Dissolving old lube

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have a Riva Big Boy that sat in my display cabinet for 10 years

I tried to run it and no go

Investigation revealed the lube had gelled and was like gum

I took it to the local hobby shop to have it cleaned and relubed but it has been over 2 months now and I

am tired of waiting so will probably try and do the job myself

Anybody know what is a good solvent to dissolve the old lube

2

Get some light oil (plastic safe) and just lube over the old oil or grease. Then turn the drive over by hand a few times. You will have to remove the shell. This should loosen things up and let the lube go where it is needed. Done this many times and it worked well.

Bob

3

Rubbing alchohol. You also might want to get some pipe cleaners.

4

Soak the mechanisms (not the motor, though) in warm soapy water.

5

You have some good suggestions already, but what I do is to spray Radio Shack Contact Cleaner and that really does a great job.

When you do it, put the engine in a cardboard box to contain the spray, the fumes, the mess. It is all over in a few seconds, and you are ready to start all over with fresh lube. The gears will be clean as a whistle, as they say.

Rich

6

[quote user=“richhotrain”]

You have some good suggestions already, but what I do is to spray Radio Shack Contact Cleaner and that really does a great job.

When you do it, put the engine in a cardboard box to contain the spray, the fumes, the mess. It is all over in a few seconds, and you are ready to start all over with fresh lube. The gears will be clean as a whistle, as they say.

Rich

[/quote

Thanks for the suggestion

I have some stored away I think

When I get it back I’ll give it a shot]

7

For what it’s worth, I use WD40. I usually spray into a rag or onto a brush sitting in a cup and then use those so I can control where it’s going and avoid over-spray.

8

Tried to clean a Riv.Hudson I have by disassembling but the motor is riveted to the frame.Coulda done a better job if it wasn’t.

9

WD-40 was never intended for a lasting lubricant only temporary. It’s origional use was to displace moisture. I would not use it or 3-1 oil.

Bob

10

Bob, you make a good point. The poster was refering to use the WD40 as a solvent, he forgot to mention to “relube” after. Labell #106 (teflon) is a good choice.

Yes, too many times WD40 is mistaken for a real lubricant. CRC and others do offer longer lasting lubricating propeties. However I would never use those products near plastic or for most of our modeling use.