Investigating the use of acetone to clean models printed in Frosted Ultra Detail Material
My email is dcyale@yahoo.com.
I have been using acetone to clean my models that are printed in Frosted Ultra Detail material, but I have heard warnings about the lenght of time it soaks. So, I took 6 models of a 1/87 scale table. These were printed as one model at the same time sprued together, but the pictures are of different tables. One was the control and I did nothing. The others I soaked in acetone, removing them in 10 minute intervals.
Below are photographs and my observations, as well as pictures both with my regular camera, and something called "The Bionic Eye" which claims to have 100x, 200x and 400x magnification. It was designed to be sold at Toys R Us, so take that into account when viewing the pictures.
For each model, at each magnification, I took a picture looking down at the table top at a corner, then a second looking sideways at a leg. The sideways leg pictures show the stepping.
First, the acetone used and the warning on the label. Use at your own risk and read all the labels. It is YOUR decision how you want to clean your FUD mmodels.
FINDINGS
I had woundered if acetone attacked details to the extent that I should not use it for a cleaner. It seems it does not. Most intersting were the pictures taken of the legs sideways, which show the stepping and represent some very fine outcrops of material. Even at 50 minutes these outcrops were not appreciabley changed. When you look at the stepping on the model I let soak for over two hours you can see the stepping starting to disolve. BUT, at any time length that does not harm the model, no detail is lost. My conculsion is that acetone as a cleaner does not harm a FUD model. Of course it may completely eat and destroy your model- this is not an endorsement or guarantee.
This model was not soaked in acetone at all:
At 100x magnification:
At 200x magnification:
At 400x magnification:
This model was soaked 10 minutes in acetone:
I don't have a normal picture of this table becasue I forgot to take one before I subjected it to the destructive testing below- oops.
At 100x magnification:
At 200x magnification:
At 400x magnification:
This model was soaked 20 minutes in acetone::
At 100x magnification:
At 200x magnification:
At 400x magnification:
This model was soaked 30 minutes in acetone::
At 100x magnification:
At 200x magnification:
At 400x magnification:
This model was soaked 40 minutes in acetone::
At 100x magnification:
At 200x magnification:
At 400x magnification:
This model was soaked 50 minutes in acetone. The table top warped slightly:
At 100x magnification:
At 200x magnification:
At 400x magnification:
As a final test this model was soaked in acetone for over two hours. As you can see soaking it for too long is a bad thing. It was very pliable, and when I flexed the top a little the legs on one side came apart like butter- there was no strength:
At 100x magnification:
At 200x magnification:
At 400x magnification:
Suprise Result!
Although the table soaked in acetone too long was obviously ruined, it was fexible, very flexible. Although the legs broke off from the table top, the wire connecting them coulf be flrxed 180 degrees. So I checked the table that soaked for 50 minutes. It was somewhat flexible, too, but not even close to the pictures below. So acetone might clean FUD, AND MAKE IT LESS BRITTLE. This may be a quality worth pursuing.
