Cleaning Old Accessories

[Maverick42]

Merry Christmas to everyone. I'm brand new to Model Rail Roading. Just purchased an S-Gauge starter set. I have a friend who has alot of old AF accessories. They all work pretty good, but have some dirt, grime, and a little rust on them. I was hoping sombody out there could tell me the best way to clean the accessories, and give them a brighter, cleaner look. Thanks in advance.

[cwburfle]

And Merry Christmas to you.
Most, but not all toy trains can be cleaned with warm water, and a gentle soap, so long as the person doing the cleaning is gentle, and careful not to get electrical components wet.
In general rubbing, and or scrubbing can be a bad idea.
After washing, shake off the excess water.
Carefully blot the remaining excess water, and set infront of a fan to finish drying.

As I wrote above, some items are more sensitive to  being cleaned than others. Some paint and/or markings will dissolve in plain water.
Therefore, I suggest you post a list of the specific items you want to clean, and see what people suggest.

[ogauge]

 Try and disassemble as much as you can before you dunk em.  Usually reds and silvers can be damaged by dish soap cleaning.  I sometimes use WD40 on a twoel or rag to clean dirt off metal parts since water cleaning is just asking for rust .

[msacco]

 

Ditto on what Ogauge said. I can't speak for Flyer but with Lionel the reds can be real finicky. Some cars like the 6376 circus car cannot even be touched at all with water or anything else--the red trim paint will come off. I would definitely post specific items and see what Flyer fans say.

 

Mike S.

[Sturgeon-Phish]

You can do a lot of cleaning with a soft paint brush and Q-tips. Before Trying any thing try the solution on the bottom underside first. Most of the flyer accesories I've cleaned up will stand up to warm dish soap. IF you must dis-assemble, Watch the tabs when straightening them out, be sure to take them in the reverse of which they've been twisted and only as much as needed. Take pictures or make notes on the disassembly process. Most come apart fairly simply. Others assembled with rivets are more difficult, particullarly when re-assembling. If you decide to totally restore, there are paints by rustolium, krylon, and valspar that match real close to original colors. The 592 and 600 crossing gates have a painted bakelite base. The paint flakes if you look at it. If you are trying to clean one of these go real easy. Good luck and have fun Jim