I tried looking for previous posts on this and came up empty. A PW caboose and a couple of other pieces of rolling stock have gotten white spots on them. I have tried cleaning with soap and warm water but nothing happened. Can anyone tell me what this is and is it possible to clean it off. Thanks
Bruce
It may be that the release agent used in the molding process has leached through the paint. This is known to happen on postwar F3s (particularly the New York Central ones). A search under F3s may turn something up.
On F3s, the accepted solution is to gently heat the piece with a hair dryer until the white spots liquify. Then they can be mopped up with cotton swabs. I've not had the occasion to try it myself though.
Har dryer will do it. They'll vanish right before your eyes. I've done it with both Lionel and Flyer postwar pieces and the spots haven't come back yet.
Beck
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
I tried this a few minutes ago and nothing happened, how long do you heat it? I used low heat for about 2-3 minutes. Any thing else I should do or maybe the problem is something else?
Sorry to say, in my experience, caboose bodies do not generally exhibit the mold release agent issue. The white spots are probably something else. If so, heat will not do anything,
The only thing I find that works is to use a mixture of white vinegar and water and scrub with a tooth brush. It may take 2 times. I use 75% vinegar 25% water. If that does not get it your out of luck.
Roger
Do the spots have any kind of a pattern to them? It's possible someone splashed thinner or bleach on it.
Becky
They are always on the layout and not near bleach or other chemicals. The basement does get damp, wonder if its some sort of mildew or whatever
That white residue often shows up on old post war trains that are stored in a damp basement. You can get a dehumidifer.
Just an update, I tried the vinegar and water clean up and it worked great, everything looks like new again. Thanks everyone for the help.
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