FUD wax removal.

This weekend I went out in search for Bestine on the recommendation of FrankNscale.

While I didn't find Bestine, I browsed the cleaners and spotted Goo Gone and De-Solv-It Citrus.

De-Solve-It was more expensive (~9 bucks), but the label says it specifically removes wax, among others. As I was on a budget I saved this product for my next go.

Goo Gone was 3 bucks, so I picked one up.

The process took just minutes and resulted in perfectly clean, wax free model (with no discoloration/whitening), ready for paint. I'm surprised that Goo Gone has not been discussed before.

1. Rinse and brush away any large blobs of wax.
2. Using a toothbrush that has been sitting in hot water (which softens it's bristles), dip the brush and FUD part in Goo Gone and lightly scrub all surfaces 2-3 times. Rinse/swash the brush every so often to remove the removed wax so you don't just spread it around. Re-dip the brush in Goo Gone and continue.
3.Quickly rinse and brush again in warm-soapy water.

Done.

Sounds like good stuff, which variety of Goo Gone did you use? Have you tried painting cleaned parts yet?

I'm not aware of different varieties of Goo Gone, but my bottle says Citrus Power.

Here's a painted (no primer), Goo Gone cleaned, model.
(Black is Polly Scale Acrylic, Red and Yellow is Testors Enamel)

Goo Gone sounds interesting. Is there any particular brand of soap used to final cleaning?
I was thinking of the post that mentions soap can contain Lanolin which can have effects on the FUD.

Bob

Lanolin should have no effect on FUD at all, though it may prevent paint adhering properly.

I have a suggestion that might work well to break up chunky bits on some pieces: Dental floss. I was about to consider using some on my pendants when I realised it could be used on models like the mini rubiks cube.

I expecting a FUD part pretty soon that consists of a grid with 0,4mm thickness and 8mm between the sections, first this model was rejected due to that it probably would warp at cleaning, but I might get it anyway since I would take the risk of warping and I was wondering what's the best way to clean such a structure, I have read this entire thread and there's many options to choose from but since my model is an open grid i guess leaving it in a hot space would cause the wax to melt and escape the grid, but I haven't ordered any FUD before so maybe it's not as easy as i imagine?

If you live in the US and have a Michael's Hobby store nearby, Bestine is great for cleaning FUD

I'm in Denmark :S I haven't heard about Bestine, but what's the ingredients? Maybe they something similar here, but I think the biggest challenge is that I'll have 1 try only for this so the method needs to really work the first time.

This link will help for info about Bestine.

Thank you for the hint!
I have searched for Bestine and can see it's not really available to me over here. But is the product so good that I should order something or, based on my explanation, would other methods be just as good for removing wax from such a grid structure?

:laughing:
try this link

Although, I've not tried it myself ithers have had good results with the product. I'm waiting on a delivery for some FUD prints (~11th) and will be using an ultrasonic cleaner.

I use 90% isopropyl alcohol because, frankly, I don't like the idea of washing my models in gasoline.

I've read through most of those, and tried most. I have not read through all of these suggestions so maybe this method has already been mentioned.
I have minor success with chemicals because of the nature of my model,
Finally I took the figure and placed it on a couple of paper napkins and went over it with a hair dryer. You don't have to get it too hot for the wax to start flowing, just move the hair dryer over the piece back and forth and in no time the wax perculates out of the holes in the model.
Then clean off the residue which has deposited itself on the outer surface with the solvent of your choice and a cloth applicator that sheds no lent.
I use an old piece of linen cut up.
I found it also helps to clamp the napkins down to keep them from getting blown all around by the hair dryer.
Sorry if this method has already been mentioned.

This is a transparent view of the figure to give you some idea of the amount of wax I am talking about.
This particular figue has 2 holes. One 2 mm hole at the top of the head and one 1 mm hole at the bottom of the torso.

Just to share one more war story:

I have a model with mm scale encapsulated channels. I have had good success with the following method:

1) Heat the model up to 60°C to melt the wax.
2) Pressurize the channels with a syringe to push out the molten wax.
3) Push through toluene (a standard organic solvent), to clean away any wax residues.

The toluene doesn't seem to dissolve or discolor the plastic. I haven't tried painting the models, but I assume it works after the toluene has dried.

Just be sure to use adequate ventilation and be aware of the fire hazard when working with toluene (as always consult the Material Safety Data Sheet for any new materials, for example here: <a href="http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927301" target="_blank"></a>

KBG

Have you tried Heptane? There's a product called Bestine available from hobby stores such as Michaels. It has worked very well for me cutting the wax.

Toulene is not something you really want to use without a fume cupboard. See section 11 of this

Thanks, for the suggestions on heptane. I am in Sweden, so I am not sure I will find Bestine in stores here, but I will try to see if I can get hold of heptane in another form. It is of course preferable to use the least nasty chemical that will do the job.

I am working in a fumehood with the toluene, and that is definitely advisable.

KBG

so you can or cant use acetone?

mine had some kind of crystalization on it still trying to figure out how to get that off any ideas?