Cleaning 1950s era shells

I'm sure some experts will post here. Just remember that Postwar Santa Fe silver is not a resilient color, very easy to ruin or wash off. Mold?

Mild liquid soap (dish soap) warm water and a soft brush,be aware Lionel silver paint can be delicate or not,best to try cleaning on the inside of the shell first....also be careful with the SF decal,but repros are available...good luck....joe

Warm water and Dawn dish soap and a very soft brush. That is how I clean all of mine just don’t let them soak will remove any decals 

I am also interested in cleaning some of my cars and  engines.  I have washed a  passenger cars and they  came out great but it did not have any decals.  The decals are my dread because water  remove them.

Dawn dish washing liquid always worked for me to.  Bought '52 2343AA at a train show that was really filthy/grimy/ cigarette smoke.  Didn't have alotta money in it so I filled up bathroom sink with (WARM) water and couple drops of Dawn.  Dunked them right in the water and scrubbed them up with an old white cotton sock.  Rinsed them off in warm water & blow dried them with wife hair dryer.  Came out better than expected.  They were a C6- when I started. Now I would say they are a C7++.  Decals didn't come off.  Silver paint came out perfect.  I have used dawn to clean up 6464 boxcars shell also.  Just about everything.  Never had a problem.  Also you don't scrub like your trying to get grease outta #11 cast iron pan!!  Good luck    

Rob

I agree, plain blue Dawn will degrease nearly anything without destroying it.

Dollar store packages of kids’ craft paintbrushes and makeup brushes are soft and suitable, the paintbrushes for getting into the little crevices and the makeup brushes for dusting. (For the sake of domestic peace, resist the temptation to grab one that’s already on a makeup table. Besides, once they’ve been used to put on face powder or blush, they’ll have oil residue on them.) 

Q-tips are good for crud that won’t come off with the brushes. Stay off the decals with them and don’t press hard. That’s also the tip for dunking a barely damp brush or QTip in baking soda, which is softer than most paint but able to remove really badly stuck grease in seam lines. 

As far as engines go.  I unsolder all the wires.  Take off brush plate/brushes and armature.  Hang them on a wire coat hanger & give everything a good spraying with WD-40.  2 or 3 times if necessary. I use a air compressor set at 25/30 psi and blow everything dry.  Do the normal service on the commutator slots & brush wells.  Solder all the wires back on. Good to go.  This system has work well for me  for alotta  years to "clean-up" a grimy engine.  JMHO

Rob

joe krasko posted:

Mild liquid soap (dish soap) warm water and a soft brush,be aware Lionel silver paint can be delicate or not,best to try cleaning on the inside of the shell first....also be careful with the SF decal,but repros are available...good luck....joe

This is exactly what I do Joe

Dawn always worked great for me as well I’ve cleaned two of the so for and re-painted and decaled them 

pretty much everything used i buy finds itself disassembled and in my sink before going on the layout. i use palmolive and a toothbrush, then dry with a soft towel and q-tips for the hard to reach spots. ive found very few things that didn’t come clean, and those that don’t typically need more serious work done than just a cleaning anyway.

Lionelski posted:

joe krasko posted:

Mild liquid soap (dish soap) warm water and a soft brush,be aware Lionel silver paint can be delicate or not,best to try cleaning on the inside of the shell first....also be careful with the SF decal,but repros are available...good luck....joe

This is exactly what I do Joe

thanks John.......P.S. love your site.....joe

I like to use a cheap natural bristle chip brush with the bristles cut down to about 1". That makes the brush stiff enough to scrub with, and is far better than a Q-tip for getting into recesses and inside corners. You do need to exercise some care not to touch other parts of the model with the metal crimp, tho. (You'll know it's natural bristle because when you start scrubbing, something will smell like a wet animal...)

I have cleaned decals with a slightly damp brush or Q-tip and very gentle pressure, but it is risky, as they flake very easily. Work from the inside out, and also beware of any cracks in the interior of the decal, where the fibers might snag. It is surprising how much even a gentle pass can brighten them up. Not a risk I'd take on something in perfect condition, tho.

joe krasko posted:

Lionelski posted:

joe krasko posted:

Mild liquid soap (dish soap) warm water and a soft brush,be aware Lionel silver paint can be delicate or not,best to try cleaning on the inside of the shell first....also be careful with the SF decal,but repros are available...good luck....joe

This is exactly what I do Joe

thanks John.......P.S. love your site.....joe

Thanks Joe