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Cleaning: Need Some Help On Cleaning Vintage Box


RotoBadger

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Well, I finally scored my Nomura Radar Robot! I got a steal on it too as the pictures on Ebay were not very good and, after receiving the robot, I found it to be FILTHY. That is actually great news because I think it will look very nice after I clean the muck off of it. Now here's the deal: After looking closely at the box I realized that it is covered in the same filmy junk as the robot. The seller is the original owner of this robot and, judging by the smell of the box, is a heavy smoker. So I'm guessing its a combination of grease, dirt and smoke. I rubbed a small portion of the box lid with a wet finger and it seems to clean up VERY nicely! Now, how can I do the whole box safely? I want to be very careful not to remove any of the artwork paint whilst taking off the grime.

Suggestions?

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ROTO - Congrats - that one is still on my wishlist too! I would not hasitate to try with WATER only first. Just a moist sponge would do it. Please try very very carefully - at a side flap first. If you are succesful - go on! Please be carefull - that not too much water invade the cardboard. I would also try to bring a very little washing up liquid in the maybe warm water first. Try to use the sponge with very little water first.

BTW -If you have the boxtop apart - it is very usefull to flaten it with a steam iron. (Please use a very clean cloth to protect the box!) And if possible - cool down the box immedeately on a flat iron thing - so it will keep the flat form. ;)

TAKE YOUR TIME!!! and give us some pics before and after - THX!! :P

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Joe and Dirk:

Thanks for the quick replies! I think I will try water first VERY gently. The grime on the box is greasy so I want to make sure I get it all. I will take my time. The one thing I'm happy about is that the box is the later version for Radar Robot. I shows more of a "close-up" of the robot from the chest up rather than the whole robot. I really prefer this box for some reason so I was happy to be able to pick it up.

I will try some cleaning later and post pictures!

Thanks!

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Bread!...yes that's right...bread, just get some soft white bread and roll it into a ball then rub over the dirt and hey presto, the yeast reacts with the dirt and it (usually) comes off, let me know how it goes, :rolleyes:

Noel

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Well, I did the sponge and water tricked and that worked just fine. The box didn't clean up quite as well as I had hoped but I still think there is a nice improvement. The box and robot are not perfect but, for the price I got them for, I am very, very happy and the robot works! Check them out (Be sure to view full scale to see detail:

BEFORE:

post-419-1227748190.jpg

AFTER:

post-419-1227748227.jpg

post-419-1227748246.jpg

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Roto,

I have cleaned a few grimy boxes, and isopropyl alcohol rubbed on with a Q-tip works great! It will not damage the litho ink but definately removes grease and grime. The water cleaning worked ok, but I think the alcohol will do a bit better. Congrats on a great score!

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Great buy there Andy! Especially that scarce box one I'm not familiar with. Another box fan. I love it!! :P

Hey you've saved him! He's no longer a 'NEECOTEEN' robot! Let the healing begin. B)

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Holy cow. That cleaned up really well -- better than I'd have expected. The alcohol might do the trick, if you're careful. Worth a try, perhaps. (Says someone who's NEVER tried cleaning a box and should really probably keep his yap shut! :) )

On the other hand, the smoke might have completely invaded the fibers of the cardboard, in which case you probably won't get it much better without professional restoration. Not sure it's worth the cost... It really does look nice as is.

Congrats on a wonderful addition to your already impressive collection. :)

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ROTO - When I remember - those box in the auction was DIRT&DUST ONLY. So for the first - I can see clear colours - and thats quite nice!! On the other hand yes - maybe a second cleaning with another mixture will recover some other dirt - I have never tried but alcohol would get the more oily or greasy dirts away. So maybe you try a second round - or at some parts only - but for me it looks quite nice already. :)

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I agree that this is the cooler box, it seems older for some reason. Very nice snag Andy congratulations! When you decide on your next robot you really go after it until you have one don't you? ;)

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