There has been a lot of discussion on the forums about this topic - cleaning your trains and engines in particular and I wanted to get everyone's input on the following.
What do you use on your wheels on your engine?
I used mineral spirits the other day with q-tips and rotated the wheels by hand during the cleaning process. It did a good job but I was considering doing the following. Connecting the train to a transformer and applying low power and using wet q-tips in mineral spirits and applying light pressure and let the pressure and the wheels moving do the "work". The train would be flipped on its back and connected to the transformer via alligator clips.. I would follow up by applying scotch brite pads while the wheels rotated after the gunk has broken up. I was also considering using a dremmel tip. Not the brass metal attachment but the attachement that looks like a pencil eraser and has mild abrasive qualities used for polishing metal. Thoughts on this idea?...
What do you use on the brush wheels, commutator segments? I have read mineral spirits, electronics cleaner or tv tube cleaner, pencil erasers, 1000 grit sand paper. I am just confused at this point. I do know one thing. If you clean it then it works like it is brand new.
I am about to embark on cleaning a 675, 681, 2026, 2333, and a 2023.
I appreciate your input. I am not new to the hobby but I am new to the hands on approach to cleaning and tinkering with my trains.
I use nothing stronger than rubbing alcohol and Qtips when cleaning wheels. Same for commutators, though for really dirty commutator surfaces, I sometimes apply crocus cloth. I also use alcohol for cleaning brushes. I recently got through cleaning my 675, 681 and 2026 this way, as well as a #50 Gang Car. I've never used power tools of any kind for cleaning, nor have I ever powered up a locomotive to clean its wheels.
arkady I use nothing stronger than rubbing alcohol and Qtips when cleaning wheels. Same for commutators, though for really dirty commutator surfaces, I sometimes apply crocus cloth. I also use alcohol for cleaning brushes. I recently got through cleaning my 675, 681 and 2026 this way, as well as a #50 Gang Car. I've never used power tools of any kind for cleaning, nor have I ever powered up a locomotive to clean its wheels.
I do have the dremmel and all of the appropriate attachments. But I'm with you. I do it the slow and least violent way. But I do like the idea of using the transformer hook up on the engines to let the engines do most of the work spinning the drive wheels for you.
Isopropyl alcohol (comes in different concentrations) and rags, cotton balls, q-tips, needle tip tweezers, and toothpicks are my cleaning weapons of choice, add in a finer straight blade screwdriver or surgical scalpel (exacto knife). If the gunk is caked and hardened on the wheels as it was when I first took my trains out of storage, that is when I use a flat head finer screwdiver or scalpel to break up and scrape off the solid stuff. Once clean, that type of endeavor is not required again becaiuse I keep up with it, lesson learned. Pencil erasers and scotch brite pads are in the arsenal as well.
Rusted or caked track might require a helping hand like a the dremmel with the right head unless one has a few months to monkey with them.
I figure I don't want to create a problem (overdo it) while fixing another. But the dremmel on the lowest rpm setting might be a fine way to get through it in short order for the first pass tough stuff.
When it comes to lubrication, easy does it and wipe off the excess. Repeat when necessary. It's easier to exercise restraint lubricating than it is cleaning track more than you have to. Same for the wheels and pickups.
And of course, use no steel wool pads of any sort on an engine or track unless you want to screw up your engine which will pick it all up. No one ever posted how to get steel wool debris off the magnets. And protect all plastic/and/or painted surfaces from the alcohol.
Jack
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
I use denatured alcohol on a clean white cloth.
Rich
Alton Junction
I use googone and qtips. First with a wet qtip and then with a dry one. I run the motor like you suggest using aligator clips to run the wheels. If your engine has a mechanical reversing unit(eunit), remember that the eunit will not work when it is upside down. Put the aligator clips on the engine,; get it running while right side up and then turn it upside down. Watch out that the qtip doesn't accidentally get stuck in the gears.
