# cleaning



## amer/flyer (Jan 11, 2014)

What is good for cleaning old A/F locomotives and cars?


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

It all depends on what you are cleaning. Metal or plastic. You need a very mild cleaner for anything painted, like warm water and Ivory Snow. Baby shampoo is also mild.

If cleaning wheels and motors, I use 100% acetone with a q-tip. Stay away from any plastic or painted surfaces.

Some use 91% isopropyl alcohol. This stuff can also damamge paint and plastic.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Naptha is actually less harmful than acetone, but any solvent can damage some paints and possibly plastics.


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## FRED On Board (Jan 2, 2014)

In my experience, restoring a lot of delicate items to include antique radio chassis and analog electronic components, and printed circuit boards and components as found in modern electronic gear, in desktop and laptop computers (such as pet hair and dust laden dirty fans), a lot of grime, including nicotine stains, can be removed with the application of a modern all-purpose detergent cleaner such as Simple Green.

Here are the items that are nearly always in-play to gently clean and restore the appearance of plastics, all metals, most painted surfaces that have been enameled or lacqured, and most electric and electronic components, wire or cabling connects.

Spray bottle of all purpose detergent.
A gallon jug of distilled water
A quart or larger size "stock" vessel of VMP naphtha (this is flammable)
Tooth brushes, soft bristle type
Cotton swabs
Cotton T-shirt material
Small artists paint brushes with the bristles trimmed to about 3/8-inch below the ferrule
Air compressor (set at about 35 psi)
Aire nozzle (pistol type)
Two or three plastic or ceramic cups to hold a quantity of the cleaning solution or VMP naphtha
Headband magnifier of 4-power or more

Re: Application of detergent and water solution

Most everything of a normal nature that is considered unsightly grime comes away from the model...I mix the detergent and water into a bowl (stolen from the kitchen) to a ratio of about 5:1 (five parts distilled water) and use that with the tooth brushes, cotton swabs and artists' brushes.

Re: Application of VMP naphtha (No smoking!)

If in the cleaning process I find something that is greasy or sticky (as residue from labeling or tape of some kind) and shouldn't be there, a cotton swab, artists' brush, or a small piece of the T-shirt material is saturated with the naphtha and is easily removed...The naphtha is nearly always plastic friendly but you must be careful when using it atop painted surfaces and especially lettering...A steady hand is requisite to work around legends, logos and other identifying script.

Re: Plastic or Ceramic cups

Introduce a reasonable quantity of either the detergent-water solution or the VMP naphtha to emerse some parts such as gear train components, wheels and axles, trucks and other disassembled parts that need to be cleaned and re-assembled...Allow to remain emersed for a minute or two and then clean as appropriate with a toothbrush, cotton swab, artists' brush and/or cotton t-shirt material...When determined to be clean, apply compressed air as described below. 

Re: Compressed air

The compressed air is also used at the outset of the cleaning process to remove as much dust and movable debris as possible before the cleaning effort begins in ernest...When working on close-in interiors or parts that have a lot of relief or are joined to one another and have a seam where moisture may be left behind, a gentle "blast" of compressed air is used to dry those more troublesome areas...The distilled water is also used to lightly give the item a once-over as a rinse when all is determined clean and another gentle "blast" of compressed air is sometime helpful to insure the item is totally dry.

Re: A suggestion: When cleaning a mutl-component assembly that you first must disassemble, make a close-up photo or several of how it looks before disassembly for reference if there may be a question of what it should look like when re-assembled.

Again, caution: VMP naphtha is flammable, so no smoking!

FWIW

Bruce /FRED On Board
ATSF, BN, SP, UP


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

I just remembered...liquid lighter fluid will remove adhesives without damaging plastic. It will not cloud clear styrene either.


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## FRED On Board (Jan 2, 2014)

rrgrassi said:


> I just remembered...liquid lighter fluid will remove adhesives without damaging plastic. It will not cloud clear styrene either.


Indeed...Because lighter fluid such as marketed by Ronson and others is pure naphtha. 

Bruce /FRED On Board
ATSF, BN, SP, UP


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I have a story that marginally relates to this thread.

