Cleaning Minis with a Magic Eraser - Visuals included!

[Noctu]

Hello! I don't know about the rest of you, but I am a very visual person (especially when it comes to doing things that I am mildly afraid may completely and utterly destroy something I am rather fond of… I guess I like proof). I did some sleuthing through the forums and multiple times the ability of magic erasers to help clean spots on pops were mentioned, but I was really hoping to see some imagery. Either I am a lousy detective (possible) or I just never clicked the right link but I finally had to take the plunge and just try it for myself.

The setup: I bought a lot of horror mystery minis off of eBay, and was all excited when they arrived. Upon opening them, however, I was mildly horrified (oh the drama of it all). The vast majority of them had escaped their bubble wrap and were having a little too much fun in a mosh pit of careless abandon. Lots of little paint transfer spots were decorating the minis and I was not exactly a happy addict. And so, for anyone else who might be curious (or a chicken like I was ) here is how it went for me.


My minis were all smooshed together. Eek! Also, you can see the paint coming off on the eraser, plus the shriveled mass that was left over after working with it.


Sorry, I started taking the photos on my pant leg before I thought… "Hey! I could jazz this up a bit with a fancy background and then people will be all 'Oooh, that's so classy!'" So I went with it.
(Spots: Jason's legs, Freddy's Hat, Ghost Face's chest & left Arm; Billy's Face, Ash's Face, Michael's Eye & pants [after shot shows a reflection on the eye so no worries, I did not scrub the paint off!])


I just gently rubbed at the spots enough to either remove completely or minimize the spots/lines/weird marks. Some areas were way more noticeable (like Chucky was practically rocking some age spots on his youthful dome) and others were harder to spot casually but I'm particular.
(Spots: Chucky's face & Jumper, Leatherface's Face & Eyes and all over his back from head to toe, Hannibal's Eye, jacket, & pants, and all over his backside, Spaulding's Jacket)

TLDR: Ultimately, as long as you're not overly vigorous, using a Magic Eraser is a pretty safe route to go for those minor spots that need a little TLC.

[lunarembrace]

Thanks for this! I was thinking about this last night because I have a couple pops that have one little spot where they either fell off the shelf or some pops just came to me with a big black spot on their face.

[Birdeh]

do you think this'd work with the mystery smudges some of the minis shipping from China have?

[Alleycat]

Great narrative, pics and results.

Oooh, that's so classy!

[case]

Thanks Lyn!

[Noctu]

Glad to be of help!

Lunarembrace, I'm betting it would work like a dream for those. It sounds similar to my issues and I know people use them on the bigger pops (thanks to my expert detective work ).

Birdeh, I think it would all depend on the defects at hand. I think of it like actual skin. You can scrub marker off of your hand but if it's something like a mole you'd be hard pressed to get that scrubbed off without damage. In other words I would proceed with caution.

Alleycat, why thank you! it is classy, isn't it? Lol. Thank you as well for the kind words!

Case, and thank you for reading and replying.

[wenhol8710]

Brilliant. Thanks for this.

I finally got up the nerve to take the Magic Eraser to the Fluttershy MM I got on eBay a little while ago that had some very similar marks going on - and it even took off the black marks on her mane that I thought were the paint scraped off. Turned out to just be scuffs - Yay!

[Birdeh]

Brilliant. Thanks for this.

I finally got up the nerve to take the Magic Eraser to the Fluttershy MM I got on eBay a little while ago that had some very similar marks going on - and it even took off the black marks on her mane that I thought were the paint scraped off. Turned out to just be scuffs - Yay!

I'm really glad this worked for you because it means I'm going to buy one of those fluttershy's and try it ;u;

[wenhol8710]

Brilliant. Thanks for this.

I finally got up the nerve to take the Magic Eraser to the Fluttershy MM I got on eBay a little while ago that had some very similar marks going on - and it even took off the black marks on her mane that I thought were the paint scraped off. Turned out to just be scuffs - Yay!

I'm really glad this worked for you because it means I'm going to buy one of those fluttershy's and try it ;u;

It worked great! I just got Spitfire in the mail today, I haven't tried it on her yet but I'm sure it's going to work just as well.

[Noctu]

I can't even begin to express how happy I am that it's working well for you all. I am so particular about mine (I was actually devastated when I opened the box... quite dramatic, I know).

[hawkman2]

Or just never open the packages.

[angrykoalagear]

Guess I better pick up a couple magic erasers.

[Noctu]

Or just never open the packages.

This totally made me have a Schrödinger's cat moment, imagining my mini both in pristine and tarnished condition simultaneously... I couldn't handle it... The need to open the box would be too great! For regular Pop's though I can resist as they don't have that inherent mystery about them. XD

[MannieTheDragon]

On the subject of cleaning minis. I have more than a few that have some pretty lousy spots where the glue dribbled to places other than where it was supposed to. And the day before yesterday, I pulled a headless herschel that looks like someone had fresh glue on their hand/glove/whatever, and touched his hand. Is there any safe way to remove this stuff without destroying the figure? I know boiling water softens most glue. But I wanna be really careful here, because most of these figures I'm referring to are the harder to find chase figures (1:72, 1:144.)

