Cleaning/washing old loco bodies

[rpjallan]

Hi Everyone.

I mentioned on here recently that I was restoring/refurbishing some old locos that my brothers & I had when we were kids. I have finished a couple of old Tri-ang Hornby/Hornby Railways Class 31 Diesels & they came up really well. The bodies were pretty grotty and an old guy at my club recommended cleaning them with a soft toothbrush in Luke warm water with a few drops of ordinary washing up liquid. I did this and they cleaned up beautiful. Almost as good as new.

Anyway, another member of the club contacted me saying he tried this on a Hornby Dublo Class 08 body and it had ruined it! I have had a look at it this morning and it seems to have some sort of white coating over most of the body. It doesn't seem to have ruined the paint underneath because I was able to scratch/rub some of this coating off & the paint underneath looks ok. Does anybody know what causes this or if there is an easy way to remove it? Getting it out of the more fine detail would be the hardest part I guess.

Forgot to mention - I am in the process of doing up my old Tri-ang Hornby Britannia at the moment. I have cleaned the tender body (but not the loco body yet) the same way with no problems. It is the same colour as the 08.

[ellocoloco]

I've made the same mistake on old Triang/Hornby bodies and been left with the 'whiting'. It was almost as if the fairy had reacted with the varnish. I decided to strip them completely and repaint them.

Sorry, can't suggest an alternative but we'll both stay away from the mild green stuff in the future.

[rpjallan]

Well, like I said, the two diesels & the tender body were fine…

[The son of Triangman]

Washing old loco bodies such as Tri-ang is a big no, no. The painted areas are often unstable due to the age of the paint, Red's and yellows in particular can bleach.

Use of a liquid beeswax polish on a cotton bud gently applied will remove most grime and leave a nice shine. You will get some bleaching of colours, yellow being the worst offender, but not as bad as washing with or without washing up liquid.

Loco linning and numbers should be treated the same way and with the same caution.

Cleaning old loco's is not a quick 5 minute job if done right.

[The son of Triangman]

This class 31 was filthy when it arrived, as well as being a complete wreck. This is it after a proper clean and a ffull rebuild restoration.

[threelink]

How odd. I have been washing old Triang loco bodies for decades using warm water and washing up liquid without any problem except for the occasional bit of paint removal. However I shall henceforth follow SoT's advice and avoid washing in any form. I wonder whether the water affects some varnishes in the same way that it causes watermarks on polished furniture, usually resulting in the need to french polish it. I hasten to say that I do not suggest french polishing model locos.

[rpjallan]

That’s all well & good but any suggestions on how to fix this? Like I said already, it appears it can be rubbed off to a degree.

[threelink]

Sorry not to have been a little more constructive. If the deposit is a surface deposit as opposed to some deeper degradation of the plastic you might try a gentle application of Brasso. The operative word is "gentle". It certainly works to remove such things as glue marks and light surface abrasions. A soft toothbrush facilitates polishing of details. Good luck in finding a solution to the problem

[Rana Temporia]

If you have only used water and washing up liquid than the deposit can only be the original dust, salts from the water or residue from the washing up liquid. If you are in a hard water area it could be from the water. I have washed them in water and washing up liquid for years sometimes with an old or not so old toothbrush to get into the detail without incident but then our water is very soft. Using products like model strip or Mr Muscle leaves behind white residue but that is chemical. Most of the early bodies were self coloured plastic and clean up well.

[JJ73]

If you watch Sam's Trains Vids - with his 'Salvage or Scrap' Vids - he seems to use 'the old Soap & Toothbrush" -

then forward to 5:15 then you will see what I mean 🤔🚂

[rpjallan]

Thanks for your replies. As I said initially, the problem is not with my loco but a member of the club. I have checked & he is using the same washing up liquid I have used. I have cleaned two old class 31s & the tender from my old Britannia (but not the loco body) with no problems. See photos attached.

This is definitely some sort of deposit. Just looking for suggestions on how to remove it for this guy. And wary about my Britannia body as it appears the tender body is green plastic but the loco body is painted black plastic...

[The son of Triangman]

I don't take much notice of his videos, JJ. I'll stick with the method I was taught decades ago.

[The son of Triangman]

5700 class Pannier, recently had a body clean.

[threelink]

@RT

Interesting comments, RT. I am in a hard water area but have never had the problem described by RP. I have always been careful to rinse well and dry off quickly and thoroughly. I do note that RP refers to a painted finish as opposed to Triang's normal self coloured plastic finish so I wonder if the problem is caused by a reaction between water/detergent and the paint.

[LTSR_NSE]

This thread seems to be getting slightly mixed messages (unless it is me that has misunderstood?)

(I believe) OP said he has successfully used water & washing up liquid on Triang models (therefore whether the method would affect any other Triang models is surely not relevant?) - however this method has negatively affected a Hornby Dublo 08.

• What material is the affected 08? (plastic/metal)

• Has OP tried cleaning the white residue off? (with any of plain water, soap & water, or washing up liquid & water?)

Potentially the white residue might be similar to what happens to glass in a dishwasher (if water is too hard & not softened) depending on the type of varnish Hornby Dublo used?

[rpjallan]

The body of the Dublo 08 is plastic. It's a 2 rail loco. I haven't tried to clean the residue off yet. Was hoping to get some advice on here first. I don't want to make it worse.

Just comparing to older Triang Hornby locos I have cleaned recently as they are a similar age...

[LTSR_NSE]

If it is residue left from the washing up liquid or due to the hardness of the water, then simply rinsing it off with water or washing it off with water and soap will not cause any further damage.

However if it is a chemical reaction/deterioration of the varnish or paint, then naturally only an experienced restorer/chemist can properly advise.

[81F]

I've used soapy warwe and diluted fairy to wash many hornby locos, wagons and coaches with no problem.

Just off topic having watched the Sams Trains Video, I followed the link to the ebay listing at Tri-ang 57xx Pannier Tank | Sam sTrains Salvage or Scrap S2E7 | eBay. - Talk about adding value, the winning bid was £130.99!!! while others on wBay go for around £30

[Rana Temporia]

81F, if they were genuine bids then good luck to Sams Trains. I never understand why people bid like this on eBay for something they can buy for a fraction of the price.

The other possibility (has happened to me) is that one idiot individual with several eBay accounts bids against themselves to a very high price and never pays or answers messages, presumably for a joke. Surprisingly eBay takes no action against them and when you check their feedback they often have a long history of doing it and being reported. You can block them from bidding on your items but it’s up to you to do it and doesn’t protect other sellers. You also can’t leave a negative feedback score on buyers anymore, just a message in the text.

[rpjallan]

Yes, eBay have made it too easy for buyers to be unscrupulous. They don't stand up for their sellers (who make them their money) anymore.

[81F]

Just to Quickly add to the tread about washing. Check any decals first. I have several shell tankers which I have started to wash only to find the shell decal is a paper label

[Rana Temporia]

81F, other makes have also used paper labels notably Playcraft/Jouef. The Tri-ang Pedigree Prams container has a paper label too, which makes it easy to peel off if it’s a bit loose, scan and print to replace damaged ones.

[Ande P]

late look through posts for me - happy new year :)

on this, I had this white powder on the class 31 - it was after I used T-Cut; it's possible that the owner tried a variety of other methods prior to your advice. A decent wash of fairy washing up might clean this film off (no liability accepted ;) )

[rpjallan]

Thanks for your comment. He says he only tried it with a very small amount of washing up liquid in warm water. I don't think more washing up liquid would be a great idea...