Cleaning sails

[GrandpaPhil]

A buddy of mine has an old ship model that belonged to his Dad, and the sails have nicotine stains.  What’s the best way to remove the nicotine without destroying the sails on the model?

 

 

[allanyed]

The only way to do a good job is remove the sails and wash them then re-rig them.  There are a number of recipes for washing cloth with nicotine stains on the 'net.  Is this a decorator model or a model his dad built himself?  May not be worth the effort if a mass produced decorator model although it is impossible to put a value on sentiment.     

Allan

[GrandpaPhil]

It’s a mass produced decorator model.  

 

I cleaned it the best I could for him, at work.  I wasn’t sure about what to try and use on the sails.

[druxey]

If the sails are brittle, there's a good chance that washing them will disintegrate them. Nicotine is soluble in water, helped by a couple of drops of detergent added. Is it possible that the model is acceptable with stained sails?