[Noctu]

First, congratulations! You have my envy in endless amounts over your pull! I have not tried to alter that glue issue, but I have also seen it on my series 3 Walking Dead… fortunately it has always been on pieces I have duplicates of so I just have picked the best one and never thought twice about it. I would be afraid to try any solvent for fear it would attack the paint (which would be a far more serious issue). If you do try something, post back and let us all know! I think personally, I would try to accept it unless it was really driving me batty… in that case I would pick a lower value common and play mad doctor.

[Ghostface]

thanks for the tips. as for the person who packed these. couldnt of they individually packed each figure with a small bubble wrap and then placed inside the box instead of smudging them all together? some figures with pieces sticking out might bend upon hitting other figures. a true nightmare O_O

i havent purchased open box mini from ebay however i am considering to complete the TMNT minis. i was lucky to get 6 different figures from the blind boxes

[Alleycat]

Can't find my Magic Erasers. They may have disappeared.

[Noctu]

First, sorry everyone for the super duper spectacularly late replies. Had a massive family emergency and that took precedence over everything. I am just starting to catch up on the more pleasurable areas of my internet existence (plus I went and bought a sealed box of supernatural minis from hot topic and have been debating how/if I should record opening them.. but I'm off on the wrong tangent now).

Ghostface, that ebayer could have done so much more to prevent the free-for-all mass murderer rampage going on inside the box… somehow I managed to get little ceramic bunny chopstick holders from Taiwan mailed in a bubble mailer that came more securely wrapped than something shipped from within the continental US. I guess, fortunately for everyone else, my ebayer gave me the opportunity to make this handy dandy guide so it is a "silver lining" I suppose.

Oh Alleycat! That is the problem with magic erasers. Magic is an incredibly unstable element, as you no doubt are aware, and it often lures in an undesirable lot who covet that magic. The erasers are probably already being sold on the black market. These are tough times we live in.

[MindlessMystery]

Thank goodness for this post, had a few minis with scuffed paint and by chance tried the eraser trick. Worked like a charm. I'm a believer in magic now.

[XavierSoup]

Magic Erasers work really great...I've cleaned countless marks and smudges with mine!!

[amandadnama3]

Thanks for putting this together. I need to try this on a few of mine

[Sincerely]

is anyone else having trouble viewing the images? it says requested image offline... I really wanna try this I have a BUNCH of magic erasers lying around!

[kiptrip]

magic eraser is a life saver for collectors!! I've used them on my Vinylmation - they work a dream.

[Childishtycoon]

Thanks for the info, I boxed a bunch of minis together and had some paint transfers. will definitely go buy some now, dont know why I never thought of it

[ObscureAKG]

Awesome tips. Thanks!

[jenjen]

Interesting and good to know, thanks.

[Anna27]

Ooohhhh... Will try this later! Thanks for the tip!
Scuffs on my minis ticks me off and don't know how to take them off. I was scared that it might ruin the paint job and all.

[GhostAsparagus]

This worked like a charm. Much obliged. 10/10 would recommend to a friend.

[nyel24]

thanks for the tips.

[Kwiksilverpop]

Awesome tip thanks!

[Thrillofthehunt]

Stumbled across this thread and tried it, works like a charm. thanks!

[Kungfutoys]

The Magic Eraser is amazing! I've cleaned so many dirty vinyl figures and it works great!

[cerealkiller]

this has been in house in bulk for years. Between collectibles and just reg house cleaning, one of the best inventions in out lifetime, no joke

also, it works best slightly damp. I know some people use dry and it's not near as effective. And, don't rub too hard. It will only take off sloppy paint and smudges, unfortunately chips are permanent.

another tip with the minis is if you have an unbalanced one, use a blow dryer and heat up the legs (or whatever part needed to be re-positioned). You can either press down firmly on a flat surface until it cools completely or place shims or whatever else fits between legs to position to desire.

[post31]

Thanks for the tip I'll give this a try.

[post31]

Thanks for the tip I'll give this a try.

It worked and works on pops also. Thank you so much for the tip.

[popmad2016]

My Alfred Hitchcock was a bit dirty from being having fell on the ground during my move to the new place here. I literally just rinsed him under the tap for a few seconds and it worked a treat. It started to dry nicely on it's own within a few seconds, but I still dabbed a tissue over it and especially in the crevises. Anyway, long story short it worked really well and Alfred looks better than outta the box now!

[Jason1224]

this has been in house in bulk for years. Between collectibles and just reg house cleaning, one of the best inventions in out lifetime, no joke

also, it works best slightly damp. I know some people use dry and it's not near as effective. And, don't rub too hard. It will only take off sloppy paint and smudges, unfortunately chips are permanent.

another tip with the minis is if you have an unbalanced one, use a blow dryer and heat up the legs (or whatever part needed to be re-positioned). You can either press down firmly on a flat surface until it cools completely or place shims or whatever else fits between legs to position to desire.

Thanks for the tip on minis that won't stand up, I'm gonna give that a try this week. I've got several that I have to lean against the wall to Lee them from falling over.

[DaPopz]

Are the Magic Erasers of Mr Clean any good?

[Geescube]

Are the Magic Erasers of Mr Clean any good?

Thats the only kind i use. And thanks to this thread i am now reminded that i need some more!

[DaPopz]

Are the Magic Erasers of Mr Clean any good?

Thats the only kind i use. And thanks to this thread i am now reminded that i need some more!

How long do you rub one spot? How much pressure? I do not want the paint to come off.