The mission to complete a vintage GI Joe collection continues, and so does the mission to protect these 3 3/4 plastic treasures. To that end, I began to research a way to protect my Joes once their restoration has been completed. I looked into things like waxes, sheen, liquid protectants, and other such products and after a lot of reading and looking up chemicals I settled on this product to help protect my collection:
303 Aerospace Protectant which you can pick up on Amazon.
I researched products like Armor All and Meguiars polish to see how they held up protecting plastic and rubber (O-rings) and I discovered that since these products are petroleum based and have elements of alcohol, these might not be the best choice for plastic protection. 303 is water based and contains no alcohol and after reading multiple consumer reviews, seemed like the way to go. When I originally received my bottle of 303, I tested the solution on one of the action figures in the junk pile that wasn’t in the best condition and I wouldn’t mind loosing should this stuff not work well enough. The solution worked great! it did a great job of cleaning the figure but it also brought out a mild shine one the figure and it looked great. Additionally, the solution isn’t harsh and isn’t greasy which is a big plus with me.
I have a pretty extensive collection of Mattel’s DC Universe Classics 6″ figures and I’ve been so impressed with 303, I’ve started using it on those as well as some of my Hot Toys and Sideshow Collectibles pieces and it’s worked great with those too despite different materials and surfaces.
Will this stuff really make a difference in the long run? Maybe, maybe not, but for the amount of money I’m spending buying and restoring these figures, a little help protecting them won’t hurt. C’ya!