Back in my radio daze, I was talking with the General
Manager of the local NBC Television station. He had
accompanied one of his station's $100,000 RCA color cameras
to a facility to have it cleaned.

They showed him their processes and pointed to His
camera, as it was lowed, much to his horror, into a vat of WATER. 

My thought about water based cleaning is the possibility of
components or circuit boards delaminating.

Don


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## carinofranco (Aug 1, 2012)

This thread reminds me of the days back in the lab in the '60s. The recommended cleaner for magnetic tape drive read/write heads was Freon! who knows how much ozone I killed. my apologies to the earth.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Actually, many commercial PCB manufacturing plants wash the final product in water, and that includes completed boards with components. For reliability, some PCB assembly is done with acid flux, which MUST be immediately removed. Water will not damage any fiberglass boards, at least I've never seen or heard of it happening.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

FRED On Board said:


> Indeed...Because lighter fluid such as marketed by Ronson and others is pure naphtha.
> 
> Bruce /FRED On Board
> ATSF, BN, SP, UP


My company used to make and deliver all the lighter fluid for Ronson in Edison, NJ for many years. We had the account exclusively, we kept their tanks full on a regular schedule.
It was a blend of 2 or 3 chemicals, it has been years since I made a blend up in one of our tankers. Ronson closed that plant years ago, that sucked. We had 1 or 2 8000 gal loads there a week when they were busy.
I think VM&P was one chemical that went into the blend.
I will find out the rest, I want to say Heptane and Lacolene was the others but I can't remember.
I will find out what they were and get the formula for the percentages of each used to make 8000 gals up.

Maybe some can make their own up then.


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## FRED On Board (Jan 2, 2014)

big ed said:


> My company used to make and deliver all the lighter fluid for Ronson in Edison, NJ for many years. We had the account exclusively, we kept their tanks full on a regular schedule.
> It was a blend of 2 or 3 chemicals, it has been years since I made a blend up in one of our tankers. Ronson closed that plant years ago, that sucked. We had 1 or 2 8000 gal loads there a week when they were busy.
> I think VM&P was one chemical that went into the blend.
> I will find out the rest, I want to say Heptane and Lacolene was the others but I can't remember.
> ...


Big Ed, et al...

With reference to my description of Ronson Lighter Fluid as "pure naphtha" and subsequent to your posting of experience as a supplier of fluids to Ronson in New Jersey.

Perhaps to back up a wee bit and say that naphtha is not a single distillate...The word naphtha describes a mix of aliphatic distillates that when put together form a solution that meets a general criteria as to compound, its reactive behavior and application for its use...There can be several formulas of distillates that when combined make up what is known as naphtha.

Your understanding of multi-distillates found in Ronsonol made by Shell and others for Ronson and also Zippo, is certainly correct and it is this formula (changed among producers as to which distillates and in what proportion each shall be of the whole) that is what the term naphtha relates to and applies to.

When I mentioned "pure" naphtha, it is so, meaning no unfriendly distillates such as methanol (when used as a topical cleaning agent, UNFRIENDLY to many plastics and most paints), a common fuel for stoves and lighters, as well.

Again, Ronsonol Brand or Zippo Brand lighter fluid is pure naphtha, but considerably more costly per unit of measure than the naphtha that is sold as VMP Naphtha at most big-box and hardware stores.

As I think of it, one further consideration as a cleaning agent: A slightly less costly formula of naphtha is often sold as _Odorless Mineral Spirits_...From my experience, this works as well as the VMP Naphtha but is slightly heavier in formula so it is slower to evaporate...However, again from my experience, like VMP Naphtha it leaves no oily residue as some less expensive "paint thinners" and "stove fuels" do.

FWIW,

Bruce /FRED On Board
ATSF, BN, SP, UP


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I hear you. I understand what you're saying.
I forgot to ask what the blend is. 
I should know I made up enough for the Ronson loads.

It might be only 2 products we blended, it has been a few years since we went back and sucked out what was left in their tank.
They closed the doors on that plant the next week.

You know Zippo bought out a portion of Ronson?

http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/22659/Zippo-completes-Ronson-purchase


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