( 
)
...That Is The Question
When to clean, when Not to clean, How to clean and What to use and When to use it and Where should it be cleaned and Who is qualified to clean it and the proverbial Why should it be cleaned!
Should you find this guide useful, tag the 'Yes' button at the bottom.
I would reckon 99.99% of all Bossons will fall into the category of having had a clear coat of sealer applied upon final painting and seen it written and heard it mentioned two coats.
But...
Some appear thin coated.
Buuut...
That would be extremely rare.
What I'm trying to say is don't get to carried away digging deep into the tight folds of your Bossons.
Be easy, treat it like the work of art it is. Ya'll don't need to rubba-dub-dub that much. Thats not gonna be productive...
We're talking general cleaning not restoration.
Poking that damp towel with the help of a pointed tool in the crease of Cheyenne's
arm or Peon's basket to get the dust bunnies is jusaskin fer trouble.
There are better ways and these are a few.
But first...
Some background
Lets take a mind tripp on how a Bossons comes to be.
An overview if you will.
It starts with an idea.
For this example, be it Cavalier!
The idea becomes Clay.
Modeled and moulded then remoulded and remodled, picked apart, scrutinized again
and again for months maybe a year or more.
Copied again, then first impression painting, perhaps another retooling until the clay master piece becomes ...
A Masterpiece.
Cavalier!
Proofed.
Patent.
Copyright.
At this point we have the second of several critical steps in the making of a Bossons, the first being the master prototype.
Put simply, it starts in the details of the finished plaster that separate Bossons.
Pores. Wrinkles. Teeth filled grins.
The Langers' Lines of Incision.
Its all there in the plaster before the paint.
Copies of the finished Masterpiece are made.
Cavalier gets set for production.
The moulds are laid out, the custom 'Vitreplas' is poured into the moulds, then dried and our pieces are raw exposed white chalk. Of these clones, some are produced for years, others less then maybe six months to a year in very limited quanities.
Amongst these are rare prototypes that never made it to production and Ltd. Editions and Numbered sets.
I'm sure a QC regiment was in place. From my readings, Mr. Ray Bossons ran a very tight ship.
The next part of our journey in the making takes us to...
The Artists
Women painted Bossons.
These women are highly talented.
They weren't just painters, your ordinary street corner vendors, no no.
We are talking old sckool good here.
Connoisseur's of modern art. TopGun slinger!
What Mr. Ray found in these Artists we get to appreciate today.
The early figures have very very detailed paint. They are Amazing in their nuance.
And here is the third critical step.
Not to take away from the plaster masters, because one cannot be without the other,
but it is the paint finish that makes the day.
One paintress, several pieces at a time laid out in front, all painted to scheme.
There are slight variations due to painters eye and planned versions.
Working with precision and a keen eye for detail the Artist did her magic
spinning out several works of art of the same piece. Lets tripp again this time...
Lets paint
oh, say ten Cavaliers at one time.
Line them up in front of you, then to all ten,
first paint all the faces, then the hair, the clothes,
back to do the eye brows and blend some stubble on that man,
add some grey to that beard, color to the cheeks, highliter around the eyes,
come on you know he wears it, he is Cavalier! on and on.
While one color dried you worked on another but you did all ten as a group.
And then the next ten.
Some bare the Artists signature.
This adds value, especially to the early editions and rarer versions.
Testament to the Artist.
Left to dry then coated with clear lacquer.
Each and every one is unique unto itself. All done by hand.
Old School stuff.
Once complete, Bossons were sent all over the world.
Looking at the older brochures, one can see the counties were many.
And since production stopped in 1996 that means finding Bossons in pristine condition...
Which leads us on our journey to...
You
Now you have this finished Masterpiece to adorn your living environment.
And if you have lots, well all the more the better.
Then comes cleaning time!
Now if all your dealing with is the accumulated dust, a soft damp towel or white T-Shirt material will do the job just fine.
Damp. Ring that baby dry.
If you need to get to the nooks, use a long-bristled pure bristle brush, a makeup brush i hear works well, or even a super soft poly-nylon brush from the local hardware store works.
Think Long Soft Bristles. Hmmm...
Use this to get down into the deeper recesses. If dust remains, use the vacuum cleaner with the brush attachment or lung power. Remember, it will get dusty again, so don't make this your final cleaning.
Depending how anti-dust one can be, a gentle wiping 2-3 times a year should do the trick.
And be easy. Enjoy a glass of wine. Take your time.
Be an Artist yourself!
You the Artist
Ok. You know Bossons are made of Vitreplas.
Vitreplas is a mixture of gypsum and some-super-secret sauces that make
the gypsum flow more like butter on a warm summer day,
filling the voids and recesses ever so finely and drying to a harder consistency.
Remember the precision plaster-masters?
The pores, wrinkles etc... That flow not only allowed the gypsum to get into the crannies
but to flow with minimal air pockets.
Thus we get superlative detail.
And that detail came possible thru the Langers Lines.
Taken from the notes of Book 1 Pg 23:
"Carl von Langer (Austrian Anatomist 1819-97), Plotted lines indicating the direction of skin tension; called "Langer's Lines". Linear scars following the direction of skin tension usually spread little, whereas scars crossing the tension lines have an opposite tendency."
