Stains on brass loco

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have a very old, super-mint condition “583” series Japanese made brass locomotoive (HO) that has never been out of the box.
It has been stored 25 years or more.

the problem is stains from the red foam in the box on various parts of the loco.

does anyone have any suggestions for removing the stains and restoring the brass to new-condition?

thanks for any help,

Dan Torres

2

Try some rubbing alcohol or pure alcohol on a Q-tip and rubbing on a fairly non-obvious part of the model. My experience is that this is a mix of foam and fumes from the lubricant. Very old brass engines are pure brass and tarnish – brass from the era of yours usually has either a coat of clear lacquer or is actually painted a brass color. You need to be careful about using anything that can damage that coating
Dave Nelson

3

Hello Dan,

Probably what’s happened is that the red dye from the foam has stained the lacquer coating over the brass. I’ve got some engines in this shape myself. I don’t think it’s much of a problem on a model you want to paint, but if you want to get back to a new brass appearance you’re probably going to have to strip off the lacquer.

That’s not easy, as this stuff is tough (that’s why I usually paint right over it). It will take either a pretty aggressive solvent, such as acetone or MEK (methyl-ethyl-ketone) – both of which should be used outdoors with nitrile rubber gloves to protect your hands, a respirator with two-stage filtration, and eye protection too – or a grit blaster like the one Micro-Mark offers.

When you get down to clean brass, you then will have to either apply a new coat of clear lacquer or paint the model to prevent tarnishing.

Happy holidays,

Andy Sperandeo
MODEL RAILROADER Magazine

4

Dan and all:
There’s another problem that isn’t mentioned much in the press. The foam will attack paint. One of my friends had an engine stored in the foam box for years and when we took it out there were marks of foam in the paint on the cab roof and elsewhere. The locos have to be stored with those annoying sheets of plastic wrapped around the loco and tender.
–David

5

Dave, (and everyone else)

thanks very much for your reply and input. It is a great help and very generous. I have been out of the hobby for a long (long, long!) time. Getting back in with all this 60’s and 70’s era stuff is tricky.

I really appreciate your help.

best regards,
Dan Torres
amps008

6

Andy,

Thank you very much for your helpful (and educated) reply. The loco will, most likley, be painted, but if not we may go this route to restore it.

I had never used it, and had not even taken it out of the box for so long.

I had considered e-mailing you direct at Model Railroader, but felt that a forum posting would be most helpful to the community

thanks again,

best regards,
Dan Torres

7

David,

thanks for your reply about the brass loco and stains. Yes, I had posted it on the forum as it does not appear to be mentioned in the press much and maybe the rest of the community would appreciate knowledgable replies like yours.

I had received this loco as a birthday gift literally days before leaving on a 5 year tour with a rock band in 1971. It traveled with me for all these years, than had been stored as I had not had time to get back into the hobby for a long time.

Apparently, the person giving it to me may have removed any plastic covering for the loco and tender, or they were removed prior to her purchase of it - it was never there.

thanks and best regards,

Dan Torres

8

You’re welcome, Dan. – Andy