Back to Basics with Blink Bonny!

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

That's the system in use by Wolverhampton MRC. It works.

[mick b]

Might try it on a rake of Kirks . Thanks

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

Next up will be making your own paper gangways. I'm experimenting at the moment and it ain't as easy as I 1st thought! Still, development work proceeds apace.

I may return to my original thought on servicing.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

This one's for 52D!

The N15 has finally entered the Works. First off, the existing paint finish requires removal. With this body being cast metal, you can even use Nitromors but this will dissolve a plastic body. Brake fluid can leave certain plastics brittle and Model Strip and the like is rather pricey. There is a cheap alternative.

And there it is. Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner. I've tried a few different brands but this is the best. Not only does it remove all paint finishes except cellulose but it also dissolves epoxy resin type glues. If you fancy a cheap and easy way of getting into kit building, this is it. Check out the club stand at your local model railway shows because kit built engines like this are cheap. For example, I once bought a boxed Wills 4F for £30 and thought I'd done well. I was then asked if I wanted the cast loco body as well 'cos that was included in the price! Note that if the body is soldered, then there's not a lot you can do about the assembly but it will remove a grotty paint finish.

Cover the loco well. As you can see, its in a metal tin simply because, over time and multiple reapplications, a plastic one does eventually go brittle. Make sure that the body is well covered in the foam and leave overnight. This is where I discover the method of assembly used. Incidentally, both 4F bodies mentioned above turned out to be cast and the cast Wills chassis I had for the body was cracked, so that went on a Bachmann 3F.

I shall turn to the chassis, which I shall cover later, while the body is being stripped .

[jwealleans]

I was told recently that newer Nitromors isn't as good as the older stuff. Green tin is water-washable, yellow tin requires white spirit or similar (guess how I found that out).

I recently had a very tenacious coat of black paint to strip and found that dilute caustic soda does the job as well. Fill a coffee jar with it and you can use multiple times. That doesn't dissolve plastic either.

[earlswood nob]

G'day all
I use Mr Muscle for stripping paint, but I didn't realise that it broke down epoxy. I used nitromors to disassemble an old white-metal kit and it took ages to destroy the bond.
You can even use Mr Muscle to clean stovetops and ovens, so they say!
If you use caustic soda be very careful as it can be naughty stuff. There was some discussion on this a while ago. I wear rubber gloves and goggles when using it.
Earlswood Nob

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

I tried caustic soda and, while it got rid of paint, it left the epoxy as good as the day it was mixed! Maybe I didn't use a concentrated enough solution.

Anyway, while the Mr Muscle is doing its stuff on the body, time to assess the chassis. I tested it on 12V and it ran. Not smoothly, but we'll look at that. This is what I found:

This is a Cotswold chassis, chewed from a single lump of brass. These are a mixed bag. A good one, like this, will be a lovely runner, the heavy brass bar adding weight to the loco. A bad one will go spinning into the scrap bin! They were jig drilled but the drills didn't go through. Most have a "step" in the axle bores. This one seems pretty good.

The oiling points are labelled on the diagram. They are the two felt pads either side of the armature and the worm gear. You should also put a drop of oil into the axle holes and onto the side rod bushes.

Cleaning the commutator on these is a cinch. Look behind the carbon brushes and if you don't see copper on the drum behind them its time for cleaning. Often the deposits are oily so a good wipe with a cloth dampened in white spirit will sort it. If the carbon and oil deposits are dry, then you ideally need a fibre glass brush although very fine wet and dry used very gently will do it. These fibreglass pencils are only a couple of quid each and are a good investment as they can be used to clean driving wheels easily. They have only a very gentle abrasive action.

Anyway, the Mr Muscle should have done its work by now so I'll get back to that. Further reports will come.

I suspect that the commutator will need a little clean plus the pickups will need cleaning and resetting. Wheels currently have potatoes growing on 'em!