In other words your skin grows like a tree. Your skin too has lines of grain.
Got any good scars on your beautiful body?
Do some appear to stand out stronger that others.
The wound may have gone across the grain of your skin thus
causing a thicker accumulation of skin tissue to form making a more visual scar.
You can see this, just grab a chunk of skin and squeeze.
If yer over 50, no 40, no 35, like me, you'll know what I mean.
Now, I enjoy cooking. And I like my old stuff.
And just as that old stuff gets slammed around and character added
plus some of the old caked on food adding flavor to my next brew, so it goes with Bossons.
They are found in a varity of places.
Chef in the kitchen.
Sarah Gamp in the laundry room perhaps.
Tony Weller over the shower...wahaa!
After awhile they call out for spring cleaning. One thing is for sure.
Bossons and water don't get along well.
Like the Scarecrow and fire, the TinMan and rain.
So keep that in mind when you start your Bossons cleaning project.
Now lets get down to it.
First off, what do you need to do?
Are we talking general dusting and bi-annual cleaning.
Use the soft brush to loosen things up. Blow the dust from the nooks.
Use a white t-shirt, damp and well wrung out and gently wipe the areas that receive the most dust.
The rest shouldn't need much.
Your done.
Lets go to the other extreme.
Say your Bossons is in the kitchen over a greasy stove and your a deep-fryin meat-eater or,
above the fireplace where it can get lots an lots of bellowing blowback smoke or, or, or...
sounds like you got a real stinker on your hands.
Short of industrial chemical etchers, there isn't much that will remove this kind of abuse.
Call the restoration gods.
Now if you find yourself somewhere between the two than theres help for ya!
Keep in mind that Bossons and water don't mix well.
It isn't a great idea to hang one in the shower room.
And heavy traffic areas like hallways and narrow stairwells aren't conducive either.
So, on that note, before we proceed, stop and give thought as to
whether cleaning your Bossons will keep the inherent value or might have the reverse effect.
Are you planning to sell? Leave that decision to the future buyer.
Keeping it? Just be careful before going at it with the chemical compounds.
You might do more harm then good.
There are times when the natural patina is more desirable.
Alrighty than...
Say you have owned a Bossons or two for years or
maybe received one or two recently and they look kinda stale and just kinda dirty.
This is how I like to approach it:
- Tabletop. Clear some area. You'll need good light.
- Towels. One or two, something soft like the bathroom towels.
- It will become something you will use again and it will get a little dirty so best requisition one or two. Ask first man! Double or triple fold the towel so it cushions against the table. Lay your Bossons on the towel face side up. It is easier on your neck and safer for accident free fun, to spin the towel around as you work than to crane yourself getting the opposite side.
- Qtips. My fingers wont fit everywhere. When your dippin in the cleaner it will be full of solution! Dab it on a napkin first, sucking the excess moisture thus making it 'damp'. Keep some dry ones nearby in case you flood a nook or...cranny.
Got a real nicotine stinker? Try the Fantasik Lemon scent. Works like a champ and smells good too! Just be really really careful, try a spot or two first to be sure no damage occurs to the existing paint finish.
You may find small artist brushes work well, just be aware the closeness of the metal ferrule (the part that holds the bristles) and your figure. I found myself nicking things that is why the long bristle brush.
This is where you must be an Artist Yourself.
You have a work of art in your hands, preserve it.
Hurry thru this at your own prevail. Depending on the piece and extent of cleaning this could take anywhere from ten minutes to several hours each.
Remember, Bossons don't like water. So keep it dry as possible. Use the white tshirts dipped in the solution to get the bigger areas, the Qtip for the tight spots. Use your fingers to pull some cotton off the end and twist forming a soft tip. Again, don't poke that Qtip in a crevice to hard as the plastic straw might separate from the cotton and oops!
Be super-duper extra careful when your working around the face and or skin areas. There are parts to every damaged Bossons that can be repaired good as new, repainted and blended so darn well you couldn't tell. But, damage the skin, especially the face, gets difficult to fix.
Don't
1 - Apply to much moisture.
This is a wiping process.
You're not washing the car or scrubbin the babes bottom here!
2 - Rub to remove a scuff.
More brain - Less muscle.
3 - Get silly and forget your holding Art.
Before. Cleaned. Restored.
Ya know, in a nut shell, its all about common cents.
Use the duster brush where you can.
Gently, with a damp rag, wipe the dust gathered areas and no more. Stay away from the skin.
If you have a pretty dirty one, use the cleaners, once, and be done with it. From then on your using a damp rag and plain water. Oh, and don't act surprised whence yer done that you end up seeing more flaws, minor chips and other imperfections you didn't see before the cleaning. It is amazing how much comes out in the wash.
The rest becomes natural patina.
Unless....
We are talking Restoration!
in another guide...
Keep in mind what Nat King Cole
would sing about
"Its a Wonderful World"
and Imagical too!
GOD Bless America
Aloha!
Should you find this guide useful,
hit that "YES" button
ThankYou!
Mahalo!
Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our 
