How old does a figure have to be to suffer from Lead rot?

[Blue in vt]

I recently received a very nice Marauder Dwarf miniature in the mail and upon closer examination I noticed two places on the model where there was a powdery residue...it could be the remains of the old paint and stripper...or it could be the much dreaded Lead Rot.  I'm aware that Lead rot can be prevalent in many of Citadel's earliest figures do to the dodgy metal they were using.

Is my Marauder Dwarf old enough to be of concern?  This figure went into production in 1991.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

And don't worry...he has been placed in Quarantine until I have a resolution to my questions.

Cheers,

Blue

[Roebeast45]

Citadel was still using lead alloy back then but unless the metal is deeply pitted and/or crystalized it shouldn't be a huge issue. File off the offensive stuff, wash and dry it well and assuming you're going to paint it go ahead and prime it. A very fine brass brush works really well for this.

I've heard that the biggest cause of lead rot is how the minis are stored. Cardboard boxes combined with moisture create acids which begin the oxidation. So keep them in plastic with decent air flow to avoid this.

I don't think Citadel was really using any worse metal than any other company. They had a tendency to overheat their metal which made the figures look black and probably tore the heck out of their molds.

This is all stuff that I've gathered from my own experiences with plumbum putrescat so any other miniature-loving metallurgists please feel free to add.

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=26634.0

[Hammers]

You do know that year of manufacture is relevant*) but not age per se? It's the level of lead content and environmental condition which causes it. This is put a bit simply, but you could potentially get lead rot in a new miniature high in lead and keep it in an, for example, acidic environment.

*) because of the production method use at the time

[Bugsda]

Could the white powder be talc? Maybe the caster overdid it a bit.

[jthomlin]

I would be surprised if it is actual lead rot. I've not seen it happen to citadel figures made after 1985 which is well before your figure was manufactured.

Cheers!
Joe Thomlinson