Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
Liquid Tide and a tooth brush and rinse with warm water. The toothbrush gets into all the crevices and will not scratch the paint. I blow mine off with compressed air afterwards and usually follow that with a light coating of WD40 rubbed in lightly with a soft cloth and Q-tips for the tight areas. As stated above, stay away from reds and use only water on silvers. Oranges will also usually start to disintigrate if bothered.
For the mechanicals I use lighter fluid and a larger sized, flat model brush to work into the nooks, and paper towels and Q-tips for final clean up Then I usually wash it warm water and liquid Tide and a toothbrush. Then back to the air compressor to dry the parts before they can rust. All this is followed with a coat of WD40 for protection of the metal surfaces. After the WD40 has dried I use the proper lubricant for the area, be it grease or machine oil. You'll notice your trains will run close to new after a thorough cleaning and lubrication.
I have to do some sprucing up of my engines. I seem to recall folks stating they use dishwashing solutions for cleaning, as well as furniture polish to add some luster.
True/False/Better ideas?
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