# Aurora Thunderjet cleaning tip needed ??



## SlotTedII (Jan 6, 2005)

Hi ALL!
I just got ahold of a ThunderJet (T-Jet), Ford Thunderbird. It's been sitting in it's box for decades! The foam it used to sit on now has deteriorated , now it's wraped around the pickups. The entire chassis is now green with oxidation. Is there a safe way to get this foam off ? Then after that, ho do you clean up that green chassis ???
Many thanks, SlotTedII


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

if you have a sonic cleaner for jewelry, that can take a lot of dirt and corrosion off.
if you can properly identify the metals involved you can use various metal cleaners.
chassis with a small drive(pinion) gear have copper chassis and copper pickups or possibly silver plated pickups.
a chassis with a large Pinion gear is likely a silver plated chassis and should be treated carefully.
in any case, pull what ever dead foam you can off and carefully disassemble the chassis being careful not to lose tiny parts like pick up shoe springs and motor brushes.
again, if you have a sonic cleaner, put all the small parts in an empty teabag and tie it shut. you can clean everything together with a litl Mr Clean or your favorite household cleaner or a specific metal cleaner.
there are differing opinions as to whether cleaning the armature in this manner is good.
and
many other voices will be speaking out to correect what I have wrong and add what I have left out.
welcome
.


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## clydeomite (May 5, 2004)

The " Method" i use or would use is.. strip wheels and tires axles from chassis remove top plate , Magnets motor brushes. and Get some Jewerly cleaner from Walmart ( jewelry Dept about 4 bux) and let it soak until oxidation comes off. Then wash in warm / Hot soapy water scrub with exgirlfiends toothbrush and it should clean up . If you have a volt meter check continuity between brush arms and mounting plates . If there is resistance a resoak might be in order or resmashing of rivets to allow current flow. also a good thing to do is take pickup brushes off and clean the lil hook and backside of shoe where it touches plates. 
Hope this helps
Clyde-0-Mite


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## ajd350 (Sep 18, 2005)

Just did afew of those. Use a fairly strong degreaser spray to break down the oily goopy foam residue. Soak for several minutes and you can help the process with a stiff bristle or brass wire brush. Repeat as needed. Rinse thoroughly. After the residue is gone give it a dunk in Tarn-x for 15 seconds, the rinse well with cool water.


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## SlotTedII (Jan 6, 2005)

*Thanks*

I don't think the car has ever been run. Most ofmy concern is the bottom ofthe chassis, which is copper. I'll pull everything out of it, then borrow a sonic jewelry cleaner from my friend. Hopefully this will work ! 

THANKS, SlotTedII


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## CJ53 (Oct 30, 2007)

dump it in vinegar and water with a small amount of baking soda.. 
50/50 mix of vinegear and water, put the parts in the soup, add some baking soda, stand back , it will foam.. suggest you do it in the sink. rinse repeat till the copper looks shiny again.. This will also get the green out from under the plates attached to the chassis. 

CJ


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## Marty (Oct 20, 1999)

alpink said:


> many other voices will be speaking out to correect what I have wrong and add what I have left out.
> welcome
> .


Nothing wrong with your suggestions, just your spelling.:wave:

Marty
Marysville, OH


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Marty said:


> Nothing wrong with your suggestions, just your spelling.:wave:
> 
> Marty
> Marysville, OH


Really...?


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

*schpeling*



Marty said:


> Nothing wrong with your suggestions, just your spelling.:wave:
> 
> Marty
> Marysville, OH


LOL
oh, you mean correct correect and litl
too funny that you saw them and I didn't at least three times. 
I have said, many times, you have to take it to be allowed to dish it, and I certainly dish!
so, thanx for noticing and I'll try to do better in future.
LOL


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

I did the following on all my T-Jets, AFX and Magna-Tractions. The chassis now look like new and if you spend a little time tuning them up, they go much faster than when you started. I'm no guru and only run the cars in my basement, but I like the results.
Although I mention using a silver cleaner on the AFX electricals, I have since decided to use the Noxon for silver as well. I found the silver cleaner to be a little too thick and it is tough to get it out of every nook and cranny. It sometimes leaves a little behind which can interfere with electrical contact.

You need: Noxon (or another brass/copper cleaner), a silver cleaning cream (for AFX), Q-Tips (get the cheapies at the dollar store), a toothbrush and Simple Green.

1. Dismantle the chassis (leave the axles and wheels on). Brush the Noxon (silver cleaner for AFX) on the chassis electricals and let sit for a minute. Get some into the brush holes and on top of the brush springs. Then wipe down with a Q-Tip. The electricals will shine. You may have to scrape the top of the brush springs a little to remove all the built up crud.

2. Put Simple Green on a toothbrush and scrub down the (somewhat) bare chassis. Rinse off in water and dry (using an air compressor). Not only clean, but a fresh pine scent!

3. Take a very, very small bit of Noxon on a Q-Tip and spread on the comm. Use the dry side of the Q-Tip to wipe off the Noxon and it will remove all the gunk from the bottom of the comm. The comm will look new.

4. Clean the brushes. I did this by wiping them on a cloth and then taking a very small screwdriver and scraping the top and bottom. Some will use a soldering iron to boil off any oil on the brushes, or simply wipe them on a piece of cardboard.

5. Clean the pickup shoes, especially the hook. I used a woman's nail file (again, a dollar store purchase).

6. At this point, you could throw the brushes, shoes, springs, gear plate (with comm) into an untrasonic cleaner with plain water or your own concoction (Simple Green, detergent, etc.). I don't throw the bare chassis in there because my understanding is that the ultrasonic cleaner will strip the chrome off the wheels.

7. Reassemble and test.

I would sometimes have a car not move at all after doing this. I discovered that the problem was always too much junk on the brushes/springs. I'd clean the brushes and springs again and usually the car would run much better than before.

The entire process takes about 30 minutes per car.

Joe


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

I do it the Alpink way
it pretty easy, drop in the jewerly cleaner and do something else!

I do like scrubbing!! that woman's work!!:tongue::lol::lol:

the nice thing with the ultronic cleaner is that gets between the plates as well.

using dremel with a wire brush will get any very though spots.
I then rinse with water, then i spay it down with CRC brake cleaner which helps it to dry up very fast


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