster, long time peruser here.

I read through the sticked maintenance thread, but there isn't any information there regarding this subject. I was surprised to not see such a thred stickied as it would seem to me to be a #1 topic with most people here, well, besides trying to convince Hasbro to produce ALL the seekers, especially Sunstorm!

Anyway, back on topic. I have a large collection of '84-'88 Transformers. A lot have seen some pretty devastating battles in their day and could use some work. Idea for a show! "Pimp my G1 Decepticon."

So the issues I wantwd to touch upon are as follows:

1) Loose joints. I have some that won't even stay transformed anymore. (Especially true of Runabout and Runamuck for some reason. Mine will not stay transformed in either robot or vehicle modes.) Please recommend any ways to tighten up the joints including the tools needed.

2)Repaints. What is the process for returning them to like new condition? What products do you use to aqpply the paint, and what type of paint?

3)Sticker replacement. I don't know about ya'll, but paying $20- for a G1 sticker book does not sit well with me. Any ideas for replacement stickers? Also, how do you remove the old stickers claenly?

4) Redoing the chrome. I am lucky in that most of mine have excellent chrome. However, I do have a couple with some flaking. Any ways to fix this?

5)How do you remove yellowing, given that you do not want to repaint them?

If possible, please include pictures for any complicated procedure.

Both my Soundwave and Blaster have issues with their doors. Blaster's won't stay shut, and Soundwave's needs a little tug to open. I assume this is a common issue after throwin them off the roof with a parachute made out of a silk handkerchief. Any ideas for a fix?

Given that there is a need for such a post, I would be more than happy to take all the responses I get here an put together a guide with all the inforation that the mods can sticky. Please let me know if you would like this, and please also pose any other questions that I may have missed.

P.S. Now you see why I do not post. My posts always end being waay long. Trust me, this is one of my shortest posts ever.

I've seen longer posts...

1. Model glue (Testors, for example) lightly applied works, as does a small dab of hot melt glue or clear nail polish - if you're doing repaints even the paint itself can tighten a joint (though this risks wearing away your new paint job.) On all of these methods, though, you'll want to move the joint every couple minutes so that it doesn't end up glued in one position.

2. When I'm painting (usually custom work), I personally prefer basic brushes and Testors Acrylics (NOT Enamels, Enamels take forever to dry and remain sticky. Acrylics dry in maybe half an hour or so) or Games Workshop's Citadel paints.

3. I don't know about removing them, but a lot of people rely on Reprolabels for replacement stickers.

5. Haven't personally tried it yet, but I've heard toothpaste works.

Stormrider wrote:#5 - I am not sure if Yellowing can be corrected.

It can, though it's more of a temporary thing.

Anyone who wants to try this should try it out on a junker first.

I did it on a Astrotrain that I restored.

Basically you lightly sand the affected area back until the yellow is gone and the white is showing again. Then you get a bit of white car polish and buff the areas. You could probably try clear coating it as well to protect it, but like I said, it's only a temporary thing.

There's probably a bunch of other ways as well but I don't think any are permanent either.

As far as chrome goes, I don't think there's much you can do there. Someone posted here on Seibertron a few years ago that he had a friend who professionally chromed for a living and got him to rechrome a few weapons, it worked, but it was an expensive process and not worth it in the long run. That's the only story i've heard there, again, may be other methods.

Thanks for the welcomes.

I had read the maintenance thread and had come here tonight to look it up, but found the posts missing. This post can replace this if the mods want. Once I get enough information, I'll make upa little old guide.

Anyway, Could you go into greater depth on the use of model glue or clear nail polish on joints? As in, do you take the model apart and apply it on the inside? If so, on both the limb and the joint, or just one? Can this be done without taking the TF apart?

Also, with painting, how do yuou do it so you get a nice smooth surface with no brush strokes. Do you clear coat it afterwards? Anyone tried baking the TF in the oven after applying the paint? I heard when real cars are professionally painted, it is done in a heated envioronment. Like maybe an oven set at 125? Would this make a diffeence?

