Cleaning Resin using a Sonic Cleaner

[The Plastic Surgeon]

So I've got a ton of resin to clean and not the time. I went and bought a 1.5L tank Sonic Cleaner on eBay for about AU$130. I used warm water and it did nothing! Soaked the stuff in 1:1 ratio simple green for a week and half THEN threw it in and still the mold release still won't come off.

Think I have to go back to tooth paste and a soft brush.

Has anyone else used a sonic cleaner for this purpose?

[Morat]

Have you tried putting the parts in with the simple green solution then running it for a few minutes?

I've not had much experience with resin parts or sonic cleaners. I'm guessing it's not working as the vibration is not sufficient to drive the oil based lubricant into the water. Not terribly surprising as water and oil don't mix without a little detergent. I'm thinking that if you're soaking it in simple green then putting it in water in the cleaner you've still got the same problem (perhaps a little improved because of the residual simple green left on the component).

I'd suggest running all the ingredients together. Might want to make sure that the simple green won't attack the material the bath's made from first though.

[sjap98]

Hi, did you use a bit of ultrasonic detergent & did you "degas" the liquid for at least 5 minutes before putting in the resin?

without ultrasonic cleaner solution, the ultrasonic process is much weaker...

just my 2 eurocents.
Sjap.

[The Plastic Surgeon]

I've tried putting simple green in the tank as well, but that was a weaker solution. The tank is stainless steel so simple green should not attack it.

sjap98, what is different about ultrasonic detergent and say normal household detergents like simple green that is meant to degrease? Also, degas? Hope you're not referring to the artist! What do you mean by 'degas' the liquid? Is like putting the liquid into the tank, turn it on for 5 and THEN put the parts in?

Cheers, great feedback guys :)

[sjap98]

@The Plastic Surgeon:
No, not Degas,
de-gas as in removing gas (no, not passing gas!).
By turning the ultrasonic on 5 to 10 minutes before before immersing anything in it wll remove all the gas that is in the water, and allow for a better working of the ultrasonic cleaning process.

here some FAQs: http://www.ultrawave.co.uk/faqs.php?id=16&pa=57#5

Here's a link to the manual of an ultrasonic:
http://www.bransonic.com/pdf/1200_2200_3200_5200_8200.pdf

and to some of their cleaning solutions (there are different ones depending on what needs to be cleaned):
http://www.bransonic.com/pdf/Bransonic%20Brochure.pdf

hope that helps,
Take care,
Sjap.

P.S. I use an ultrasonic cleaner in my work at the tattoo studio to clean things before sterilization...

[The Plastic Surgeon]

@The Plastic Surgeon:
No, not Degas,
de-gas as in removing gas (no, not passing gas!).
By turning the ultrasonic on 5 to 10 minutes before before immersing anything in it wll remove all the gas that is in the water, and allow for a better working of the ultrasonic cleaning process.

here some FAQs: http://www.ultrawave.co.uk/faqs.php?id=16&pa=57#5

Here's a link to the manual of an ultrasonic:
http://www.bransonic.com/pdf/1200_2200_3200_5200_8200.pdf

and to some of their cleaning solutions (there are different ones depending on what needs to be cleaned):
http://www.bransonic.com/pdf/Bransonic%20Brochure.pdf

hope that helps,
Take care,
Sjap.

P.S. I use an ultrasonic cleaner in my work at the tattoo studio to clean things before sterilization...

Wow very useful info mate! Thanks!

I'll give de-gassing a go and try some of the solutions.

[vman]

Plastic Surgeon as you are from australia i will suggest the primer that i use for forgeworld stuff, and it seems to stick to the shiny evil that forgeworld releases

I still wash my figures but this stuff works good

Dulux Spraypak Quick Dry Flat Black (Safe Formula 0.5% aromatic solvents)... its about $10 a can from Bunnings

A friend of mine used this stuff on his reaver and now im using it too. It drys flat which is very nice

I would not recomend the white as it has a glossy/tacky texture to it... I think for white i have no option other than spray black with dulux and then hit it a few times with GW white primer OR Gunze Sangyo Mr Primer 1000 white

hope it helps mate

[The Plastic Surgeon]

Thanks for that hint vman! I'll still see how I go with a sonic solution as I really want to make my investment work! But it won't hurt to grab a can of that Dulux Quick Spray to see how it works on a test piece.

Does anyone know what kind of mold release FW uses? Oil or silicone based? I need to get the right solution.

[vman]

Not 100% sure but me and a mate have had parts come covered in shine

No matter what we have tried it wont take anything off...

Only thing i could do was to scrub it as hard as i could to make sure there was no residual glump and i figured if it wont scrub off after numerous violent scrubs and long soaks in all sorts of nasty stuff, well then its just going to have to stay there

To put the Dulux spray into example... I used Gunze Sangyo Mr Resin primer... made specifically for resin models. Bang the primer just flaked off. I spray the dulux black on top and it doest go anywhere... I cant even scratch it off! Ive even put a resin base that was Dulux sprayed into brake fluid for 2 days and nothing... so once its on there, its on there

However my friend does inform me that he has removed it with pure Simple Green... altho the way i see it is, even if u did want to repaint ur mini, and the dulux never came off, big deal at least you wont have to reprime it

Give it a try mate, you will stop worrying about forgeworlds crappy mould release

[Maine]

Not 100% sure but me and a mate have had parts come covered in shine

No matter what we have tried it wont take anything off...


Because theres nothing to take off - resin just does that sometimes.

If after a decent cleaning, even with just anti-grease dishsoap and water, and let it dry, if it is still shiney, but does not feel any different than the non-shiney parts, then you've cleaned the release off.

Resin is a funky material and has some odd optical properties. Normal resin is mostly translucent. FW uses glass particulate in their resin as well as coloring agent, which makes the optical properties even more bizarre at times.

[Oz Marshal]

To get that shine off I soak my resin parts in Dettol! Yes thats right Dettol, i don't know what it has in it but cleans up resin and plastic release agents with a vengence without damaging or softening the parts. I soak them for about 30 - 45 mins then scrub with an old tooth brush. I then wash them in warm soapy water to get any left over Dettol and more importantly the smell, off the parts.
Give it a go!!

Cheers,
Jason.

[The Plastic Surgeon]

Wow all these 'home remediess' so many to try and so little time!

Cheers guys!