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Hi, I became the owner of 3 2nd hand Windstones this year and I was wondering if its ok to clean them with a damp cloth or paper towel, which is how I usually clean my ceramic figures or should I stick to just a dry make up brush or cloth as suggested in the FAQ’s.
thanks!
Personally, I never use water on my Windstones. But then, I seldom even dust mine…. Some people hold them under running water briefly. Using a cloth increases the risk of wiping color off. Some colors, particularly Ruby and Red Fire, are not very stable. Do not use water if there are places with bare gypsum (where paint has come off and white shows) – gypsum is prone to absorbing water, which makes it expand, which makes the paint come off.
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oh I didn’t know the paint was that fragile! these are my first figures with this kind of material(gypsum.) Ill try a dry towel then, thanks!
Peeling/broken up paint would happen on anything that expands. But gypsum expands much more easily than most materials, just get it wet. If you don’t want to risk the running water method, use brushes. You can use both stiff and soft brushes. Cloths are more apt to remove a little clear coat and eventually paint, and also to scrape the finish if there is a hard bit of something on the figurine.
If your pieces are very old, keep in mind that they may have already lost some of their coating, and be extra gentle. What color are they? Don’t go by the copyright year on the figure – that is part of the original sculpture, and not the year the individual piece was made. Although it does set a year the piece can’t be older than.
Another problem with gypsum is that it is extremely easy to chip and shatter. However, less hard/fragile materials cannot be sculpted with the detail that most Windstones have.My keyboard is broken. I keep pressing "Escape", but I'm still here.
oh I will have to check for the years, anyway they are an original color baby kirin, an emerald green coiled dragon, and a lavender baby Oriental dragon.
yes I can believe gypsum chips easily going by how many of them Ive seen damaged on eBay.
GardenNinja is correct! We only recommend gentle dusting (or vacuuming!). A makeup brush works well and you can even spray a little “End Dust” on the bristles of the brush (not the figurine) to help it pick more dust out from between the scales. Canned air would work nicely too.
Wiping with a damp cloth will wear away the clear coat (its not very thick) that seals the paint. Really dirty ones that still have a good clear coat could be rinsed quickly under running water, taking care to keep the bottom dry, and then patted dry (not rubbed) with a soft towel. You don’t want to let them stay damp for any length of time as the moisture may soak in. I would not wash them repeatedly and I really don’t recommend rinsing them.
I am not sure how to remove tackier substances from them, like residue from grease, smoke or nicotine. Perhaps someone has had some experience with that that they would like to share?
Okay, your pieces are not extremely old, but two could be fairly old. Astral Castle used to maintain an encyclopedia of regular production Windstones, but they gave up updating it in 2007 or 2008 when Windstone started introducing limited editions, limited production, and test paints. They keep the archive here: http://astralcastle.com/00-archive/windstone/wsframe.htm
Production years:
Baby Kirin, original – 1992-2004
Coiled Dragon, Emerald – 1996-2004
The lavender pearl color was introduced after the encyclopedia stopped updating.My keyboard is broken. I keep pressing "Escape", but I'm still here.
I got my Lavender Pearl young Oriental in July 2014. If I recall correctly, they had not been in the store very long when I bought him.
Canned air has a straw-like adapter primarily used to clean between computer keys.
They sell it at Staples or computer stores or office supply stores.
Personally, I dust my beloved poads, griffins, pegasi, and curled dragons every 2-3 days with a brand new only for my Windstone treasures Guerlain Meteorites pink full make up brush very gently so they never get dirty or get a dust deposit; since the bristles are so soft and so full it works really, really well.
So all my treasures look fresh and beautiful all the time !!Maybe primarily between computer keys for people who never open up their computers…. Also between other close parts inside the case.
I have had a bad experience cleaning Windstones with canned air. It is possible that modern canned air wouldn’t do this – it is made of something different than when I damaged a Windstone with it. (It used to be made from an ozone-depleting chemical.) The can was getting low, and I had been spraying long enough that the can was getting quite cold. It started coming out white and bubbly. It left a white residue that never came off.My keyboard is broken. I keep pressing "Escape", but I'm still here.
Sorry that happened to you Garden Ninja ….
Personally I wouldn’t use canned air on my WE treasures: just wanted to explain what it was.hey everyone thanks for all the tips! I checked my figures( I have the 2 larger pieces still in their boxes) and couldn’t find any dates other than the original sculpt ones next to the signature. I bought all 3 from separate owners on Ebay, so I would have to ask them when they bought it. All 3 look pretty good to my eye though.
I agree with Garden Ninja, I dont think Id use canned air either since that weird foam sometimes comes out of it when I use it.
Garden Ninja, thank for posting the dates, and archive links!
Fortunately, that happened back when the only kind of Windstone was regular production. I was able to replace it once I gave up on cleaning it off.
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