Hi guys,

I unpacked some minis I bought over a forum and proceeded to wash them (warm water+dish washing soap), before the washing they were shiny new white metal, now some of them (not all!) have nasty dark spots on them were the metal seems to be corroded:



I don't know what happened! Has anyone seen something like this before? I fear it could be the dreaded "lead rod" which woud mean I had to trow it all away...

Please help me out!

I have never seen it in figures this new. Clean it off and get varnish on it right away. It usually takes 20 years.

http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=152257

http://www.the-toy-soldier.com/index.cf ... &pid=31841

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

You will not have to throw it away.

I have to say, I have never seen this. I copied your picture and zoomed in on it, but to no avail.

I take it these are not GW miniatures ?

If I am right, my guess is that they are made of an inferior metal and guessing that when you washed them, you did not dry them? Water residue had been left in some crevices and reacted to the metal.
It can not be rot, far too quick for that to happen.

I suggest you take a strong bristled brush (such as a hard bristled toothbrush) and scrub them dry (no more water).

I would not take the advice to 'varnish' over them (sorry OldManWillow), varnishing will make paint setting and drying properly on the miniature almost impossible, and even if it does take, the slightest knock in that area would cause the paint to flake. See how much of it you can get off it with a brush. If it is still visible, gently take a modelling blade and try very gently scraping it away. I don't think you will have much of an issue painting them after this.

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There are fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world

chlorine in tap water, make sure you dry and paint/prime soon afterward.

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http://www.sithious.webs.com

You are correct I should have used the word seal. I meant paint and finish. At least get primmer on them. Keep oxygen out.
I had the impression they might have been counterfeit too. But I did not want to open that can of worms.
I had some miniatures get wet because of a leak they turn gray like old ACW bullets. The black spots I have not seen.
No need to say your sorry . I should beg your pardon.


From Old Flatshoals Rd. at I/20 Bald Hill Union lines Battle Of Atlanta.

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

Gunslinger, I have to admit, this thread has me perplexed.
Do you have a magnifying glass?
If so, take a look at the black spots and tell us what you see.

Lead rot tends to form on actual old lead miniatures and tends to be grey in colour, and furthermore builds up and outwards on the miniature.

I am now thinking that again this is inferior metal and it has reacted to the washing up liquid rather than the water.
What was the time frame between cleaning the miniature and noticing the black spots?

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There are fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world

The white residue on lead is normal - you see it on all old airgun pellets, lead bullets, the flashing used on rooftops. But GW moved to another white metal alloy years ago to get rid of lead.
This might help - http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Recog ... miniatures
Counterfeiting is a major underground industry in many countries. High priced items are favoured due to the potentially large profit margin. So even the counterfeiters think GW is highly priced

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Published ebooks:
Instrument of the Empire
A Note of Defiance
Phantom Ships, Ghost Flotilla
More to come!

Hi,

as I said I bought it over another forum! The mini (Theoden mounted) was still in it's origina! GW blister, even thogh it had been opened and then cosed again with duct tape...however I know the seller quite well and I don't think he would sell counterfeit stuff...! I think it might be some kind of corrosion process due to residues of cleaning agent in the bucket I used to wash them. Even though I washed it out for a few minutes with running tap water, there seems to be something left... dunno! Fortunately the black spots only appeared of some of the minis, all the other minis I had in the same bucket are completey clean and normal. That's what intrigues me the most!

I noticed the first spots while the minis ay on newspaper to dry! I thought it was dirt I had missed or something during the washing, as I never saw anything like this before. I then washed these parts a second time ony to see that the spots grew larger and appeared in more places...it really annoys me, because I spent a lot of money on this minis which for most part are OOP-I fear now that I ruined them with my washing

Maybe some metallurgy research may help - I found this article-
http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/caringfor-pren ... px#ld-plm7

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Published ebooks:
Instrument of the Empire
A Note of Defiance
Phantom Ships, Ghost Flotilla
More to come!

Thanks a lot Dorthonion, this is really helpful! Looks like it's really corrosion, which also affects white metal which is lead free! But unfortunately the article doesn't say if this corrosion spreads after the mini has been removed from water...would be good to know!
Any chemist around here?

A very helpful link. I need to change up some of my storage. I did not know about the paper/wood. Although I should have. Some of my bits are in sealed plastic containers.
I have been lucky.

_________________
"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

If the spots aren't seriously defacing the miniature detail you should prime it with an auto body primer designed to idiot rust. I think that will prevent any further changes in the metal.