Cleaning rolling stock wheels

Perfectly normal, you'd be amazed how fast you pick up gunk on the wheels.   I use my Dremel with a wire wheel to clean pickups and wheels.

Nothing wrong with what you're doing, you're fine.

Waste of time and unnecessary from my experience.

Tinplate Art posted:

Waste of time and unnecessary from my experience.

When your engines start acting up, and the passenger car lights are off more than they're on, maybe you'll revise your thinking.

Dremel and wire wheel for me too. Regular track cleaning helps too.

GNJ: MY experience says otherwise.

'Goo Gone' and a Q-tip for me. Some of the 1950's era postwar stuff I inherited was really gunked up.  Scraped the nasty wheels with a dull X-Acto chisel blade first, then a chem rub clean. 

Tinplate Art posted:

GNJ: MY experience says otherwise.

But,,,,,,,,are you running solely with conventional, or do you have MTH DCS and/or Lionel TMCC?

Thanks to all - I'll continue with my practice.  I did it last year (along with all the track) before storing away, and will say, setting up this year was a breeze with no problems at all.

Dremel with a fiber wheel.  Less intense and works like a charm.  Esp good for the pickup rollers.

Tinplate Art posted:

GNJ: MY experience says otherwise.

Whatever works for you.  I've lost count of all the times I've had repairs come in that are simply dirty wheels, rollers, and probably track back at the ranch.  Clean everything up, and the run like a champ.  Note that I do mostly command repairs and upgrades, older conventional stuff runs forever with any track condition it seems.

I've gotten cars that had a fairly large "tire" built up on the wheel, a solid ring of grease and grime.

NoviceBen posted:

Noticed recently, that with what seems to be minimal use, if I clean my Lionel rolling stock wheels with a Q-tip and 91% Isopropyl alchohol, the swab is extremely black with limited rubbing.  Is this normal?  Does this type of cleaning do any damage to the wheel material?  I let everything dry very well before I box items (Polar Express cars) in air tight plastic containers.

Thoughts/advice from any experts?

That is perfectly normal.  I use a Dremel tool to clean my wheels and rollers, but what you are using is perfectly fine. 

Lionel recommends a "citrus based" fluid for track cleaning.  I wonder ... is their own brand of track cleaning fluid citrus based? 

Mike M.

The dremel fiber wheel works great.  I have prewar passenger cars that stay constantly lit over 90 year old track flawlessly.  The wire wheel is going to leave shards in places unseen and unwanted I would think.  I know I’m not changing what works for me.

Cheers,       W1

HW: I have run TMCC and DCS locos without any track cleaning on both tinplate track and FasTrack. Luck of the draw? I am basically lazy, and if everything is running well, NO track or wheel cleaning for moi! 

I used the Dremel in the past. Maybe I was using too much pressure or had a defective wheel, but it ended up shooting the bristles out and I ended up with little tiny needles sticking in my arm and shirt. I never used a wire wheel with dremel again.  

Eye protection a must!!!

I use very light pressure with mine, and I'm using brass bristles, so they don't stick to magnetic stuff if they happen to come out.

I've had customers ask about a car that is missing the ring of stuff on a wheel.  You should see there face when I tell them that is gunk from the track, not a part of the wheel set!  The wheel they are asking about is good, the one with the ring of stuff needs to be taken off.

I've also had good luck on super dirty cars WD-40 on the Q-Tip - helps with conductivity too.  Comes off faster than the 99% alcohol I use the majority of the time.

Jim

I come from the school of Dremel as well. Like John said a brass wire wheel or other cleaning wheel other than steel works great and it’s fast.  I clean the tracks every now and again and have had minimal problems.  

I clean and oil all engines twice a year.  My choice is Goo Gone and Q-Tips.  Once around with a wet Q-Tip, once around with the other end to scrub and dry, and follow up with a folded tissue to fiinal clean and dry.  Amazing how black everything gets from the process.  I also use a long, dry pipe cleaner around the inside of engine wheels where it's hard to get at, including the traction tires.  Like John mentioned, without this maintenance, you definitely will notice poor performance "down the road ".

