nikolaus-g wrote: ↑Fri Jan 26, 2024 7:15 pm
Does somebody have any idea how to clean this oily engine in one piece? I'm not sure if I can rebuild it when it is in pieces.
The loco doesn't look especially oily, so I assume you just want to degrease the areas that need repainting?
Since it is an electric model, you need to avoid the usual methods of degreasing, as they contain water and detergents. Spraying it with engine cleaner and rinsing it off with the garden hose would be a very bad idea.
Accucraft usually use a 2 part acrylic automotive paint, which is hard to remove with solvents so I'd probably use the prep wash that panel beaters use when repairing and repainting damaged panels on cars. It comes in large drums, so you'd need to beg a small amount off a local car body repairer.
You could try spot cleaning the chipped areas with 90% isopropyl alcohol, (which can be used as an electrical cleaner), using brushes and cotton buds, before applying an etch primer to the bare brass areas.
The biggest problem will be matching the gloss level of the factory paint in the touched up areas. I'd use enamel for the top coat of touched up areas, but most satin black I've seen has a different gloss level than the Accucraft factory uses. It would likely need a little gloss black added until the finish matches when dry. It will need a bit of trial and error I would think so the touched up areas aren't obvious when the paint is dry.
Good Luck,
Graeme
