removing weathering from 1/6 Sideshow C-3PO?

I couldn't justify spending $400 for the super shiny one, so I got the less expensive ANH-weathered C-3PO. Fortunately it's still got some gleam, and the black wash isn't overly glopped on in my case (unlike some photos I've seen), but I am not in love with the drippy streaks, especially on the head. I know some oily streaks are ANH accurate but I don't want them.

Has anyone tried removing them? Just working out ideas on what might attack them without affecting the gold finish. Yes, I might experiment on the bottom of the foot....

OdiWan72 may be interested in an answer, too He could chime in with his experiences in trying to remove the weathering, though.

I did not have any luck removing the -in my case- heavily applied weathering.

I avoided to use any kind of alcohol based paint thinner, acetone etc., but turpentine.
Put it on some cotton buds and started to gently rub the overdone areas.

While I was able to remove a tiny bit of the brown paint, I found the gold chrome fading as well.
Thta´s where I stopped my efforts and displayed it as it is.

STill think about getting the japanese metal C3PO instead...

Very curious what you come up with, maybe some other kind of chemical I was hesitant to use myself so far...

did you ever have any success removing/ toning down the weathering?

just curious...

try varsol, I removed the heavy cheezy weathering on my neca Power loader