Two questions about care and storing

[superrune]

Hi,

I have a tiny collection of helmets that I am anxious to have on display in our new apartment. We have a typical scandinavian city apartment, small and bright - so there is no chance for me to have the helmets in a dark room. I can keep them out of direct sunlight, but there will be plenty of indirect sunlight in my display room. Is that a problem with plastic? I got three trooper helmets that I'd rather not see turn yellow because of me...

Also, I see that one of my glossiest helmets has a small but very visible scratch in the plastic. Large enough to annoy me, at least! Are there anything I can polish on plastic that will take away the scratch?

Thanks!
Rune

 

[Apollo]

On the scratch try Novus # 2 fine scratch remover. As far as sunlight I have my Helmets in cases which I shroud with a black cloth most of the time, safe than sorry I always say

 

[superrune]

Thanks for replying! Oh man, covering them up like that sounds quite extreme. I really don't want to hide these helmets, I'm proud of them and would like to see them get some air after a year in boxes... Anyone else has problems with bright rooms, or does everyone keep these collectibles in the dark?

About the scratch remover, a website states that it "Removes the damage instead of filling it in", and "The deeper the scratches, the greater the pressure required to remove them". It sounds like the plastic is eroded away! Sounds a bit dangerous to me, have you tried it on trooper plastic?

 

[ave4uevoli]

try cd repair kits. NOT the disk doctor ones.. those just scratch the plastic even more.. But there are ones that actually have tubes of goo and come with a buff cloth. Squirt some on.. and buff until your blue in the face. That should work.

perhaps display cases would be a good investment for you. Spend a bit and you can get ones that have uv protection.. which is one of the main causes of discoloration. Of course, sunlight will still get in, and in your situation there doesn't sound like much you can do about regular light getting in.. but the uv protection should help

 

[superrune]

Thomas - those are great tips - thanks a lot. Will check them both out!

Cheers

 

[nightrider]

Novus is great stuff, unfortunately scratch removal involves abrading the surface down to the depth of the deepest scratch, this is what I do for a living. You have to start with something that will remove the material in a "clean" fashion, and then step up to something else that will remove those scratches and so on until you have a polished surface again. The novus 3 step polishes are designed to do this and they do it quite well if you use them properly.

 

[superrune]

Thanks for the info. Then I'm thinking that novus might not be the best thing for the scratch I've got. It's not big, but it seems to be fairly deep as scratches go. More like a cut, actually. Since it's on the top of the helmet, I don't really want to mess up the profile

 

[ave4uevoli]

just remember to research whatever cd repair kit you get. There are two kinds, abrasive ones, and filler ones. You definitely need a filler one.

I only urge caution because some goos pose as fillers but they're really abrasives that just "even out" the scratches. Either way, Good luck!

 

[KnightAsylum]

I have always been one to show off a collection rather then hide for fear of damage. What good is a collection hidden away, I say just do the best you can (direct sunlight is all I really worry about) and if 10 years from now it needs some touch up or a new paint job then that is OK. You can't put a price of the enjoyment you will have for 10 years seeing them. But that is just me

 

[superrune]

Thanks again for tips and comments.

I found a company here in Norway that sells clear UV film that you can stick to windows. They claim it blocks 99% of all UV radiation, and it's particularily recommended for collectors (they use paintings as an example), since it stops bleaching and discoloration. Sounds like the thing I need

 

[nightrider]

Novus is exactly the right thing to use, that's what it's made for.

 

[obiwan2]

Yes, to nightrider you listen....Novus is your friend And don't forget to post pics too when you're set up