About 50 years ago i aquired a PFM Great Northern S-1 4-8-4 that ran and looked like a Swiss Watch. I had it on my layout for a number of years before having to store it in the original box and foam packaging.
I retired in Italy, and after about 10 years in the box I finally opened it and almost threw up. All of the foam had disintegrated into a mass of lumps and powder, and was stuck to the locomotive, running gear, wheels, everything. It’s a real mess. I pulled out the tender and tried to remove some of it using a stiff brush, but found that some was stuck fast, and in other places the paint had pitted. I remember that there was an article in MR years ago about how to get this crap off, but all of my mags prior to 2005 are in storage in the US.
Doe s anyone have any suggestions short of stripping and repainting everything? I’ve done this before and it’s doable, but a lot of work, especially when you put it all back together and the thing lopes like it’s got a short leg or something.
I don’t know what was used, but I’ve heard that you’re basically stuck with stripping the item. Most brass has at least a clearcoat, some even is “painted” brass color. I had a brass car I bought some years back and painting it solved its appearance problems.[;)]
A loco is a bit more of a job to paint and you may want it to stay brass, which is going to be difficult to match once it’s cleaned up if the pitting is below the surface.
The pitted areas are going to be a pain and will need special attention, unless it’s merely the clearcoat.
Older foam rubber does do that. Just like some older plastics will break and splinter apart. {some are meant to “biodegrade”}.
It is often recommended one wrap the loco/car in tissue paper FIRST, then insert into the foam.
You may have to resort to stripping the locos, as mentioned above. You will have to clean every part individually, even those that seem to have been untouched {especially gears} as particles of the foam may have gotten into the works of the gears.
Good Luck and post your success, others will want to knwo how you solved the problem!
Most of the brass that I have bought since the early 1970’s, esp. PFM, also came wrapped in plastic sheets similar to the plastic used in todays freezer bags. While I have been fortunate, that none of my own loco box’s foam has deteriorated, I have added a plastic wrapper around the ones that didn’t come wrapped, and these were generally used engines.
Unfortunately, that loco will have to be stripped and repainted. It would be best to used a media blaster, like a sand blaster, after its parts have been soaked in some lacquer thinner to remove most of the foam/paint residue.
This happened to a friend’s loco, and that’s what we did to it, after disassembly of course. The thinner removed most of the residue, esp on the nickled items like valve gear, rods and such, and the blaster finished removing what the thinner left behind.