I bought 2 Proto 2000 SD7 locomotives at a model train swap meet last weekend. They are both dirty and I'd like to clean them up. What is a good method for trying to get these locos back to as close to new looking as possible?
If it cannot simply be dusted off, then some mild liquid dish washing soapy water, Q-tips, very soft bristled brushes.
My wife gave me a large makeup brush that she no longer needed. That thing does an amazing job. I don't know what it is made out of, but the bristles are exceedingly fine. I use a rapid brushing motion and it gets into really deep crevices.
Guys, your advise was spot on!!! I used a soft bristle brush along with some dishwashing detergent in warm water to clean. Then after a rinse, I dried with Q-tips and tissue. The SD7's look amazing now! THANKS!!!!
I'm pleased with how they cleaned up. I'm a sucker for SP Black Widow locomotives and when I saw they were SD7's (I didn't have any SD7's) I made what I thought was a fair offer and he took it. After getting home and getting them into the light I realized how dirty they were and was then thinking I paid too much. But now I'm happy with them again. The guy I bought the SD7's from had a table with a lot of stuff, most of it the better quality stuff. He had a new in box Proto 2000 Bloody Nose SD9 I should have made an offer on. I did buy my grandson a new in box Athearn blue box Santa Fe F7 with two dummy B units from the guy. It was my first model train swap meet, I could have spent a bunch of money. There was everything from jewels to junk.
At least there were some jewels. You will hit a few shows where it is nothing but junk and overpriced stuff. As long as you are familiar with pricing and availability for what you are seeking, a person can do well.
Just to clarify, I did remove the body shells before cleaning. I cleaned the lower details and trucks with a very lightly damp brush to pick up the dust.
All I have ever used were labial pucker, lung pressure, and a clean artist's brush. Blow while you whisk. Just mind getting bristles stuck in little crannies, or knocking off small details. Take the few extra seconds it needs to do the job carefully and completely. About 30 seconds per loco if they haven't been dusted in four months.
I use the same thing. One hint: don't use the one your lady uses for her rouge, unless you want a reddish cast to your weathering job! I suppose that would be appropriate for an iron ore mining operation, though.
I paid $125 for the two SD7's. I didn't even dicker on the price, I wanted them so I paid it. I probably could have gotten them a bit cheaper but at $62.50 each I'm good with it. Both are DDC ready with the 8 pin socket. One of the models has slight wear on the wheels, the other has no visible wear at all. As I mentioned earlier, I love these Black Widow hood units, I think they are amazing looking locomotives. I also picked up 2 new in box Kadee box cars for $15 each.
Glad to see those SP SD-7's looking good. Might add the "Barrlell" signal lights on each end Detail West makes the light and MV makesthe lense
All the SD-7's and the first thirty two SD-9's had the barrel lights The SD-9's 5339 to 5372 are the numbers. A few of the passenger GP-9's also had the barrell lights
