How to clean an old Madison car?

You are right Geo, don't use water, especially hot. The dissolved  minerals and floride added to the water discolors the paint. Use a soft cloth and some Windex sprayed on the cloth and work in small areas and you should be OK. Use a cotton swab with Windex for the hard to reach places, like vents and steps.

@Chuck Sartor posted:

You are right Geo, don't use water, especially hot. The dissolved  minerals and floride added to the water discolors the paint. Use a soft cloth and some Windex sprayed on the cloth and work in small areas and you should be OK. Use a cotton swab with Windex for the hard to reach places, like vents and steps.

Thanks Chuck, I think I'll try that on the inside of the car first, and see how much comes off on my cloth. I would MUCH rather have it wearing old dirty paint than clean with smeared paint!

George

Well Windex is mostly water and

Geopeg-

I recently bought the three Madison cars (2625, 2627, 2628).  They were in pretty good shape over all, but I thought a cleaning might improve the look.  I searched this Forum and decided to follow the advice of using a very soft-bristled brush and water with a few drops of Dawn dish-washing liquid. I did NOT brush hard or scrub. I only lightly blotted - not wiped - the shells dry then allowed to them air dry.  I was lucky with the 2625 and 2628, but unfortunately there was paint loss on the 2627.  I was able to match the Tuscan paint color pretty closely and touch up the 2627.  Although it worked out OK for me (I'm not a collector), I probably should have realized up front that the well-known flaking of the original paint from the bakelite might increase the likelihood of paint loss from a gentle washing.  Oh well, live and learn until you die.

I would use distilled water the kind you would use on a CPAP machine less then $1 a gallon at most stores and a couple of drops of Dawn dish detergent and a very soft  Bristle  Brush.  

@RJT this matches exactly with my thoughts - kind of combining all the safest suggestions into one. I will still try it on the inside first, but since my car has such obvious flaking topside, I'll be extra cautious up there!

Thanks ya'll!