Reprolabels looks great. Any ideas as to how to get the old labels off?

Also, anyone tried white paint to cure yellowing? How does it look? Hmm, I wonder how a whiteneing toothpaste or the Crest Whitestrips maybe? What about bleach?

Double Post

Bonger wrote:Anyway, Could you go into greater depth on the use of model glue or clear nail polish on joints? As in, do you take the model apart and apply it on the inside? If so, on both the limb and the joint, or just one? Can this be done without taking the TF apart?

Best to use nail polish.

Most of the recent lines of TF's use ball joints, so you just coat the ball.

Older TF's will most likely require some disassembly. G1 figures are pretty easy to take apart and put back together anyway. Always apply on the inside and stick to just one surface (either the limb or the joint, don't do both). Depending on how worn down things are it may take a couple of coats to get it back to proper thickness.

1) Loose joints.
Depends on the type of joint used. For ball joints, some people use a thin coating of hairspray or nail polish. Since I own neither, and I don't like to put chemicals on plastic toys (because I don't know if it will damage the plastic in the long run or not) I place a tiny piece of kleenex or tissue paper on the ball joint and pop it into the socket. On many of the older G1 figures it might be as simple as tightening some of the screws that hold the figure together. On others, too much of the plastic is worn away inside so it might be better to replace the figure.

2)Repaints.
I don't repaint my figures (though considering painting Classics Starscream's face) so this info would help me out too.

3)Sticker replacement. as mentioned before, try reprolables. To remove them, there is a product called "goo-gone" that is supposed to work well in removing old sticker residue.

4) Redoing the chrome. Not really unless you know someone who has access to chroming equipment (like a mechanic/car customizer). I don't know how well the chrome pens/paint works. Another option is to find junkers that have good chrome off of eBay and switch the parts.

5)How do you remove yellowing?
In most cases you can't without using abrasives which could damage the finish. Yellowing is like the plastic got sunburned. It is caused by UV rays from the sun, cigarette smoke, and poor chemical mixing. If I understand it correctly, an agent is added to the manufacturing of the plastic to prevent discoloration from UV light. Sometimes not enough is added or a poor quality "sunblock" is used. Over time it becomes less effective and thus you have yellowing. Usually the lighter colors, especially white, are more susceptible to this than dark colors but there have been instances where darker colors have also yellowed. The only other solution is to replace the figure.

oh and Welcome to Seibertron!

Bonger wrote:Hi,
1) Loose joints. I have some that won't even stay transformed anymore. (Especially true of Runabout and Runamuck for some reason. Mine will not stay transformed in either robot or vehicle modes.) Please recommend any ways to tighten up the joints including the tools needed.

2)Repaints. What is the process for returning them to like new condition? What products do you use to aqpply the paint, and what type of paint?

3)Sticker replacement. I don't know about ya'll, but paying $20- for a G1 sticker book does not sit well with me. Any ideas for replacement stickers? Also, how do you remove the old stickers claenly?

4) Redoing the chrome. I am lucky in that most of mine have excellent chrome. However, I do have a couple with some flaking. Any ways to fix this?

5)How do you remove yellowing, given that you do not want to repaint them?

If possible, please include pictures for any complicated procedure.

Both my Soundwave and Blaster have issues with their doors. Blaster's won't stay shut, and Soundwave's needs a little tug to open. I assume this is a common issue after throwin them off the roof with a parachute made out of a silk handkerchief. Any ideas for a fix?

Given that there is a need for such a post, I would be more than happy to take all the responses I get here an put together a guide with all the inforation that the mods can sticky. Please let me know if you would like this, and please also pose any other questions that I may have missed.

P.S. Now you see why I do not post. My posts always end being waay long. Trust me, this is one of my shortest posts ever.

