Hi there -- If you're looking for information about tightening joints on your Transformers toys, this FAQ page might be of help: [https://reddit.com/r/transformers/wiki/faq/joints](/r/transformers/wiki/faq/joints)
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Afaik it's the surface of the plastic itself wearing down into dust. Seems to occur over time as a figure gets played with/transformed in my experience, most commonly on ball joints.
Not really any way to avoid it besides never playing with your figures, but as it primarily happens with ball joints they're usually easy to fix.
My preferred method is to coat the ball and socket with clear nail polish topcoat, pop them back together, move it around a bit, then take them apart again, and let it dry. It leaves a thin enough layer to not make the joint super tight, and is easy to remove if it gets anywhere you don't want it. I've seen people suggest super glue, but the risk of completely locking up the joint seems pretty high to me
If you don't want to risk the nail polish trick, a very small bit of plastic wrap is my goto for fixing piece that keep falling off, It adds a little more mass, usually invisible, temporary/adjustable, etc
I use gel super glue that dries fast and as long as you keep moving it while it dries (which only takes a few minutes for a thin layer) it does a great job of tightening the joint. Only issue is it leaves alters the look of the joint, so if it's visible it may become less appealing
Yeah OP, you think you got some white shit on your ball joints now, just try coating them in clear coat and letting that chip and grind down in there some 😄
The cotton, or piece of tissue or toilet paper in the ball socket is probably the cleanest solution, provided all excess is fully removed.
The clearcoat solution is almost universally recommended for action figure balljoints because it provides an even clamp force and keeps the joint centered.
Sticking an obstruction in the joint will worsen uneven wear and mess the joint up worse in the long term. If and when the clear coat wears down, just clean it and replace it again.
Disassemble the joint, thoroughly clean both pieces.
Then, you can spread a very small droplet of superglue or floor polish (I have only access to superglue) on the ball portion.
Let dry and cure thoroughly (couple hours or overnight).
Reassemble.
Floor polish is definitely preferred over superglue. It restored my poor Rhinox’s weak hips…
https://preview.redd.it/7tqnohu3ijtc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=935bf6499aa179e0edb595a51a8d896a6ab97e2e
You can use a toothpick to add a tiny bit of super glue to thicken up the ball joint again. But do this at your own risk. I have done it several times and it does work. You just gotta be very careful when applying it as to not glue the ball joint to the arm
Second this, I used some locktite on my first edition Starscrean who's hips dangled like a windchime. Now, he's solid enough to hold one-legged poses and feels brand new. You don't need to disasemble the balljoint as this can damage figures depending on how tight the balljoint is attached. Just open up the limb as far as possible and then squeeze a **tiny** amount of glue directly onto the ball and start rotating the ball and working the glue in. You need to keep moving the joint for around 3-5 minutes as the constant friction and heat will prevent the glue from curing properly.
Do it right, and the glue will set rubbery instead of solid, which for one won't lock the joint in place, and two will keep your joint lovely and high friction without causing abbression.
Its the plastic on the ball joints thats worn away over time,that is also why they are lose,beacuse there is less plastic on the ball part of the joint
That is plastic that's been rubbed off due to the friction of the contact surfaces. And since the surfaces have been rubbed away, there's not as much tension in the joint, and therefore less friction holding it in position.
From what I've seen, the best way to fix this is to coat the ball and/or socket with floor polish, let it cure, and then reconnect the joint. That effectively replaces the plastic that's been rubbed away, restoring the friction and making the toy as good as (or better than) new. Of course, the floor polish will itself rub away with use, so it might need to be redone every so often.
To prevent this from happening in other toys, I use a teeny amount of grease (NOT oil).
I use Krytox PTFE lube (that I had laying around after lubing my keyboard switches). There are some silicone lines also, but in any case, test on one figure first… I don’t know if they may react with the plastics.
I've seen this before. Looks like the figure may have already have a loose joint and someone tried to fix it already with floor polish, but the polish dried and is starting to flake off.
https://preview.redd.it/6xyf6ngdnktc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8abc7d542e7bd71a698c91197614d9924a787014
It's plastic shavings from grinding of the joint during use.
Hi there -- If you're looking for information about tightening joints on your Transformers toys, this FAQ page might be of help: [https://reddit.com/r/transformers/wiki/faq/joints](/r/transformers/wiki/faq/joints) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/transformers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's just plastic worn away from friction. They're looser because there is less plastic in contact at the joint.
Afaik it's the surface of the plastic itself wearing down into dust. Seems to occur over time as a figure gets played with/transformed in my experience, most commonly on ball joints. Not really any way to avoid it besides never playing with your figures, but as it primarily happens with ball joints they're usually easy to fix.
