Seems to be a common enough question on message boards, so here’s a simple little article on proper cleaning.
The first thing to keep in mind is you want to keep statues out of direct sunlight if at all possible. This can screw up the colours, making you think it’s dirty when it’s not.
The vast majority of statues have a protective coat of paint on top. This means that you can touch them just fine and they’ll be safe. However, you still have to be gentle. I’ve personally flaked off a decent chunk of paint off of a Bowen full-size Daredevil just by dusting it with a feather duster. A FEATHER DUSTER. I mean come on.
1) Use a very soft duster. Feather dusters are fine. As long as you’re gentle and careful, you shouldn’t have the flaking problem I had above.
2) If you prefer to be a little more gentle, you can use a wet Q-tip. This also allows you to get into the nooks and crannies. You can also use a wet cloth for larger statues.
3) If you don’t want to touch your statues at all, you can use compressed air. Be careful with this though. Some of those little cans generate a lot of force, which could knock paint right off. Be slow and careful with this or you’ll get pissed off.
It’s pretty simple. People worry so much about them, as long as you’re not a klutz and you clean them every week or every two weeks, you’re fine. If you’re lazy, buy a display cabinet with doors and you’ll barely ever have to clean them.
