Shop Note

1. Examine the hull fittings carefully to see if any might be dislodged during the cleaning process. Document the location of any that are better off removed before beginning serious cleaning.
2. Use a soft artist's brush and a low powered vacuum, such as the type use to clean computer equipment, to remove any surface dust and loose grime.
3. Decide whether you are going to try to conserve the original hull finish or repaint the hull. If you are intending to repaint, you can be a bit more vigorous in what follows.
4. Using a soft artist's brush and water (preferable distilled or at least mineral free), wash the hull in small sections, stopping occasionally to remove any excess water by dabbing the wet surface with a wick made out of facial tissue. If conserving, the trick is to remove a little of the grime at a time rather than trying to get it all off at once. Doing the latter may damage the underlying finish. It's generally not a good idea to use detergent or other solvent in the water because of the possibility they will damage the original finish. Most of the grime a model is exposed to is water soluble unless it was displayed in a kitchen or other environment where some oils were in the air.
5. If you do have some oily grime on the hull, a mild solution of water and TSP might remove it. Start with a quarter teaspoon in a cup of water as a start and increase the strength by a quarter teaspoon at a time until it just starts to remove the grease and oil. Test first in some less visible section of the hull. I prefer to use this rather than detergent because it doesn't leave anything behind after a final cleaning with clean water.

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