oxidation/deposit on wheels !

french_guy Dec 26, 2022

  1. french_guy

    french_guy TrainBoard Member

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    Hello
    I received a Roundhouse "Four pack" set (4 box cars) as a gift for Christmas
    2 of the cars show some kind of white deposit on the wheels........probably because of humidity
    The set was bought at my usual hobby store ($40). It looks new, but was probably a used one in "like new" condition (there is a "A" sticker on the box)
    Anyway, it was purchased 2 days ago, and I'm sure the store will take it back if I ask
    But assuming I want to keep it, what are my options: ask if the store can provide a set of new wheels? Try to clean that deposit off? How though?
    Thanks
     

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  2. MK

    MK TrainBoard Member

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    Whoa! Never seen that before in all my years of MRR. Looks like some kind of salt like coating. My first attempt would be to remove the affected wheels and soak them in water. Better yet, alcohol. It may just come off easily if water based crud. It may need some gentle coaxing with a toothbrush.

    If that doesn't work I would bring it back to the shop for exchanging of the entire set.

    I wouldn't ask for new wheels unless he has specific Roundhouse wheels else they will look different.

    Btw, are those metal wheels?
     
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  3. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

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    That definitely isn't normal. Never seen any wheels look like that.
     
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  4. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    Remove trucks.

    Scrub with a toothbrush with detergent and water. Use something like toothpaste if you need something more aggressive.

    Rinse.

    Dry with hair dryer.

    Reinstall trucks.

    Doug
     
    Last edited: Dec 26, 2022
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  5. french_guy

    french_guy TrainBoard Member

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    Yes, wheels are metal
     
  6. brokemoto

    brokemoto TrainBoard Member

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    Mais là! I have seen all sorts of crud, dirt, yuck, gunk, grease, you name it on wheels, but I ain't never saw nothin' like that on no model choo-choo train wheels. There seems to be some sound advice already posted. Try the seventy per-cent alcohol, soap and water or something like that. If you do want to keep the cars and nothing will clean them, buy some replacement wheelsets.
     
  7. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    I've seen it before. Maybe not quite that extreme but those must have been in an extremely salty or other corrosive environment.

    In fact, I currently have some old Postage stamp cars given to me by my step son and the wheels on one of them have a solid greenish deposit on all the wheels. I can't even tell if they are the silver or blackish wheels used (by RoCo) in those days.

    Doug
     
  8. Martin Station

    Martin Station TrainBoard Member

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    Almost looks like the type of corrosion that I’ve see on battery terminals. For that I’ve used baking soda and a stiff toothbrush. Then clean with alcohol.
    Ralph
     
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  9. french_guy

    french_guy TrainBoard Member

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    Well, I ended up returning the set......I did try to soak 1 wheel set in alcohol and brush it off.....but it was still "whitish"
    Too bad, I thought $40 for the set was a good price !
     
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  10. 308GTSi

    308GTSi TrainBoard Member

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    I've seen that before. :(

    Some strong household glues, or rather the vapour from the glue, can do that. Also some silicon rubbers can do that while they are curing.
    It doesn't happen instantly but is more of a trigger for corrosion. Thats why it can be a bit of a mystery as to what caused it.
    Really smelly glues and sealants are typically the worst so turn on a fan or set the part in a breeze. The more the smell is retained close to metal like copper (wiring) and aluminium the worse it is.
    Oily surfaces, anodising and things like that can prevent corrosive action ....... usually. :)
     
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  11. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

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    I've seen something similar on nickel silver track that came in contact with a corrosive 'salt' found in Rit Dyes. It literally eats away at the metal leaving it pitted and useless. Rit Dyes were used for scenicking but the proximity to the metal surfaces caused issues.
     
  12. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    There was an article in an old MR where they had used Rit dye to color the ballast and, after a while, noticed the rail turning green and pits were forming. It was the salt in the dye and they tried to neutralize it and cleaned the rail but the corrosion kept coming back so they had to rip all the rail up, remove the dyed ballast, and redo it all.

    Doug
     
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