I concur....school of dremel with brass brush. And a beverage on the side, because doing this is monotonous....and cheese nips

Mike H Mottler posted:

Lionel recommends a "citrus based" fluid for track cleaning.  I wonder ... is their own brand of track cleaning fluid citrus based? 

Mike M.

Simple Green. What possibly could go wrong?

Use the citrus based stuff only when you're ready to scrap and replace your track.

For wheel cleaning I like the Dremel with the Scotchbrite wheels

Tinplate Art posted:

GNJ: MY experience says otherwise.

I didn't clean track and wheels for decades, but once on a table it became a bi-annual event minimum.

I think there is just more dust around this neighborhood too.

I usually use the CW Burfle method of a knife or screwdriver blade scrape for "chunky gunk" and then the solvent till shiny. Loco bearing flushes I do with WD-40 or CRC electric cleaner then apply my regular oil.

I'm taking a break from wire wheel splinters of all types for a while 😁

Naptha, WD-40, CRC, and others are plastic safe; I'd think there would be less long term drying out of rubber tires than cleaning with alcohol. (which dries out rubber... and WD-40 is hardly lube enough to cause slipping if dry-wiped after)

I think the worse Ive seen was a silver door milk car I bought on C-List that sat near half a knuckle too high and would uncouple. Gunk so thick black hard smooth and shiny I thought the steel chipped when the first gunk fissure gave way. I had used iso & Q-tips beforehand but it didn't breakup the outer gunk skin and the tips came away grayish, but "clean".

Youd be hard pressed to scratch a wheels contact areas beyond what using the loco on track does. Some running and light scratches vanish.

I lightly scraped the thicker gunk with a small blade screwdriver, then used alcohol on a q tip.

No matter how lightly you use that rotory tool with any wire wheel YOU NEED TO BE WEARING EYE PROTECTION!!!

Late to the party, ...

I use a Dremel for this work.  My accessory tool is #512E,  Finishing Abrasive Buffs...

Dremel 512E Link

Rather than using it to attack a wheel tread fully loaded with years of the ubiquitous black gunk, I'll first do as others have stated and use a metal tool to carve away chunks of the gunks.  Then I'll apply a generous coating of alcohol, Goo-Gone, lacquer thinner, mineral spirits, kerosene,...I've tried them all, used them all at one time or another over my 60+ years in the hobby and they all loosen that crud, some better than others, but sufficient for the moment.  I also use a Q-tip, wiping off the excess crud.

Then, over the last few years I've finished the cleaning with a buffing using the above Dremel accessory tool.  IMHO?...Awesome!!  Fast.   Very conforming to the wheel tread/flange contour.  Inexpensive yet long-lasting.  No flying metal (magnetic or not) chards/bits.  ( I still HIGHLY recommend using safety glasses for ANY Dremel work, however!)   A favorite in my tools collection, for sure.

I only use these buffers on metal wheels.  I suppose they'd clean plastic wheels quickly, too, but I have none on my equipment as per a list of common caveats thereof.

While this particular Dremel tool suffix, 'E', denotes its compatibility with their 402EZ Lock Mandrel, they will also attach to a standard 402 mandrel.  I use both from time to time.

So, FWIW, there's another option.

KD

I had been using iso to clean my track. After reading GRJs track cleaning technic I tried the goo gone. It works so much better. I only have a few hundred wheels to clean. I’ll be trying dkdkrd’s suggestion of the dremel 512E. I noticed one the other day that has more traction gunk thickness than a new traction tire. I’ll be doing a lot of scraping I’m afraid. With all of that being said, anybody want to come over to help me clean a few hundred wheels😜. I wish I had been using this site much sooner. So much knowledge resides here.

For that black junk on the wheels I use an old pocket knife.  Dremels and chemicals are too slow and messy.

Hopefully cleaning wheels and track is all history now with NO OX working so well.

Charlie

Only thing that works for me is an axacto knife. Tried every way possible. My cars don't have this gunk issue, only the used cars I buy.

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@SIRT posted:

Only thing that works for me is an axacto knife. Tried every way possible. My cars don't have this gunk issue, only the used cars I buy.

SIRT, do you use NO OX on your track as well?

@pennsynut posted:

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SIRT, do you use NO OX on your track as well?

Tracks never need cleaning.

@SIRT posted:

Tracks never need cleaning.