Smoke units do they cause damage to plastic shells and is smoke fluid bad for paint

[Anonymous]

Most of my engines are diesels(lionel atlas MTH). The majority of my engines have smoke units. I rarely run the smoke units. The only times are for kids who love to see the smoke. My question is has anyone damaged their engines by running the smoke units alll the time? When the smoke units run,the smoke fluid blows out of the top and lands on the painted plastic shell. I clean this up right away but it worries me. Has anyone noticed the paint being damaged by the smoke fluid? One bit of advice to everyone. If you store your trains in their boxes or travel with them make sure there are upright. I always test out my engines and this includes the smoke units. One day I tested my lionel alco 420 NPR which included the smoker. I put 15 drops of smoke fluid in it just like the instructions say. I did not know that the seller ,at a local train show, had already filled the smoke unit. The smoker worked fine as well as the whole engine. I had no use and room for the engine on the layout so I put it back in the box. I placed the engine in the upside down position (big mistake). It was about a year later that I took the engine out of the box. All of the smoke fluid had run out and was on the top of the engine. The inside of the shell was covered in smoke fluid. The electronics were undamaged and dry. I spent 4 hours carefully cleaning out the engine. The engine is fine now but I was sure worried at the time.

[prewardude]

This is an excellent question, and one that I have been wondering about myself. I haven't observed any damage to the paint on my own engines... I don't know about anybody else.

Anybody?

[Anonymous]

Hello Gentlemen,

I asked some of the more knowledgeable people at Lionel and they stated that their smoke fluid would not harm the paint job on any of their engines. Maybe this was their way of selling more of their brand of smoke fluid, not sure. I am not taking any chances and using their smoke fluid on my painted diesel engines. I have one suggestion that was given to me from Lionel to stop small droplets of smoke fluid forming on the shell. Do not fill the engine with smoke fluid with the fan ON. Turn the fan off, fill it up and let sit for a few minutes, then start the engine up with fan on. I have found less droplets and residue of fluid on the shell. I have not had any problems with the paint job and smoke fluid interacting with each other. Hope this helps.

[brianel027]

Years ago I got a deal on a used Lionel 2-4-2 steamer that was just begging to come home with me. It needed some TLC and I was up to the job at hand. It has a 2-position e-unit and a plastic shell. Might have been a #239, or a #242: something along those lines. I repainted the whole thing in a 2-tone Jersey Central scheme only using blue for the top and black for the bottom. Front boiler was done in gunmetal. Added handrails were done in orange. Also added a coupler for the front. Added some other details as well as a custom headlight and a modern LTI period Lionel smoke unit which the engine did not have.

You can tell from reading my posts I love messing around with stuff. What the heck? If it isn't collectible (monetarily-wise) and needs help, all the more reason.

I've had no problems with melting nor no problems with paint though I did wonder about this years ago and so I did the smoke stack in a flat black should I have had to make any touch up to, but I've never had to.

Though I'm also sure the plastic being used back then was probably more durable than the plastics used later on by MPC and LTI to do some of their plastic bodied steamers.

[Anonymous]

I have a Bachmann HO Niagara that has a partially melted pastic smoke stack from the heat of the smoke unit. It's the only plastic engine I've had a problem with. I have used several different brands of smoke fluid (MTH, LGB, Seuthe, MegaSteam)in my die cast locomotives HO & O and have no problems with the paint on any of them.
I like MegaSteam the best, by the way. The fragrance or odor doesn't seem to bother me as badly as the others and smoke production seems greater too. It's a personal preference.

[ben10ben]

Most of todays trains use an acrylic based paint that is not affected by mineral oil smoke fluid.

[Anonymous]

My new atlas rs I in C@nw has a painted green stack and all the green paint inside the stack has come off using the jttrains smoke fluid. I got a bottle of floquil c@nw paint and put it on the inside of the stack and so far it is not coming off.
I would say that you need to be careful with it.
I have found that the lgb fluid causes no problem with the paint and most of my 3rd rail steamers have seuthe smokers.

Dave Roxin

[Anonymous]

I have switched to J.T. Megasteam smoke fluid and see lots of great advantages. I think it comes in 20 scents, the smoke is awesome-more smoke than any other fluid I have used, plus is dissipates!!!! Thick, dense smoke out of the engine and then 3 feet above or so and it is gone. No need for an exhaust fan. Noticed, too, it doesn't leave a residue on top of the engines, maybe because it dissipates so well. Use in you engine with it off, let absorb for 15 minutes or so and run to enjoy all that beautiful smoke.

[Anonymous]

sophia: just becarefull with it around painted surfaces. Read my post right above yours about paint, otherwise I love the stuff. dave.

[daan]

I've never had any problems with smoke fluid etching paint. It's light oil, and most of the time light oil doesn't affect paint. It gets greasy though and if you want to paint your model later on, you really have to clean it thoroughly, otherwise the paint doens't stick.

[FJ and G]

I don't worry about paint. If it damages the paint, so the better as it adds some weathering.