Is there a preferred method of polishing up fluted aluminum cars by K-Line or other manufacturers? I acquired a set of 4 former Amtrak 21" cars last year and got them on the rails just Tuesday evening at the club for the first time. The Alcos are polished and the baggage car is stainless but the 4 cars are quite drab. I'm thinking a fine brass wire wheel might be a suitable method - your suggestions please. Should I try to disassemble the cars removing the plastic parts?
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NO on the BRass Wheel. there are some aluminum mag cleaners at your local auto parts store. Try theAluminum mag cleaner on an inconspicuous area first.
YEs on removing as much of the plastic parts as you can because you don't know what polishes can do to chromed plastic.
Several yrs ago, I used Semichrome polish on a set of pw 2500 series Santa Fe passenger cars, they cleaned up like chrome. What ever you decide to use, I'd suggest taking the passenger cars completely apart before cleaning the bodies.
I don't think you can do much for the aluminum finish since the K-line cars are clearcoated. Maybe use a Dremel with a soft cotton like polishing wheel and some auto wax or pledge furniture polish.
If the cars are clear coated, that may be the issue. Clear coat can yellow with time. The stuff from Weaver was particularly prone to doing that. Other brands may also be susceptible. The answer may be to remove the clear coat and apply a new one. I'd test an underside or other inconspicuous place first.
Chris
LVHR
If the cars are clear coated just use soap and water. Trying to remove the clear coat could be a major undertaking requiring stripping the shells. I would be surprised if anyone knows what they used for a coating. If its a lacquer it could be stripped with many solvents. If its a urethane then it will be much harder to remove. Wire wheels and abrasives will just put scratches in the finish and metal making them even harder to polish.
Pete
I usedDawn dish detergent and water with a soft brush, worked real good then buffed off with micro fiber rag.
Sam, pictures of the cars in question?
Unlike the Post War Lionel bare aluminum cars I would be very, very leery of ruining the bright finished 21" Empire State Express cars with anything aggressive.
Hey BobbyD, these are not the shiny Empire State cars but an old set of Amtraks that someone sanded (scraped?) the Amtrak paint off of. Consequently, they are dull and have some slight scratches in between the windows where the paint was. A photo of the Observation is in my lead photo.
Thanks fellas, I'll start with the Dawn and water to see if that makes any improvement. Would like to polish them to give them a shiny appearance if possible.
I have used these small polishing wheels with a Dremel to polish up a set of aluminum valve covers with success. The kit comes in a variety of grits. They appear to be made of a plastic material, like a scotch-brite pad, and I consider them to be somewhere between cloth and a wire wheel in terms of abrasiveness.
Make no mistake though, they can be very abrasive, so I would start with the finest grit and keep the Dremel on low speed and start with an inconspicuous area first to see how it goes. You can also try them in conjunction with a low abrasive, liquid polishing compound. If successful, I would finish with an aluminum mag wheel polish like someone suggested.
There are several bottled metal cleaning/polishing gels or creams that are explicitly described as non-abrasive and for steel, aluminum, chrome and other reflective metal finishes. I haven't done any sort of scientific comparison but some have a slight acid content that will remove corrosion. I have used these on anodized aluminum and some stainless steel and they clean up the surface to the extent of remedying both accumulated grime and minor scratching. The most recent one I used on stainless steel is called "Noxon 7" (and smells as bad as the name sounds). Of course this is not for clear coated surfaces, as the label plainly states.
The trouble with cars with fluted/ribbed surfaces is that the cleaner/polish gets between the ribbing and is a bear to get out especially if it has time to dry. However, I have found that isopropyl alcohol will generally remove it without reacting and will clean away any fingerprints you leave on the bare metal.
I've never had to try Dremel polishing wheels and the like on aluminum car bodies. I imagine a full-size metal polishing wheel would do the job quicker and better. I once had one that I used for cabinet hardware and with a soft wheel and polishing compound it worked a treat.
I have a lot of uncoated aluminum cars. The auto stuff works fine. I have used "Mothers", " Calfornia Purple", and others. A lot of work, but they end up shiny.
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