I just cleaned off a Marx 999 that looked like it have been sitting in a closet with 60 years of dust on it, the motor I just oiled in the usual spots, runs good now, but the dust was cleaned by heavy spray of windex and copious paper towel whipping, once that was dry the hardened on dust was cleaned off with a nylon brush wheel on my Dremel, that got all the hardened dust gunk off the body so now the engine wont need repainting. I'm going to try cleaning some car wheels with the dremel and a fabric buffer wheel to try and get that gunk off, will let you know how that works out.
Have fun with your trains
Hey vsmith! I too just finished cleaning up a Marx triple niner!
On wheels, rollers and generally any metal surface I want cleaned and/or polished, I use a Dremel #428 Carbon Steel Brush with the tool running at it's lowest RPM. I've used the Stainless Steel brushes on some applications, but those tend to throw their bristles more than the Carbon Steel versions. So I don't use the stainless tips around motors. I like this method because it not only removes the cake of carbon/grease/road gunk that builds up very quickly, but it also polishes the steel. And brass, copper or just about any other metal for that matter.
However you do have to wear safety glasses und keep the tool pointed away from your face when using this method. The Carbon Steel brushes are tough, but after awhile they begin to throw their bristles. I wear a shirt that I can take off when I'm done working because five will get you ten it will look like a porcupine after I've used those bits for a couple of hours. I also keep a magnet handy to sweep my work area for the tiny metal fillaments which I pick up and then I brush off the magnet into the trash can with a paint brush.
I also like denatured alcohol for general wiping. The Dremel method I use cleans car wheels and rollers very well, but on large steam locomotive wheels it tends to "melt" the gunk more than remove it. So after warming it with the Dremel 428, I use denatured alcohol (cassette deck head cleaner) on a Q-tip to wipe off the remaining residue.
For track, if it's not rusty, I use plastic wool pads. They have a "sanding" effect but they're not nearly as abrasive as actual sandpaper. It removes the gunk but not too much of the rail. You can find them in the paint departments of home centers and some department stores. Incidentally, a 1 inch square piece of plastic wool on a Dremel Mandrel makes a nice, cheap tool for stripping paint.
By the way, my primary work space is my bed!
Becky
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
Most stainless steel is absolutely non-magnetic and therefore no more dangerous than brass around Magnetraction locomotives. Ordinary steel, on the other hand, is very likely to get picked up by the magnets on the locomotive.
I scrape the black stuff off my wheels with an old Exacto knife while turning them by hand. Sintered iron is very hard and difficult to damage.
Bob Nelson
True, but with their proclivity to throw their bristles they tend to get in there more easily which is why I don't use the stainless. Even without the magnetic issue they can still get between the gears and cause trouble.
Go to an auto body store and get PPG Acryli-clean. Its an auto-body wax and grease remover. It dissolves grease and dirt much faster than alcohol or mineral spirits and will not harm paint. Ive been using it for years and no problems.
I use the cleaning the wheels with the motor running method frequently, use a paper towel, swabs get dirty fast.
I wouldnt us a power tool on a loco wheels, however ive used dremel wire wheel on car wheels and collector rollers with great results. Just wear eye protection because it throws a ton of littly metal hairs in your face.
Try the acryli-clean, youll never go back. It saves so much work.
If the wheels are really caked, I start by scraping off as much buildup as possible with a flat screwdriver.Then I do use mineral spirits on a shop towel to do the rest of the cleaning.I would not power anything with mineral spirits for fear of the liquid spraying off the surface of the wheel.
To clean commutator segements, I start with a cloth moistened with mineral spirits (for very dirty ones) or Caig Deoxit (mild dirt). If the segments need mechanical (abrasive) cleaning, I use a fiberglass burnishing tool. After using the burnishing tool, the segments get wiped again with a clean cloth moisted with caig deoxit to remove any loose particles.
I wanted to thank everyone for their input to this thread. I do appreciate your help and insight.
Regards,
Brian
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