hey, new to this forum but longtime keeper of a huge diecast collection that was both mine and my dad's - these are originals dating from the 30s thru
early - 70s, all kept in a few big basement display cases in my parents basement to-date. - I am trying to inventory them after a lot of years have gone by...

hoping to get some advice here on what to do or where to look for answers
about cleaning - oxidation, dust/dirt removal, preparation for photography...
storing properly etc. Just started looking around here and a few other forums in the past few months as time allows -

I'm mostly worried about humidity that's done a job on a few of em -- discoloration - spotting, yellowing on finishes etc.

Thanks for any help, and much appreciation for the forums!

Mike

It would be wonderful to see photos of your collection as it is before you start cleaning it,not only to see the task you face but to document the origins of the collection especially if there happen to be some very rare colour variations present.I bet the sense of time that has passed is very strong in your basement!
1930s Dinkys were made with a significant lead content so today it is rare to find any that dont have signs of metal fatigue- to preserve these some collector coat the inside only of the casting with transparent resin.
There is no way to undo sun damage,its permenant
Some water damage can be reversed -warm soapy water will freshen up castings that do not have paper stickers or decals.A q-tip soaked in a normal strength household cleaner can remove some stubborn stains, but wipe off afterwards with a damp cloth to avoid discolouring paintwork
Malt vinegar will remove oxidisation from axles and baseplates but keep it off the paintwork!

I use the mildest approach first for cleaning dust and grime - Q-tip or Kleenex with water first. That takes care of a lot of it. Then some dish soap in water next with a Q-tip. Then rinse.

Storage - temp and humidity control is best - so I use my basement that stays cool all the time. Obviously do not store in a cabinet near the window (avoid the sun!). Humidity is high in the midwest US in the summer so I run a de-humidifier, especially in the basement.

Thanks for your time and feedback thus far folks. This is a big help and it's good to know that there's some hope for cleaning without damaging finishes.

I will try to get some wide shots of the full collection posted - of course photography is a whole 'nother topic I need to deal with! Fortunately I have
found some good macrophotography tips - looks like a telephoto lens would save me a lot of time. I'm hoping I can avoid having to go to a pricier camera and get away with an attachment for my Kodak A740 : )

Thanks again,

Mike

Thanks for your time and feedback thus far folks. This is a big help and it's good to know that there's some hope for cleaning without damaging finishes.

I will try to get some wide shots of the full collection posted - of course photography is a whole 'nother topic I need to deal with! Fortunately I have
found some good macrophotography tips - looks like a telephoto lens would save me a lot of time. I'm hoping I can avoid having to go to a pricier camera and get away with an attachment for my Kodak A740 : )

Thanks again,

Mike
There are plenty of chances in regualr shops special offers to buy brand new £50/$100 Nikon or Canon digital cameras with really good macro & flash that run on rechargeable AA batteries so cost nothing to run.........

Thanks! Will have to do some online homework on this...

Much appreciated and will definitely check into the options
out there when I get a chance.

Mike

Hi, proceeded to try a couple of cleanings, one on a white-finish 60-something
Mustang. Q-tip/mild soap/q-tip rinse and blow-dry method for detailing worked well on that one. Able to remove a lot brownish residue spots.

On a somewhat older, dust-embedded Dinky Dodge Polara, some problems -
with a light dab of Q-tip, water-only, on some of the dirt specks, it resulted
in paint chipping, (pin-point size chips) - i.e., metal exposed where the dirt
residue had been. I stopped and dried that one.

Before I go any further, I'm rethinking how to approach this- If oxidation has
set in on many of these, which this kind of suggests - what's the alternate
approach if any. If even mild cleaning can cause paint removal... is there a
rule of thumb on whether to attempt anything more than dry dusting (though
these really are more embedded with dust "marks" - from, unfortunately a lot of years of neglect). Would there be any possible approach to arrest any further corrosion? I know this probably is subjective based on each individual model's condition but just trying to get some reference points to
move forward with - what is looking like a way more time consuming task than I first imagined... But then, most of you probably already knew that : )

Thanks again for any ideas,

Mike

That seems to be awfully bad luck with the Dinky. Never had paint come off before - either it was grim or some chemical reaction from the grim that took the paintoff. Or just happens to be metal fatigue under the paint? So you have to decide - clean and chipped OR dirty and unknown? Bad choices!

Do you see cracking or other signs of metal fatigue? Some pictures might help. Did these come from a smoker's house? Good luck!

Karl, this one did have a lot grime spots - notably more dirt-specked than others. Seems to have already had some scratchiness on the windshield plastic. No-Smoking house.
Will try and get pics together sometime soon. Main thing about this collection, both the
diecast and larger-scale resin model collection of my dad's -- they've pretty much gone
untouched - and unattended - inside sliding-glass-door shelved cases in a basement for...
well, since the late-1970s. No real cleaning has ever occured -- and i can't really account for whatever the annual Summer humidity might have done - other than to say that there was never a dehumidifier running. So, maybe to a large extent this is a salvage job. Our Midwest US Summer (Michigan) is about 4 months. I guess, multiplying that times some 40 years or so, i shouldn't be surprised to find some severe effect on many of them -

just hope I can save most of the collection and do the right stuff to prevent any more oxidation.

