Clean Locomotive

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I purchased an old Rivarossi locomotive off of e-bay recently. It came in a box that has what I think are mildew stains but I could be wrong. They are brown in color and cover everything, the plastic insert, the cardboard box and of course the locomotive. Little dots of the brown everywhere. Any ideas how to carefully clean the shell(plastic) of the locomotive? Or perhaps they are oil droplets from the lubrication on the locomotive? I tried a bit of hydrogen pyroxide(assuming it is mildew this would kill the mildew) but it’s too harsh, it dulls the painted surface. What is safe to use on the painted surface of the plastic shell of the locomotive?

Thanks!

2

Sounds like a mold. Have you tried wiping it with 70% alcohol? That shouldn’t be strong enough to hurt the paint for the short time it will take to wipe it down.

3

Trust me if you have mold on the shell of that locomotive those little spots are the least of your problems.

Mold likes to grow in a damp moist environment, so does rust dampness + Model train + mold spots on shell = big problems. Have you at least seen if this thing even runs? You don’t need a heck of a lot of moisture to create conductivity problems on those old motors and pickups on a Rivarossi. If your lucky enough and it does run, try a little diluted Pinesol on a toothbrush. Or even some diluted bleach. It should not hurt the paint but try it first on a spot that isn’t noticeable.

4

It runs and there is no rust on the unit. It’s very odd. The spots are all over the box and then there are a few on the locomotive.

5

TSP, by Savogran

Comes on 1 lb box, for 2-3 dollars. Mixes with water to desired strength / amount. Follow direx on box.

It LOOKS scary, but it works! [tup]

6

I think I would try getting it off the body of the loco with a VERY GENTLE scrubbing using dish washing soap and warm water (works on dishes, nyet?). And rinse, of course. Now on the insides, that’s somethin’ else.

Ed

7

If it actually is mildew, I’m not sure dishwashing soap will completely eliminate it. Mildew is a living organism that will return, unless thoroughly destroyed, hence the TSP recommendation.

A mild solution should do the trick.

8

Dish soap was the correct answer. My wife is a chemist and when I said “TSP” she cringed. Thus I took the low risk route with 50/50 dish soap/water. Soap/water cleaned every one of those spots except for one, which left a faint spot that’s barely noticeable on the tender.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions.