Cleaning Brass pickups

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daveinstoke
LNER Thompson L1 2-6-4T
Posts: 99
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:47 pm
Location: Stoke on Trent

Cleaning Brass pickups

Post by daveinstoke »

years ago I started an 04 k's kit . ( 35 years ago !) finaly took it out of the box to finish & ola the brass hass gummed up. what is there solution wise to clean the brass pick ups & the inside of the wheels. The motor turns fine with a direct current application. I was thinking about Lemmon juice to clean , but has anyone any better thoughts.
Dave.
LNERandBR
LNER Thompson L1 2-6-4T
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Location: Nr Skegness: The air is SO braceing
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Post by LNERandBR »

try using nothing but the trusty fiberglass pencil.

A bit of rubbing of one of those will bring back the shine and the electric connectivity.
By Stephen

Mad about the LNER, BR Eastern region in the 50's, Rail Blue Diesels and Sectorisation era.
50A
NBR J36 0-6-0
Posts: 115
Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:10 pm
Location: York

Post by 50A »

Dave.
Watch out for those pesky fibres getting in the motion and gearbox. Fibreglass brushes are great for bodywork. Cotton buds dipped in methylated spirit might help in the wheels and pickups - don't get them too wet though.
Hope this helps.
Andy
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richard
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
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Post by richard »

Yes, here in the US you can buy "Microbrushes" which are like tiny cotton buds but the bristles are attached (like a toilet brush!). I use these with wheel cleaner (typically somekind of spirit).

A lot of stores have them in packs of 10, but MicroMark have them in packs of a hundred. (I've also found them useful for fine painting, and removing numbers from locos)

You'll be surprised by the amount of dirt that comes out.


Richard
Richard Marsden
LNER Encyclopedia
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