Thanks again for any and all advice,

Mike

Hi, proceeded to try a couple of cleanings, one on a white-finish 60-something
Mustang. Q-tip/mild soap/q-tip rinse and blow-dry method for detailing worked well on that one. Able to remove a lot brownish residue spots.

On a somewhat older, dust-embedded Dinky Dodge Polara, some problems -
with a light dab of Q-tip, water-only, on some of the dirt specks, it resulted
in paint chipping, (pin-point size chips) - i.e., metal exposed where the dirt
residue had been. I stopped and dried that one.

Before I go any further, I'm rethinking how to approach this- If oxidation has
set in on many of these, which this kind of suggests - what's the alternate
approach if any. If even mild cleaning can cause paint removal... is there a
rule of thumb on whether to attempt anything more than dry dusting (though
these really are more embedded with dust "marks" - from, unfortunately a lot of years of neglect). Would there be any possible approach to arrest any further corrosion? I know this probably is subjective based on each individual model's condition but just trying to get some reference points to
move forward with - what is looking like a way more time consuming task than I first imagined... But then, most of you probably already knew that : )

Thanks again for any ideas,

Mike

If the paint has oxidised so much that its no longer stuck to the metal, merely lying on top of the metal, then theres nothing to be done to clean such a fragile skin of paint.However if the paint is just brittle, firstly only work on the casting when it is gradually warmed to warm room temperature, and if water is too harsh then sometimes a soft cotton cloth and a good quality car wax will remove stains from whatever paint still has some adhesion to the metal.Sudden temperature changes can cause paint flaking, as can excess heat or cold - normal warm room temps of 70F or 20C will give the best chance of keeping paint stuck to the castings when you try to clean them and wax is the best way to counteract oxidising paint....

http://s454.photobucket.com/albums/qq270/shepherdmedia/

The link above is to a view of just part of this collection...including
close-up shots to illustrate the condition of some of the pieces that
i'm not sure about how to clean or whether to try cleaning. Included
the Dinky Dodge Polara (Creme/Blue) that i mentioned with the paint
chipping - The shot of the Dinky Mustang (white) is before cleaning...
I was able to remove that grime with gentle cleaning using water and
q-tip.

This is my first experimental macrophotography - using a 1X close-up
attachment on a Kodak Z740 cam. Still learning about the manual
settings to change shutter and exposure so i realize the pics aren't
optimal..not a photographer and just trying to put something together
as a starting reference to give an idea of those in the worst condition -
the brown encrusted discolored stuff that you can see on a number of
them - is what i need to figure out what to do about - if anything.

It did come out with light water/soap on the Mustang -- i just don't
want to compromise the finish on any pieces where i might risk losing
paint with that process. Dust-Brushing alone will not get this stuff out-
it is embedded from years of sitting without any attention in a basement
where humidity in Summer months was high... figure 20-25 years of
that.
All things considered, many of these have held up pretty well - Now i
need to figure out how to preserve everything.

Thanks for any thoughts,

Mike in Mich.

Wonderful shots of a superb collection arranged like a motor museum.All my favourite brands, Corgi( very rare 1st issue satin finish holy cow Batmobile!),Politoys(red 911 :thumbsup:),Dinky(Lincoln Zephyr :eek:), French Dinky, Hong Kong Dinky (rebranded designed as Spot-On),Lesney...........its incredible how anybody owning such fine toys could take them for granted and just leave them to decay......I do like to move my displays around to keep them fresh.
Those Hong Kong Dinkys are prone to metal fatigue which begins with body & baseplate distortion
The rust spots on the Sunshine minibus Commer look very authentic,just like the real ones which rusted fast!
Thankyou for sharing, the pix do give a grand feeling of time having stopped!

and much appreciation for your thoughts.

Well, as you say, it is a shame that they've gone without attention for so long. Many factors involved in that situation but nevertheless, hoping I can restore
and preserve those that can be detailed... That's what brings me here...any input on that process is going to be very helpful and I welcome specific advice on how to approach this- like, identifying particular models that are more prone to further damage with cleaning, proper method to approach removal of any corrosion/rust wherever possible and so on. Thanks again,

Mike

If the paint has oxidised so much that its no longer stuck to the metal, merely lying on top of the metal, then theres nothing to be done to clean such a fragile skin of paint.However if the paint is just brittle, firstly only work on the casting when it is gradually warmed to warm room temperature, and if water is too harsh then sometimes a soft cotton cloth and a good quality car wax will remove stains from whatever paint still has some adhesion to the metal.Sudden temperature changes can cause paint flaking, as can excess heat or cold - normal warm room temps of 70F or 20C will give the best chance of keeping paint stuck to the castings when you try to clean them and wax is the best way to counteract oxidising paint....

Sorry I missed your earlier reply above. Very helpful info Yep, It is sad they've been neglected but they will be moved soon to a much better space with proper temperature/humidity control.

I haven't even gotten to my dad's larger scale resin promo collection from 1930-60-something.

Hope to post more photos sometime and maybe some before/after shots
of those that can be effectively cleaned.

Thanks again,

Mike