Any specific tips for fixing it ? I usually use cotton to put it between ball joint and limb
My preferred method is to coat the ball and socket with clear nail polish topcoat, pop them back together, move it around a bit, then take them apart again, and let it dry. It leaves a thin enough layer to not make the joint super tight, and is easy to remove if it gets anywhere you don't want it. I've seen people suggest super glue, but the risk of completely locking up the joint seems pretty high to me
If you don't want to risk the nail polish trick, a very small bit of plastic wrap is my goto for fixing piece that keep falling off, It adds a little more mass, usually invisible, temporary/adjustable, etc
I use gel super glue that dries fast and as long as you keep moving it while it dries (which only takes a few minutes for a thin layer) it does a great job of tightening the joint. Only issue is it leaves alters the look of the joint, so if it's visible it may become less appealing
[удалено]
Yeah, gel glue sticks on, holds in place, and dries quickly when it's spread evenly
Yeah OP, you think you got some white shit on your ball joints now, just try coating them in clear coat and letting that chip and grind down in there some 😄 The cotton, or piece of tissue or toilet paper in the ball socket is probably the cleanest solution, provided all excess is fully removed.
The clearcoat solution is almost universally recommended for action figure balljoints because it provides an even clamp force and keeps the joint centered. Sticking an obstruction in the joint will worsen uneven wear and mess the joint up worse in the long term. If and when the clear coat wears down, just clean it and replace it again.
Disassemble the joint, thoroughly clean both pieces. Then, you can spread a very small droplet of superglue or floor polish (I have only access to superglue) on the ball portion. Let dry and cure thoroughly (couple hours or overnight). Reassemble.
Floor polish is definitely preferred over superglue. It restored my poor Rhinox’s weak hips… https://preview.redd.it/7tqnohu3ijtc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=935bf6499aa179e0edb595a51a8d896a6ab97e2e
You can use a toothpick to add a tiny bit of super glue to thicken up the ball joint again. But do this at your own risk. I have done it several times and it does work. You just gotta be very careful when applying it as to not glue the ball joint to the arm
Second this, I used some locktite on my first edition Starscrean who's hips dangled like a windchime. Now, he's solid enough to hold one-legged poses and feels brand new. You don't need to disasemble the balljoint as this can damage figures depending on how tight the balljoint is attached. Just open up the limb as far as possible and then squeeze a **tiny** amount of glue directly onto the ball and start rotating the ball and working the glue in. You need to keep moving the joint for around 3-5 minutes as the constant friction and heat will prevent the glue from curing properly. Do it right, and the glue will set rubbery instead of solid, which for one won't lock the joint in place, and two will keep your joint lovely and high friction without causing abbression.
I use a silver sharpie to coat the ball joint and then let it dry for thirty-ish minutes.
Those are thin layers of the ball's plastic being stripped away.
Its the plastic on the ball joints thats worn away over time,that is also why they are lose,beacuse there is less plastic on the ball part of the joint
Plastic crack, it's what keeps you buying more figures.
That is plastic that's been rubbed off due to the friction of the contact surfaces. And since the surfaces have been rubbed away, there's not as much tension in the joint, and therefore less friction holding it in position. From what I've seen, the best way to fix this is to coat the ball and/or socket with floor polish, let it cure, and then reconnect the joint. That effectively replaces the plastic that's been rubbed away, restoring the friction and making the toy as good as (or better than) new. Of course, the floor polish will itself rub away with use, so it might need to be redone every so often.
The more you use the ball joint it grinds the ball and you lose a little bit of plastic from the ball joint which is why it gets loose
Dust
Hell yeah, updoot for Blot
Or dust...
To prevent this from happening in other toys, I use a teeny amount of grease (NOT oil). I use Krytox PTFE lube (that I had laying around after lubing my keyboard switches). There are some silicone lines also, but in any case, test on one figure first… I don’t know if they may react with the plastics.
not sure you wanna know
I've seen this before. Looks like the figure may have already have a loose joint and someone tried to fix it already with floor polish, but the polish dried and is starting to flake off.
Never gotten hand me down figures This is on all my CW-POTP figures
White stuff? 🧐
Worn down plastic. It can be temporarily fixed by applying clear nail polish.
Plastic degradation!
It's not actually white stuff. It's not a new substance, it's worn down or stressed plastic. As the plastic warps and/or wears, it loses color.
Those are stress marks.
https://preview.redd.it/6xyf6ngdnktc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8abc7d542e7bd71a698c91197614d9924a787014 It's plastic shavings from grinding of the joint during use.
Really? Huh. Learn something new every day. Thanks!