Restoring luster to PW diesels paint.

Hey Bill ,

I don't know how bad the fading is on the F units but I have tried a product called  PLEXUS.   It can be found on the EBay or Amazon easy enough.

It was originally claimed to be developed for the aerospace industry .........it is available in various size spray cans .  IT  AIN'T  CHEAP.

I was introduced to it in the motorcycle industry . Cleaned everything and once used it made the paint look great and the dried bugs never stuck as well.

I have my wife using it instead of the greasy pledge stuff on furniture and my wood carvings.   It doesn't leave the greasy mess on things that has to be repeated every time you polish the furniture.   Occasional dusting without it is no problem.

It does come with the required warnings from California so don't spray your entire layout  😨

I've used it on a couple of my MTH F7s . No mess.....Just shine.

I would try a small place on the engine first.   On some old painted surfaces I had good success by applying a little to a cotton cloth and waiting a minute or so and then applying it to the painted surface.  

Have fun and be safe Bill  😷

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Hey Bill ,

I don't know how bad the fading is on the F units but I have tried a product called  PLEXUS.   It can be found on the EBay or Amazon easy enough.

It was originally claimed to be developed for the aerospace industry .........it is available in various size spray cans .  IT  AIN'T  CHEAP.

I was introduced to it in the motorcycle industry . Cleaned everything and once used it made the paint look great and the dried bugs never stuck as well.

I have my wife using it instead of the greasy pledge stuff on furniture and my wood carvings.   It doesn't leave the greasy mess on things that has to be repeated every time you polish the furniture.   Occasional dusting without it is no problem.

It does come with the required warnings from California so don't spray your entire layout  😨

I've used it on a couple of my MTH F7s . No mess.....Just shine.

I would try a small place on the engine first.   On some old painted surfaces I had good success by applying a little to a cotton cloth and waiting a minute or so and then applying it to the painted surface.  

Have fun and be safe Bill  😷

 

 

 

Thanks for the response, I will check it out.

Interesting stuff, I had seen this before but never paid much attention.  Amazon has this as well via Prime shipping too.  I have a lot of uses for this it seems.

When polishing paint I usually start out with a product called Nu Finish. Its the least aggressive of all the waxes and polishes I am aware of. It doesn’t streak like some polishes. Use a soft cloth, not paper and rub on lightly, let dry and rub off. You can find it at almost all auto parts stores as well as Walmart, etc.

Pete

@Norton posted:

When polishing paint I usually start out with a product called Nu Finish. Its the least aggressive of all the waxes and polishes I am aware of. It doesn’t streak like some polishes. Use a soft cloth, not paper and rub on lightly, let dry and rub off. You can find it at almost all auto parts stores as well as Walmart, etc.

Pete

Thanks Pete

I second Nu Finish auto polish.  It was a new polymer 20 or so years ago and I have been using it on my old cars and van when I had it since.  It will bring back the color and shine and last for six months on a car unless you travel 70mph plus on the high way for a few days as it will wear off sooner like all polishes.  It has no abrasives and will not scratch paint or clear finish.  It goes on easy and wipes off easy.  Sold at Walmart, or Auto Zone for more in orange and blue bottle.

Charlie

I have been using Pledge for almost 40 years on old trains and have been very pleased with the results.  I always try it first on a small inconspicuous place on the shell to make sure it does not harm it but to date , I have not had any issues.  There was a time when there was only one Pledge formula so try to find the Original Formula if you decide to try it.  It is certainly inexpensive to give a try and if you do not like it for trains, you can always polish the furniture!

Good luck,

Don

Thanks guys for the suggestions.

Klasse All in one.

I don't trust using any cleaner / polishes over single stage silver paint though. Try a small area first.

Some of you may remember Dr Tinker, a postwar parts supplier and repair shop in MA.  He recommended auto polish.  I used liquid Turtle Wax on my Lionel 2245 Texas Special and it looks great!  I was surprised how much dirt came off and it restored the shine.  Auto wax gets my vote!

John

I'm with John on the Turtle Wax. It is gentle and leaves the surface clean and shiny. Be sure to use a soft cotton pad to apply the wax and buff it with a soft, clean all cotton rag.

There was a gentleman at York that sold a homemade product called "RestoresIt".  It came in a brown bottle.  It must have contained some bee's wax or something because when you shook the bottle to mix up again it had a milky / yellowish color.   This was the best product hands down for cleaning and restoring the original paint finish and color. 

This was especially good on tinplate.   

I do know that the original formula could not be shipped via mail due to its contents.  The original inventor I believe passed away and his nephew(?) reconstituted the formula and began selling it again.   

When a friend of mine would travel to York, I'd ask him to pickup a bottle for me to bring back.

However, since I haven't traveled to York in several years, I do not know if this product is even available any longer.  

I still have a portion of the original and a full bottle of the new formula left. 

All I can say is that it worked wonders.

I have an early bottle of NuFinish (and NuVinyl) that hid for decades. The dated and simple style obviously done on the cheap, before they had much of a following or art budget.   

Both perform like a new bottle fyi.

Pledge is pretty docile. It has some oils that plastics and some paints like to absorb, usually in a good way. Extremely unstable porus paints might be brake down by it, but these might fail with dishwater water on a cotton ball anyhow.

Try cleaning a plexiglass window with it if you have one. You'll notice the small scratches become.cleaner and clearer as it fills.  Mildly smeary, but looks way better than Windex amonia damage imo. The cloudy look that forms over time is partially oil breakdown and dryrot from ammonia or so I was told. It seems to work for me for a lot of things for decades now.

I was taught to use Pledge to polish up dingy Pre and Postwar Lionel. Been using that ever since. Been some 40 years now that I have used it

Well  BILL ,

   You should probably get rid of a pile of those engine boxes and make room for a ton of cleaners , polishes and protective agents .  😨😁

I have used Armor-All Original Protectant on all my prewar and postwar for 20+ years with excellent results with absolutely no adverse effects to the train finishes whatsoever. It is mineral oil based (< 5%) with some mild detergents and surfactants. It is non-toxic.  As with any cleaners,be careful around rubber stamped lettering. 

Pledge, Armorall, and many other products contain silicone in various amounts.   Silicone will eventually prevent painting or touching up, maybe even prevent the installation of decals.  You have to remove the silicone using a solvent- and that solvent will likely remove the painted-on markings. 

Be aware of this, and decide in advance whether you will ever plan to re-paint or re-decal, before you apply any product containing silicone.

Good points Mike. 8 was advised by a woodworker years ago to not use Pledge due to this and the film it leaves behind. So this makes a lot of sense for the same reasons.