Wheel Crud

There are a few ways to clean the wheels; one is to remove heavy build-up with a flat-tip screwdriver and scrpe the wheels(time consuming), another is to use a dremel motor tool with a wire wheel.

To prevent as much future build-up of crud, try to use as little smoke fluid as possible if you use smoke fluid, it has to go somewhere-usually tracks.

Lee F.

I use a flat knife blade (xacto #18) to clean off the thickest deposits, followed by qtips or a rag wet with mineral spirits.

I gave up using a wire wheel because I decided that the wire wheel must be flinging the crud all over the place.

I am in complete agreement with CW. Scraping is the only good way to go. It IS a dirty job!

Rob

Agreed.  I use a miniature flat-bladed screwdriver and Q-tips dipped in alcohol. 

What method do you find works best?

Hands Down a q tip dipped in GOO GONE! Takes the Crud Right OFF!

There are a few ways to clean the wheels; one is to remove heavy build-up with a flat-tip screwdriver and

Be Very Careful but remember you will scratch the wheels surface!

scrape the wheels(time consuming), another is to use a dremel motor tool with a wire wheel.

NO!

as stated above the use of a small flat tip screw driver helps.i use crc lectra clean first on wheels that have build up and them use the screw driver to gently scrape the crud off.

the lectra clean is an awesome cleaner and sometime's after spraying on the wheel's only a rag might be necessary rather than the screw driver.

i very seldon have crud buildup.i run the train's daily and use two  northeast track cleaning car's that i modified slightly.

I use mineral spirits or denatured alcohol on a q-tip if not too dirty. If the wheels are really cruddy I use my dremel with a plastic fiber disc first. I found out wire wheels tend to through off the tiny wires as they wear and too many where ending up in my shirts or in my socks if I walked into the shop without shoes on. After a few of them sticking in my feet,  I switched to the fiber wheels.

I use a Q-tip with the strong stuff - lacquer thinner. Be careful because this WILL take off paint. But it simply decimates even the thickest of wheel crud.

I have noticed it does almost no good to clean the wheels and not the track, too.  I use Simple Green to clean track and wheels.   I have never had anything but great results.  

To clean wheels, I do two steps:

1) turn the loco over and clean all wheels that are unpowered (that I can turn by hand) and the center pickups by using a cloth pad dremel soaked with a bit of simple green.  I have noticed that getting the rollers clean and shiny is a key to good running.

2) I then  set the loco (and tender) wheels on "O-gauge rollers" at about 10 volts while the loco is standing in place  (FIRST PHOTO).  I got mine from Micro Mark.  The photo shows a Lionel Atlantic set up, along with one roller in front so you can see what it looks like loose, and the package in back.  

    Anyway, the loco sits on these and spins its drivers:  I hold a Q-tip or brush with simple green against it and clean it.  In a few cases I have had to hold a blade against it to "machine" accumulated crude off from an old used loco I had bought. 

To clean track - I had a Lionel Christmas track cleaning car but it did not do a heavy enough job.  Once a week I clean any particular bad sections by hand.  I then run my vacuum car (top in PHOTO TWO) about three times around each loop, then the heavy duty track (blue) cleaning car about ten times, and then I run the track eraser car (red) for about fifteen minutes, just attaching it to a normal train.  

The vacuum cleaner car's guts are from a Dustbuster.  Originally I powered it with a recitifer from track voltage, but the vacuum sucks best at 20 volts but picks up best if pulled at slow speeds around 11 volts, so I now power it with a 18V B&D rechargable battery mounted on the flatcar towed behind.

   On the lower level, the track cleaning car to the right works well, just a weighted lever from the back of a flatcar, on which I clamp a cloth pad (old denim works best) wrapped about six times around a wooden block and soaked with simple green or alcohol - tow it behind a loco for a while and the track cleans up nicely.   The red car on the lower left is a boxcar with a track cleaning eraser that a weighted beam lever holds down against the track with about 4 ounces force.  Sometimes I just run it with a freight train continuously.  Most visitors never notice. 

lee the simple green is an excellent cleaner as you know.i buy the stuff in the gallon jugs and dilute with water.

we use it in the kitchen and bathroom also.

terry.....

I have always scraped the heavy stuff off with a flat bladed screwdriver and then used 99% alcohol to clean them up.

My "last pass" is with one of my custom ScotchBrite Dremel cleaning wheels.

thop

Thanks for posting the photos

I have two  northeast track cleaning car's also.

I use the one with the felt pads and IPA, the second with Scott's scrub pads cut to fit.

I run them about 4 or 5 times a year.

maybe it should be more often

quote:

simple green is an excellent cleaner as you know.i buy the stuff in the gallon jugs and dilute with water.

I use Simple Green too. Until recently our local Lowes carried it, but no more. Fortunately, Tractor Supply has it.

Folks who are not familar with Simple Green should not that it will remove lettering. It is strong stuff.

I often use it in my ultrasonic cleaner.

A mixture of simple green, vinegar, and water in the ultrasonic cleaner will dissolve rust, but it removes chemical blackening too.

Hi Forest, The obvious place those pesky little steel wires will end up is embedded into your motors. If you must use wire wheels, use soft brass.

I have stopped using the Dremel wire wheels for the most part after suffering the same fate as Forest.   I now use my ScotchBrite creation with the Dremel, it seems as effective as the wire wheels for most things, and it doesn't leave little needles all over the place!

charlie i have two loops of track and use one track cleaning car on each loop.i generally use the sticky felt pads all the time.

only on occassion do i use the green scratch pad.but when i do use them the green pad is very effective.

the felt pads/green pads can be removed in a second or two and new ones put on just as fast thanks to the velcro.

my track is really clean and seldon gets dirty to the point where its causes problems with my cars that have lights etc in them.

i get the sticky backed felt pads at michaels(69c or 99c) and then cut them on my cutter i have here at home.

thop.....

cw i get mine at home depot.it was on sale a few months ago for just eight dollars inc tax.i bought two gallons so that will last quite a while.

doesnt smell to good like some cleaners but thats ok.it sure does work well!

To update this thread, Simple Green is NOT recommended for cleaning model railroad track. Some modelers suffered extensive damage to track and we don't need any more jokes or levity about it.

https://ogrforum.com/d...1049899553683/page/2

The $1 solution to eliminate the occurrence of wheel crud! Put one of these pads under any freight car and run it regularly.