Protectobots Restoration

[Hursticon]

As mentioned in the June acquisitions thread,

I picked these guys up at the Dapto Markets for $1.
I felt that it was my duty to rescue them from the bottom of a flower pot of which it would appear that they had resided there for quite some time.

As I'm looking to basically perform a near complete restoration of the three, I was wondering where I should start and hope that you guys would be able to point me in the right direction.

Here are some photos of Streetwise, First Aid and Blades showing the spots where they are affected most:

Streetwise seems to be the most afflicted as it appears that he is also suffering from Electrolysis?:

As you can probably see, all three are suffering from varying degrees of UV Damage, Dirt, Sticker Wear and Rust.

What are your opinions and advice as to where I should start but also what I should do to treat some of these issues as any information would be greatly appreciated and I thank you for your time.

[1orion2many]

I'm lazy, I'd just strip them down and drop the whole lot in a Peroxide bath and see what happens

[5FDP]

Good luck with Streetwise. I think someone made a movie about this once

[kup]

Those 3 guys are not in that bad condition, they are actually better than most despite residing under the flower pot for the last 20 years

Since they don't seem discolored, the H2O2 bath seems redundant. They appear to be just dirty. Give them a good clean with babywipes and then reassess their condition.

Streetwise may not be as deteriorated as he looks. Try to remove the metal chest an use some car polish on it until you remove all the grime and rust until you get to the shiny metal. There will be some imperfections on the surface but it will like 1000 times better than it does now.

First Aid just needs a clean up and some reprolabels.

When it comes to blades, clean him up and see if you can make a 'prosthetic' piece for his broken skid and super glue it in and then paint it white.

[Eruntalon]

Go here - > http://www.reprolabels.com/Autobots/defensor.php ;

And here - > http://www.thetf.net/forum_posts.asp...204&PN=1&TPN=1

Electrolysis - > http://www.fergusonenthusiasts.com/r...%20Charger.pdf ;
You can also try using paint stripper to clean the metal.

[Hursticon]

I'm lazy, I'd just strip them down and drop the whole lot in a Peroxide bath and see what happens

If I were in a rush, then I might of considered this approach.

Good luck with Streetwise. I think someone made a movie about this once

lol, I don't know why they haven't gone further with that approach apart from Spike in the G1 Cartoon, Streetwise may have a couple of questions for you down at the station.

Those 3 guys are not in that bad condition, they are actually better than most despite residing under the flower pot for the last 20 years

Since they don't seem discolored, the H2O2 bath seems redundant. They appear to be just dirty. Give them a good clean with babywipes and then reassess their condition.

Streetwise may not be as deteriorated as he looks. Try to remove the metal chest an use some car polish on it until you remove all the grime and rust until you get to the shiny metal. There will be some imperfections on the surface but it will like 1000 times better than it does now.

Dirst Aid just needs a clean up and some reprolabels.

When it comes to blades, clean him up and see if you can make a 'prosthetic' piece for his broken skid and super glue it in and then paint it white.

I agree, they don't look terribly yellowed apart from First Aid's front windscreen section and his arm but the camera may not of picked it up annoyingly, I'll have to get some better light when I take the next photos.

Cheers for the advice Kup as I've noticed you seem to be pretty well experienced with the restoration with figures, would you be able to suggest a method of removing the old stickers and residue?

Duly noted on Blades and Streetwise's chest, with blades I'll see if I can track down some replacement arms and Streetwise's chest shouldn't be too hard as my Father is quite knowledgeable in that department.

Go here - > http://www.reprolabels.com/Autobots/defensor.php ;

And here - > http://www.thetf.net/forum_posts.asp...204&PN=1&TPN=1

Electrolysis - > http://www.fergusonenthusiasts.com/r...%20Charger.pdf ;
You can also try using paint stripper to clean the metal.

Cheers for the links Eruntalon.

The H202 thread looks quite interesting - It certainly seems to give figures a new lease on life.

The Electrolysis link I'll definitely give a good read but that area should be sweet as, like I said to Kup, my Father is pretty good in that department.

Cheers for the direct link for the Reprolabels too, I'm certainly looking forward to your progress on Fort Max as well, just got to find a dried lake bed to sit him in.


Thanks a lot everyone for your input and advice, I'll post some progress pics tomorrow hopefully but I'll definitely try to update this project regularly.

[gamblor916]

I would separate all the plastic from the metal parts and chuck the plastic into a detergent bath for a couple of days. I'd use something like a concentrated detergent/degreaser used to clean floors and the like. I guarantee that all the dirt will disappear and stickers slide right off leaving clean bare plastic. This won't affect the paint either.

[Hursticon]

I would separate all the plastic from the metal parts and chuck the plastic into a detergent bath for a couple of days. I'd use something like a concentrated detergent/degreaser used to clean floors and the like. I guarantee that all the dirt will disappear and stickers slide right off leaving clean bare plastic. This won't affect the paint either.

Cheers Gamblor, I'll definitely be seperating all the bits and pieces when cleaning them and if the detergents get rid of the stickers and residue in one go, that'll make things much easier.

[gamblor916]

I suspect they'll come out quite nice. The bots don't have a lot of play wear and the paint looks quite good.

[liegeprime]

Use diluted OMO, its good in small quantities. From the looks of the pics its just mostly dirt and grime, a few good baths , some elbow grease with an old toothbrush to clean it will give it a good nice lease of new life. For Blades, I actually have a junker blades which have the landing gears you need.

Its an amazing find actually Hursty. Especially Streetwise. You have no idea how many times Ive always seen one that ALWAYS is MISSING the hood, and for Blades to have intact rotors, soooo lucky! So for you to find a complete ones for that amazing price is absolutely awesome!! Cant wait for this project's progress pics. good luck!