Okay here are some of my tips, I've restored a few G1 guys myself over the last few years.

1) Clear Nail polish, model glue, or something similiar can be dripped into the joint. Then start moving the joint constantly for several minutes. Not only will this help the substance fill all the gaps and thus better tighten the joint, but also keep the joint from locking in one position as the substance dries. Use only a small amount at a time, and if its not tight enough add a little more. Its much easier to add then it is to try and remove excess.

2) First use acyrilics on all plastic parts. Enamels can be used on metals, but evne then I perfer acrylics myself. Mix more then you need of whatever color your going for, since its hard to get a perfect match if you have to make more. Always mask off parts you don't want to paint before starting. Makes cleanup easier and helps prevent mistakes. Use a small fine tip brush and paint in thin layers, or if you can afford it go with an airbrush, and again use small thin coats. It will help keep it looking smoother and much nicer, and again its easier to fix mistakes this way. For fine detail spots I often use a toothpick dipped in the paint, it takes longer but its worth it for hte extra control.

3) Reprolables.com is the best and right now i think the only place for reproduction stickers for G1 bots. They have the majority of G1 available and some G2 and beyond, as well as custom sets. Pricers are good, shipping is fast, and Delta and the crew over there are jsut great people to deal with. As for removing the old beat up stickers. I like to soak the old sticker with water using a Q-Tip, keep it wet for about ten minutes or so, then start rubbing it with your finger, it should basically slide right off. Then dab a little Goo Gone on a Q-tip and rub off the sticker residue that remains. Rinse it afterwards and you should end up with a clean surface ready for new stickers. Some might need a little extra elbow grease, but this should work for most.

4) For the vacuchromed peices your pretty much stuck. No way to truly redo the chrome with out a machine designed to do it. And your never going to get an exact match with paint. However if you have some that are really bad you can clean off the remaining bits of chrome using rubbing alcohol and a stick bristled brush and then paint them. There are some decent chrome paints out there in spray cans. You can often find them in the Auto repair area, or jsut buy bottled Chrome acrylic paint.

5) As for yellowing again in most cases your screwed. Yellowing is a result of the chemical makeup of the plastic changing due to age and exposure to the elements (ie smoke, sunlight, etc) For ones that only light smoke damage the toothpaste trick can sometimes work. Use a gritty whitening toothpaste and a stick bristled brush and scrub, this will basically polish of the top layer of yellowed plastic and reveal the whiter layer beneath. Then buff it with a soft rag. However for sun burnt figures there is no way to make them white again short of painting them. Basically any chemical that could whiten then would also weaken the plastic dramatically.

6) As to the Blaster and Soundwave issues. In both cases you'd have to open them up to find out the exact problem, for Soundwave sounds like the spring may have disconnected, thus when you push on the button its not releasing the catch like its supposed to, and for Blaster it may be the other way around, the spring is stuck holding the catch open. I'd be careful opening them since the springs could easily get lost. They probably aren't hard fixes, but without opening them its hard to say what the exact problem is.

Hope some of this helps.

Thanks for all the input everyone! Lots of great info here.

Any more ideas would be very welcome!

Additionally, if you have any tools you use, could you please list them as well.

Thanks!

I looked at Reprolabels. Are the stickers as good irl as they appear online? Also, when I look up a combiner team member, the sticker sheet appears to cover all of the team. Is that impression accurate. That goes for the minis as well. The sheet for cosmos apparantly covers a number of minis. Correct? If so, this looks like quite a good deal.

Well, a good deal, except for the Fortress Maximus labels. They are $50 Buy it now on ebay.

Oh and I LIKE those Autobot/Decpeticon symbol label sheets. I can finally give my Classics that finishing touch they are so desperately Craving.

Well, that is once I repaint Starscream the red he should be, and Astro Train to black and purple.

BTW, has anyone bought the miniature symbol sheet from reprolabels. Are those a good size for the classics or would you advise going with the regular faction sheets?