Removing Lego factory glue from minifigures

legoman1234

Is there any way to remove Lego factory glue from minifigures without damage them?
I only know that glue is official Lego becouse I got minifigures from Lego display box in my store.
Many thanks!

paul_merton

Probably not if it's solvent based. It "glues" the plastic together by melting the surface of both parts so they can weld together.

samtheq

Wait--are all figures in Lego store displays glued in place? I had noticed traces of glue before, but I figured it was something removable, like from a "hot glue gun".  Yikes.

Astrobricks

I wondered about this while staring at an Architecture display case in a soon-to-close Barnes & Noble yesterday.

legoman1234

In this thread: http://bricksetforum.com/discussion/3640/gluing Huw said that MEK is used to glue display models in shops. Can anybody confirm it to me?

paul_merton

If they are glued together, then MEK is most likely what's been used.

Not many things actually stick to ABS plastics, hence why they are also used for car interiors - not even superglue will bond that well with it.

MEK works really well on ABS and other soft plastics, but it's not actually a glue. It melts the plastic so it can weld to other plastics. It's therefore impossible to take bricks apart if MEK has been used, as they are essentially melted into each other - you'll never be able to restore the original bricks.