In this tutorial, I will be explaining a very good, quick, and easy way to clean designs off of your figures to get them ready to apply custom decals and paint. For this example, I will be explaining how to do this with a torso, but it works for any element with a LEGO printed design on it. This tutorial will take you ten minutes from beginning to end, and I promise that you will not harm the piece in any way (would I do that to you?). Although I do not use gloves, it can get messy so feel free to, and you should definitely take off any jewelry you might have on your hands.


Here is what you will need:



Brasso (available at Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, etc.)
A clean cloth at least 8" x 12", but the bigger the better
A scrap of wood that will fit comfortably in your hand from palm to fingertips. My piece is 4" x 1.5" x 0.5" and works great.
Paper towels
Paper plates



PART ONE - Preperation

1) Take the cloth, and wrap it around the scrap of wood as tightly as you can. Make sure that there are no wrinkles and that you can hold the wood and cloth in your hand without the cloth unraveling.



2) Shake the Brasso and open the top.

3) Take the arms off of the torso and set them aside for now.



4) Place a plate next to you because the torso will be "gunky" after you clean the design and you will want somewhere to put it that will not detroy your desktop.


PART TWO - Removing The Design

5) Place the wood and cloth in your non-action hand (not the hand you will be rubbing with).



6) Place a dallop of Brasso onto the center of the wood/cloth as shown.



7) Grasp the torso on its sides, hold very tightly.



8) Rub torso (printed side down) vigorously for 10 seconds.



9) Check to see if design is removed, if not, repeat step 8. The harder you rub, the quicker it will come off.


PART THREE - Cleaning Up The Piece

10) Place torso onto the paper plate once the design is removed. It will be "gunky" with a foam that will be the color of the design you removed.



11) Bring torso to the sink, turn on hot water, and run the piece under the water. Wipe the gunk off with your fingers and place on a clean paper towel.

12) Using the paper towel, dry and remove any gunk that made it through the water cleaning.



13) Put the arms back on and you have a clean, blank torso ready to have any decal, sticker, or paint job you want!




I hope this has been helpful, it works well for me when I need to do fifteen or twenty torsos at a time. Just remember to rotate the cloth to keep a clean spot to rub on. If you have any questions or comments, they are always welcome!

Shmails

Very informative and helpful, now we just need someone to post a sticker making tutorial and such.

You read my mind! The plan is to do a series that involves each step in making a custom minifigure. Next will be one about using templates to create decals and stickers or how to find inspiration for your character. Thanks!

How much does Brasso cost? I've been meaning to get some but havnt been to town and dont know how much money I need. Great tutorial also. I never new about the wood block wrapped in a cloth. Luckily from our recent home add on I have lots and lots of little would blocks and plenty of cloths. Just need that darn Brasso. Oh. Btw. What would you do if you wanted to remove very small printed designs but not the whole thing on say...... a minifig head.

Thank you, Shmails! This will be very useful. If I ever get some brasso, anyway :)

A bottle of Brasso will cost you $7-8, and will last you through hundreds of uses. Removing small portions is difficult because it is the rubbing motion that removes the design. I will do some experimenting to see what to use. Thanks everyone!

I've heard you could use a toothpick with a small amount of Brasso on it but I'm not sure if it really works. If you find a way to or figure one out yourself be sure to share!

Question on the Brasso. Can it be washed out from cloth? Like say if I want to washe the cloth before reusing. Cuz I don't wanna keep buying cloth. :P

Or if I get it on me.

-Omi

Yes, it can be washed off, although there will be a residual color from the design. If you go to home depot or lowes, you can buy 20 cloth rags for $4.00, so it isn't really necessary, but it is possible. If you get it on your clothes, wash them relatively soon because if is a chemical and will stain if left too long. I suggest wearing something you do not mind getting a little dirty (all of my clothes fit that category), but it will clean up well. Also, if you use a large enough cloth, you can continue to re-wrap it with a cleaner spot on top multiple times before the rag becomes useless. Good luck!

@ Shmails: Nice! I'll have to use this some time. I'm wondering how you can use so small amounts as to, for example, get little bits of stuff off the face. Could you provide some insight on that? Oh, and how's the hand doing?