Cleaning Standard Gauge Cars

[Anonymous]

My wife is right - I am getting old!

I remember reading a posting (or maybe it was an article) on this site about cleaning old standard gauge cars. But darned if I can find it. I tried the search but that didn't give me what I was looking for.

I have acquired some nice standard gauge cars but they need cleaning.

My 517 caboose is in nice shape but kinda dirty and has some missing paint. It looks like someone put tape of some kind on the side and some paint came off when it was removed - not by me. The brass is a little tarnished but not too bad. I am a little concerned about cleaning the brass.

I remember the article recommending dish soap and water applied with a soft brush but not much else.

Any help will be appreciated.

[nitroboy]

Dish soap and water should be just fine. Dis-assemble as much as possible. To clean the brass, you can just use soap and water, or you can polish with Brasso, or your favorite brass polisher. I use Maaz, I get it from Home Depot. It polishes really good, and leaves a fine protective coating to help keep the shine. If you really want to make the paint come alive, I wipe the bodies with K & N Knocker' Loose, let it sit overnight, then wipe it clean again. You can get this at NAPA auto stores. It adds oil back into the paint, and revives it.

If you have a Dremel tool or some other type if rotary tool, get one of the small wire wheels for it. These do wonders for the couplers and wheels.

All in all, dish soap will work just fine, but I hope the other tips help out some. Let me know if you need any more help.

Dave

[Anonymous]

Thanks Dave,

I am anxious to try the Knocker' Loose. I have used Pledge to create a bit of a shine after cleaning. I will try the Maaz as well. I used Brasso on something and it didn't remove much tarnish.

Thanks again

[SPFan]

If you use dish soap make sure the water is not hot, in fact about 90F would be better, then dry immediately or you might get streaking. Any metal polish will work on the brass but avoid the paint as its pretty soft and can be polished off easily.
Pete