Problems with cleaning paint off....figures becoming brittle

[Arkoudaki]

Hi all,

Well I found a bunch of soft plastic figs (ESCI, Italeri, Airfix, etc) that had been sitting around with primer on them for some time...many many years probably. So I decided to strip the primer off and have a go with some Badger Stynylrez Primer. However, to get to that point, I opted to use some 91% Alcohol on them to clean off the paint. I placed them in my ultrasonic cleaner with some of the 91% Alcohol and let it run for a few 6 min cycles. Now the paint came off fairly quickly but I also noticed that the figures had become quite brittle, especially the ESCI ones, and some broken up (at the ankles, some bits, etc). Now I am unsure whether it was down to just the old age of the ESCI plastics (or its quality) or if the process described had something to do with it....any thoughts?????????????????? I noticed once I got the figs into the cool water batch they did stiffed up again better.

I have used 91% Alcohol for all sorts of cleaning purposes on plastic models but never had this happen before. Like I said, perhaps it was the original primer and the process of time...or perhaps something else.... Do let me know your thoughts on this situation.

Thanks in advance.

Rob

[Beano Boy]

If you have figures you have not treated see if they brake easily before trying to clean them.
if they do,it is a classic example of Plastic Fatigue and they are only fit for the bin.
Some spray paint primers can also cause this problem. Or your own method of blasting them. BB