[Mercator II]

Another stripper I know (stop giggling at the back...) is Fairy Power Spray, place item in a plastic food bag and spray with FPS, seal bag and leave over night, rinse under cold running tap, use an old tooth brush to help if needed

oOo

Brian

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

Just opened the choccy tin, scrubbed the loco with a scrubbing brush to discover:

1: The body had been soldered, apart from the chimney.

2: It had been painted originally with Japlac. This is not so much a paint as lacquer and requires no primer. It was popular for painting metal stuff in the past. It is impervious to Mr Muscle and only responds to Nitromors plus a lot of elbow grease.

I thought that the amount of abrasion required to remove this paint was going to ruin the fine detail so I'll look at it tomorrer when the water has evaporated. If any local smoothing is required then I'll do that.

Photo to come tomorrer as well.

[52D]

Cor BB only the chimney not soldered, BTW im still looking for pics of 9911 but haven't come up with any close ups only two distant shots that wont enlarge to be any good. one at Eyemouth and the other on the Royal Border Bridge engaged in a shunt.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

TBH, 52D, many modellers glue chimneys to make it easier to adjust them. I get it right using a pair of engineer's squares and solder.

Been drizzling all day here so I got to work on the chassis.

First off was a good oil round. This led to a sound which always makes me smile. A sick X04 that smooths out then speeds up! While doing this I discovered oiling holes beneath the leading and trailing coupled axles. Never seen these before on a Cotswold type chassis so I reckon these are a mod made by the original builder.

All was still not quite right so I cleaned the wheels. Yes, a Peco Brush and scraper is better but I'm a tight Yorkie remember! I use a fibreglass pencil. The other wire is clipped to the live chassis, out of shot. If I get one with insulated wheels both sides and a "dead" chassis then if I can't get to the motor contacts then I use a PECO one.

All was still not quite right so I checked out the commutator:

'Nuff said! At least I got a decent crop of spuds off it!

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

My method of cleaning an X04 type commute:

Remove one carbon brush (easy enough - just push back the spring and it'll fall out) then, while turning the armature by hand, press the fibreglass brush to the copper drum. Be careful that you do not damage the fine wire connections to the windings. This is a 5-pole type, much sought after by those of us in the know, and not repairable sadly. All my X04 powered exhibish locos have this type fitted. Then replace the brush. Fiddle it into place then pop the spring behind it. A simple operation requiring no more than 5 hands!

But all was still not well

Applying power simply produced a short circuit. This is the cause. On the far brush, you can see a very frayed woven insulating sleeve. On this loco, replacing it was a cinch because the motor still had its other insulating sleeve loose on the near leg of the spring. I swapped these over and now 52D has a sweet running chassis. With all that white metal and solid brass, this'll pull anything you want!

[52D]

If the P2 hasn't departed to its home shed you can use that as a test load. BTW ive decided at long last what the layout will be just got to check a few dimensions and get some 0-6-0s of various types sorted. Also a B1 or two and a K3 also I need to peruse Atlantic to see if hes done a K2.

[Autocar Publicity]

Actually, the N15 is from the same collection as Jonathan’s F4 (West End thread). I don’t know whether the same paint was used, though think it's likely. If so, it could be a useful comparison between chemicals.

The loco's looking good now, fine work BB! (You wouldn't care to have a go at the 144 others left in the collection would you?)

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

The stripper has hardly dented the paint. Have a look:

Hardly touched the black, as you can see. Still, it is a good, sound finish for repainting at least!

The glue residue took some cleaning off! It had been Araldited, then superglued at some point as well. The method is simple enough. Tin a larger area of the smokebox top than you need to. Pop the chimney into place, checking with a square that it is perpendicular to the boiler top.

And from the side:

The apply the iron to the solder around the chimney to "sweat" it into position. Check with the square again. If it isn't right then reapply heat and finger pressure until it is. If in doubt, then glue it by all means.

Next up is a trip to the paint shop.