Sticky Figures - Question.

I came across a couple of figures that are sticky.  I'm assuming it's the plastic is in the process of breaking down.

Are there any tips to get rid of that, or maintenance tips?

warm soapy water does the trick, theres no avoiding it it happens

some of these figures, over time, will leach oils from either the paint or the figure directly, resulting in stickiness. Ledy figures in particular are known for this. Just be careful when cleaning, as this stickiness can cause the paint to become quite fragile.

So that is why they do it thanks Chris, That I did notice with some of my ledy figs but left them alone.

I found this video... what you guys think?





MOD EDIT :

The general consensus from our mod team , as well as most of the experienced collectors here , is that this video has a lot of misinformation that could lead to damaging your figures or other collectables .

We are leaving the video as a example of what "not to do" so please read the rest of this thread before you decide to attempt anything shown in this video .

If you do anything shown in the video and you end up with damaged toys you can't say we didn't warn you

Kamshaft wrote:I found this video... what you guys think?

No, no, no, no, NO!

I've seen this video before, and if I could reach through monitor to monitor, I'd punch him in the head for misinformation. If the guy had stopped at 4:00 in, all would be good. You cannot stop the plastic degradation. Warm water with a MILD detergent and cloth, or SOFT bristle toothbrush is all you need for most figures, as mentioned above.

The degree of pressure this guy was putting on his figures with the toothbrush would be okay with most figures, but try that with a Death Star Droid, for example, and you'll quickly have a DSD with no black paint left on it. He claims later on the dish detergent bath was fine on his vehicle stickers, but try it on an R2-D2 or R5-D4. You'll soon have a naked astromech.

He also said to pull the legs in opposite directions to get the cleanser all the way into the grooves. NO!!!! Bending a vintage figure's legs backwards will often resulting in stretching out the joint, and then you get spaghetti limbs. I find this most common on the droids, Stormtroopers, Leia's, and X-Wing Pilots myself. For some reason, those are prone to floppy legs more than the others.

When he was done, he put them into sealed bags. I didn't see him mention it, but unless you're using archival acetate baggies, you're just looking at creating a humidity condition, and the lack of air circulation will just speed up the degradation that caused the stickiness in the first place.

Then there's the Armor All protectant. He's mixing up his issues. Sun dried plastic on a dashboard is not the same as regular plastic degradation in a figure. They're not even always the same plastic, as figures are usually a combination of PVC and ABS (which explains why the limbs of a white figure will yellow while the torso stays white, or vice versa). He also claims you're not chemically altering the plastic. That's not quite true. You can't reverse this - once it's applied and dried, you can't remove it. Adding a foreign substance to a vintage Star Wars figure is generally not well received by the community at large if it's a permanent addition. The "shine" he so heavily promotes isn't from the clean figure - it's reflection of the polishing chemical sitting on the surface of the figure. There is also no evidence to suggest applying this stuff won't cause a chemical reaction down the road.

And as if all of this wasn't bad enough, he ends the video by promoting repro stickers and foam.

Just stick with a gentle wash. It's all you need.

Ian

With all the comments above is it better to get trash/sell/trade the figure?

Normally the stickiness is caused by solubilizers which slowly diffuse out of the plastic during years. These compounds are added to plastics to make them more flexible, bendable.
Try to carefully clean the figures with water and some soap and a very soft brush. For instance a brush that women use to apply eye make up. My wife bought one for me for that purpose  
When cleaning, by any means do not soak the figures. And read Ian's post well as it contained a lot of good advice.

The tackiness on some Lili Ledy figures is a different story. It is caused by the used paint which on some figures never seems to completely dry.
Think about the sticky green hands of Yoda, the Ree Yees boots, etc. I would try to avoid any contact with these sticky painted parts as it can very easily result in paint loss. Belief me I have learnt it the hard way when removing the cloak from a Ledy Yoda figure.  

@Stephen: No need to get rid off these figures, just try carefully cleaning them first.

Hope this helps

Please only use warm water and soap to lightly clean your figures . You will be amazed at how much nicer your figures will look just cleaning them

There is still way too many unknowns involved with using any other chemical or cleaner on 35 year old plastic to take the risk

It is unavoidable that the toys get sticky. Some toys I've bought which are carded were still sticky. Those had no star case though.

Carefully use a toothbrush and soapy water to scrub the parts that are sticky. After that leave it to air dry for abit. Rinse and repeat as needed
Your sticky toy should be less sticky in no time.

Cheers buddy