Rolling Stock Wheel Cleaning

[Hamltnblue]

Hello All

Is there a method to cleaning rolling stock wheels?

 

[CP5415]

yes there is, Lionel Strang mentioned something about it a few years ago in MR Magazine.

 

Get a multi speed dremel & this

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/AttachmentsAndAccessories/Pages/AttachmentsDetail.aspx?pid=403

& very carefully at a slower speed, clean the gunk off of plastic & metal wheels.

[Hamltnblue]

Thanks.  I've thought of using one of the dremel attachments but decided against when the thought of it grabbing onto the wheel set and shooting it towards m face.  Even with safety goggles it would be pretty dangerous.  That plus it wold be embarrassing to show up at the emergency room with an HO wheel set sticking out of my forehead.

[CP5415]

i left it in the truck on the car, once, then decided to use spare trucks for this task after that.

[AntonioFP45]

I just do it the "Old School" method of:  Alcohol, Q-Tips, and a cotton cloth.  All my passenger and freight rolling stock are equipped with metal wheels.  The wheel cleaning process takes me 30-40 seconds per car. I have about 60 pieces of rolling stock.

But for the modelers with large fleets, I can understand the need to use a powered tool approach.

[CP5415]

Antonio,

I'll have to give that a shot!!

Thanks

[dstarr]

GooGone.  Moisten a paper towel in GooGone and lay it on spare piece of track.  Put the car on the track and roll the wheels back and forth over the moist paper towel.   Cleans metal wheels, plastic wheels, and the track too.  You can see the black goop coming off the wheels and onto the paper towel.

If you don't like GooGone, other  alcohol or mineral spirits will probably work too.   I don't  recommend the more active solvents lest they attack plastic.

 

[Hamltnblue]

Thanks.  Guess I was hoping for some type of product that you placed the rolling stock on.

The Q tip idea I've used with success.  It's just time consuming and I'm always looking for ways to speed things up.

 

[kenkal]

Hamltnblue

Thanks.  Guess I was hoping for some type of product that you placed the rolling stock on.

The Q tip idea I've used with success.  It's just time consuming and I'm always looking for ways to speed things up.

Hamltnblue,The Bachrus people have something you said you were hoping for.  Go to the Wheel Doctor tab in the below address.

http://www.bachrus.com/wheeldoctor.php 

Kinda pricey, but it works on all scales and sounds like it would really save a lot of time. I've been thinking of getting one, but haven't needed it yet, but that time is soon approaching.

Ken

[kenkal]

Hamltnblue

Thanks.  Guess I was hoping for some type of product that you placed the rolling stock on.

The Q tip idea I've used with success.  It's just time consuming and I'm always looking for ways to speed things up.

Hamltnblue,The Bachrus people have something you said you were hoping for.  Go to the Wheel Doctor tab in the below address.

http://www.bachrus.com/wheeldoctor.php 

Kinda pricey, but it works on all scales and sounds like it would really save a lot of time. I've been thinking of getting one, but haven't needed it yet, but that time is soon approaching.

Ken

[wholeman]

I take a three foot piece of track and place it on a flat surface.  Take a paper towel and place on the rails.  Put a few drops of Isopropyl Alcohol and roll the wheel on the alcohol soaked paper towel.  Repeat until there is no more dirt streaks on the paper towel. 

I have used this method multiple times and it has worked for me.

There was a modeling tip on Cody's Office about a month ago.

[cacole]

Never use Goo Gone -- it leaves a sticky chemical film on the wheels and track that just attracts more and more dirt.

For plastic wheels rubbing alcohol should be sufficient.  For metal wheels, paint thinner, commercial track cleaner (which seems to be nothing but colored, scented rubbing alcohol) or lacquer thinner is best.

Bachmann and other G-scale manufacturers recommend smoke fluid as a cleaning agent.

[Train Modeler]

The Dremel approach works best if you've got a lot of cars.   The other methods take a while.  And actually using two Dremels is probably best, one to clean the other to dry with a buffing pad that you can change out.

Richard

[maxman]

There was a big dirty wheel problem at our club which was solved through the use of an ultra sonic cleaner.  Basically all the suspect wheelsets were removed and thrown into the cleaner in a big batch.  I don't know what cleaning solution was used, but can find out if anyone is interested.

I had my doubts about this approach working because I had some concrerns about the wheel insulation being affected.  But there does not seem to have been any ill side effects.

[Hamltnblue]

Thanks again for the suggestions. I'll try a couple of the suggestions to see what works best for me and maybe even try out the automated cleaner.

[rockislandnut]

Hamltnblue

Thanks again for the suggestions. I'll try a couple of the suggestions to see what works best for me and maybe even try out the automated cleaner.

Hamitnblue, I'm not sure where I copied this ( maybe from this forum? ) but it seems like a pretty good idea of wheel cleaning.

 

[ChevelleSSguy]

If you have a lot of cars to clean. I would think pulling them off one by one to clean with a dremel would be a pain in itself. Especially if they are all weathered.

[delray1967]

I always clean the blackening from a Kadee wheel set before I run it on my layout.  I also use this method to clean paint after weathering or anytime the wheels get dirty.  I use a Dremel tool set on its lowest speed, causing the wheel set to spin as the brush scrubs the wheel.  It might take a couple cars to really get the hang of it, but it's pretty quick and does a very good job (mirror like finish).

Wear eye protection!  The wire wheel disintegrates as it rubs on the wheel face and will send tiny, sharp shards as well as any debris on the wheel tread, right at your face.

Don't let the wheel set spin too fast; I haven't done it, but I think the high speed, as well as the load placed on the axle point, may be enough to melt the axle, ruining the wheel set.

Don't let the wheel set spin too slow; Once again, I haven't done this but I bet if I held the wire wheel against a non-spinning wheel, it would wear a flat spot in the wheel face.  This wouldn't be good.

If you watch the video, you will see I slightly move the motor tool to get good contact with the inside of the flange as well as the face of the wheel.  It can be tough to get all the dirt/blackening from the corner of the flange, don't overdo it.  Power tools get things done faster, both good and bad things, so be careful.

I just uploaded a one minute clip showing how I use this method.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so05IXPi_5k