# How to clean plastic American Flyer trains



## raleav14181 (Jun 29, 2020)

I just recieved 2 American Flyer sets.. they are from 1958, and not sure about the other .. One is The Missouri Pacific set.. 6 cars total.. with the original box.. the box was left opened however, probably for the last 50 years! So they are very dusty mainly on top.. Can anyone recommend a safe way to clean them? I'll post pics if anyone is interested.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

To clean my plastic American Flyer trains I use a sink of warm water with dish soap 
and a soft paint brush to gently remove the dirt.


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## raleav14181 (Jun 29, 2020)

Thanks Mopac.. but do you take them apart first? I don't want to damage anything .. it's really just the roofs that need cleaning.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

If you don't want to take the body off, use a dish cloth with soapy water to wipe the top. Do not put the whole train in water.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

And to make them sparkle, hit them with a shot of Pledge furniture polish, using a 2 inch soft paint brush to spread the wax. Buff to a nice shine.


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## kvlazer22 (Jan 27, 2020)

Take a look at the below post. The micro brushes are amazing at cleaning all the small nooks and crannies. 









Show us what you have added to your roster


That's in great shape, one of my favorite type passenger cars. They look especially good on smaller layouts. The die cast frame with the steps looks much better than the sheet metal ones without the steps.




www.modeltrainforum.com


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I got my micro brushes in the mail this week. I am thinking I will try painting the white stripe on a 
couple engines with them.


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## raleav14181 (Jun 29, 2020)

Thanks for all the replies.. here are the trains I got.. one set has 8 pieces, and the blue one has 6. I'm not sure I even want to plug this stuff in.. I will be selling it all though.. just want to clean it up first..


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Same added advice. Avoid disassembling the trains. Use as little water as possible. If some water gets where you do not want it just use a hair drier on low heat to blow it out. Do not get paper decals or the film decals wet, they are likely to be damaged. Avoid the lettering if possible and be VERY careful, Gilbert lettering is ink stamped so it will rub off. The silver paint on the passenger cars is not as durable as it looks, one cleaning is ok, from there on just dust it. be careful not to push in and dislodge the plastic window inserts. The paint bands in the window areas of the passenger cars can be damaged with multiple washings.
If you try to clean accessories be very cautious with water. There are colors on some accessories that look like paint but are in fact ink. For example, the red trim on 755/755A Talking Stations is ink. It is amazingly easy to end up with an all white station.


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Lets stop for a moment now that you posted the pictures. You realize just that empty set box is worth $300? If all the pieces and component boxes are present that complete 20475 boxed set in as pictured condition is worth over $1,000. If you have not worked with Gilbert items previously proceed with great caution to not damage any paint, decals or lettering.


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

The Santa Fe set could have been sold as a 1958 set but the engine and cars were made prior to 1958. Santa Fe 1958 engines have solid portholes and integral plastic steps. The 1958 passenger cars do not have the metal name plates under the windows. Still a nice set but slightly less valuable to a collector.


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## raleav14181 (Jun 29, 2020)

Thanks for all the replies.. I don't plan on cleaning anything aside from the roofs.. which were left exposed, and are really the only dirty parts.. I will not go near the decals or the windows! But thanks for letting me know.. I also don't plan on cleaning any of the accessories. I just want to mainly get rid of the dust and loose dirt..


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