I recently came accross an old athern sw7 chassis and it runs very rough if even at all. Wheels are extreamly dirty. Best way to get them cleaned up?
Assuming that the engine gets power from both trucks, wet a paper towel with isopropyl alcohol and lay it, doubled up, on a powered section of track. Then, holding the engine, run first one truck and then the other over the towel, with the remaining truck on the track for power.
If you only have pickup or power from one truck, or of the wheels are so dirty that even running like this is impossible, remove the shell and connect clip leads to the motor terminals directly to power the motor. I’m assuming this is a DC engine. Don’t do the clip lead thing witha DCC engine.
I use a technique similar to that suggested by Mister Beasley, but I use a white cotton cloth instead of a paper towel and denatured alcohol instead of isopropyl alcohol.
Rich
Kadee wheel cleaner.
I do the same as Mr.B and Rich, only I use lacquer thinner.
If they are REALLY bad, it’s easy enough to pop off the bottom truck cover and remove the axles, and use a dremel with a brush attachment, which I have also done.
How old? Does it have the metal side frames? If it does, I don’t remember how they come off, it’s been a long while.
Mike.
Another vote for lacquer thinner, especially on real bad wheels
Peter
I have been known to take a small flat bladed hobby screw driver to scrape off heavy layers of black, gum like, gunk before using the white cloth / denatured alcohol technique to finish the job.
Rich
Just be careful shipping away at Athearn BB wheels - they are sintered iron and you could chip a cunk of the wheel right off, if you get too agressive. NWSL used to sell repalcement wheels, but I think the modern Athearn wheels will fit the old locos - what you lose in traction with the smoother wheels is more than made up for by the improved electrical pickup.
–Randy
Is the Kadee cleaner a soft pad cleaner, or is it a wire brush? I looked at something like that a long time ago, but decided I did not want any kind of abrasive. Just like track, abrasives can cause scratches and tiny pits on surfaces, which will trap more dirt.
Be careful with lacquer thinner. It can dissolve plastic, like truck frames or track ties.
I use it for track cleaning with a CMX machine, but I will admit to not being careful enough at times.
As shown in link, https://www.kadee.com/documents/236-843ins.pdf, it is of the brush variety.
And, as usual, I can’t find where I put mine away for safe keeping. But I think the bristles may be brass. If that is indeed the case, there should be no way that they will damage wheels. Maybe someone who can handily find theirs can chime in.
I’m not sure that they will work with DCC, but I don’t know why not. I do think that the loco would need to be powered the normal way, and no power would be routed through the Kadee device.
would soaking wheels in some solvent (e.g. alchohol) soften any heavier layer of “gunk” so that it can be wiped off with something softer that something metallic.
Possibly.
I don’t do it often, and for the life of me, I cannot figure out how metal wheels could develop such a thick black film, like gum.
When I use a small flat bladed hobby screwdriver, I hold it against the wheel at an angle and gently spin the wheel. The thick black gunk peels off, and I do not detect any damage to the wheel.
Rich
max, I have one of those, although I forgot all about it until you mentioned it. Included with the wheel cleaner is a hard copy of that PDF you linked to. There is no mention of the material, so it is hard to say whether the brushes are made of brass. The wheel cleaner does work with DCC. I long ago stopped using mine because I feared that it would be too abrasive on locomotive wheels.
Rich
Can you check bristles with a magnet? If not magnetic, they are probably either stainless or brass. If brass I can’t see them damaging anything.
Maybe a question for Sam the Kadee man.
We have one at the club, the brush is brass. Also visible in a large color picture of it on the Kadee web site.
–Randy
How can you be sure that it is brass? Can you tell just by looking at it?
Rich
I held a large magnet against mine. The bristles are not magnetic.
As soon as I finish my morning coffee, I will shoot some photos.
Rich
Here are some photos of the Kadee wheel cleaner (aka Speedi Driver Cleaner).
Rich
