# cleaning and tuning



## gobucks1a (Mar 5, 2011)

I am cleaning my old AFX and AFX magna chassis. What is the best way to clean the commutator? Also, how can you tell if the motor brushes are bad? Replacing those brushes would increase speed?


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## bearsox (Apr 22, 2006)

gobucks1a said:


> I am cleaning my old AFX and AFX magna chassis. What is the best way to clean the commutator? Also, how can you tell if the motor brushes are bad? Replacing those brushes would increase speed?


Assuming you just wish to do a simple cleaning with what you may have around the home , you can clean comm 1st with a white ink eraser to get the major gunk off. Then follow that with a Qtip with a bit of simple alcohol to clean residue. On the brushes it's best to replace them yes but if you have none yet remove them them place on a piece of white paper or similar with flat face down. Place finger on top and move brush in a figure 8 around paper . This cleans facing somewhat ( you will see dirt ) and helps get a tad more life but don't forget to do both sides. Do replace brushes often enough as they do get both worn and pick up oil and other gunk.

Bear :wave:


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## gobucks1a (Mar 5, 2011)

*bearsox*

thanks for the tips. I have only cleaned one car chassis and you will probably wince but I used 409 to clean the motor brushes and springs and used a earaser (like the ones to clean the tracks) to clean the comm. So, I appreciate your tips and advice.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

some folks clean their motor brushes by holding them with a tweezer and placing a flame to them for a short period of time. getting them glowing orange is usually enough to burn the oil out. then, when cool, finish cleaning them as described above. comms can be polished nicely with a piece of ScotchBright after removing the surface grime with a soft cloth or paper towel. for a really fine surface, I polish them with 1200 emery cloth. crocus also works well for a final polish. pick up shoes really like to be polished with the 1200 too. a spray can of motor cleaner from an RC supplier is helpful in removing the unseen dirt that can build up in areas hard to reach.


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## shogun (May 8, 2010)

I clean the brushes with a large flat eraser, holding them in my fingers and running them across the eraser surface. For me, I haven't noticed a difference after baking oils out of them, using a solder iron. The eraser bit seems to work just fine.

Brushes are bad when they have chunks missing or are a lot smaller than new - like maybe less than 75 percent. Compare to a new one to see. In fact, compare performance to new one, and this will tell you, too. You'll need to get the feel for adjusting the brush tension on the non magna chassis, done by slight bends in or out of the metal on which they sit. Too loose, it will hardly run and have a great deal of "coast". Too tight, and it will "lock up" the wheels when you let off the throttle. You can see if they are tight enough by testing on a transformer - push the brush spring from the bottom with a toothpick, with the motor running, and if RPM's climb markedly, you'll want more tension. If you don't have an old transformer for this, you can use a 9 volt battery on the pickup shoes - they are really handy to observe other things too, like trueness of wheels, and also those brushes as the motor turns.


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

not sure glowing hot is good for them????
the solder iron does work for me based on my dyno readings

I cook the liquids out, let cool and clean on the back of a business card


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## LeeRoy98 (Jul 8, 2005)

The battery operated cold tip solder guns work well for this... good thing because I haven't found many other uses for them!

Gary
AKA LeeRoy98
www.marioncountyraceway.com


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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.

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

2. 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 few minutes. 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 scrap the top of the brush springs a little.

3. Rinse with warm water and dry.

4. 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 

5. 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.

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

6. 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. I'd clean the brushes 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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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Grandcheapskate said:


> 3. Rinse with warm water and dry.


 My mistake here. I actually put Simple Green on a toothbrush and scrub down the (somewhat) bare chassis. Then I rinse off in water and dry (using an air compressor). Not only clean, but a fresh pine scent!

Joe


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## gobucks1a (Mar 5, 2011)

grandcheapskate, nice laundry list. I will use your ideas. on the vintage cars, i cleaned a non magna but still have the skreech sound. thoughts?


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## brownie374 (Nov 21, 2007)

Oil the chassis where the arm goes through


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

Also under the individual gears on the plate. And sometimes I have front axles making noise and went a little crazy finding the culpret. Believe it or not the front axle will slow it to a snails pace and make a racket if it's not oiled.


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

brownie374 said:


> Oil the chassis where the arm goes through


And possibly a drop of oil where the arm goes through the top plate & the rear gear shaft on the top plate.

Boosted


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## clydeomite (May 5, 2004)

Howdy:
Another tip I have found usefull is I got a protective cover off a cheap razor from the dollar store it has 7 or 8 holes in it and I drilled tehm out to 1/8" so the motor brushes fit in nice and tite. then use a fine emory board to sand them down just enuf to clean teh surface. this gives the fresh arm an ability to rebreak in the brushes. Aslo I sand around the outside edge to remove teh lip to help stop the brushes from spinning in the hole when the arm spins. Also I push the brush arms up even with or a lil below teh top of the chassis. The biggest thing is use your ohm meter and with all the electricals installed ohm out between the pickup shoe and the brush arm preferably on the side the brush sits on. If you don't have near 0 resistancwe you still have a problem and wont get all the performance out of your chassis. Sometimes it's as simple as re smashing the rivets other times a good bath in jewelery cleaner will do the trick , you can also solder the plates together to get better contact. 
Hope this helps Clyde-0-Mite


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## Sir Slotsalot (Jan 23, 2010)

For comm plate cleaning, may I suggest the "Trim" 4-step fingernail buffing block. Abrasion is very mild but highly effective. The results are outstanding. Very little residue to clean up afterwards. Just $2 bucks at any Walmart:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Trim-Nail-Care-Implement-Buffing-Block-1-ct/10413888

Also works great on p/u shoes, track power rails and arm "truing" for in-line motors. It is the best $2 bucks I've ever spent.


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