# Aj's Oscar?



## RiderZ (Feb 19, 2007)

Hey all.Just won an auction for a very nice condition Oscar track cleaner.How well do these work and what kind of liquid is supposed to be added to the rear hopper? Would rubbing alcohol work? I see an auction for a full bottle is AJ's track cleaning solution.Its a blue/green colored liquid.Anxious to try it out.Post pics when I get it.


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

RiderZ said:


> Hey all.Just won an auction for a very nice condition Oscar track cleaner.How well do these work and what kind of liquid is supposed to be added to the rear hopper? Would rubbing alcohol work? I see an auction for a full bottle is AJ's track cleaning solution.Its a blue/green colored liquid.Anxious to try it out.Post pics when I get it.


from what I've heard (Rubbing Alcohol) maybe that 91% stuff....
does it have a "Wipe" on the back/bottom uses like a "Wick" ??
there is a honing-stone on the very front/underneath I believe as well...
clean it w/ WD-40 & treat it w/ knife sharpener's "Honing-Oil"...

others may have better ideas, so wait 4 them to give U their opinions...
just my 2 cents ... LOL!!!:freak:

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## RiderZ (Feb 19, 2007)

It's complete.Cleaning stone and wipe are present.


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## oneredz (Jan 29, 2012)

Cool, some detailed pics when you get it please.


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## ajd350 (Sep 18, 2005)

AJ's sold a green liquid called T'NT that was billed as a track cleaner. That is what was intended to wet the wick.


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## RiderZ (Feb 19, 2007)

ajd350 said:


> AJ's sold a green liquid called T'NT that was billed as a track cleaner. That is what was intended to wet the wick.


As noted in original post.Looks like the refill kit includes the rear track sweep piece of felt.And possibly a piece of the front abrasive rail cleaner.Hard to tell in the pictures on the auction site.The one I won is the yellow Oscar which looks to be in mint condition.I paid $48 for it which to me is a reasonable price considering I've seen them go for much more in less than perfect condition.I think I'll pick up one of the refill kits and have the complete track cleaning setup.


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

I use the 91% alcohol in mine, I just wet the tail part of the wick, You will be surprised how much it will pick up off the track, As for the wick it is just a good grade of felt, you can get it at any sewing or hobby store. I have made replacement stones from "Bright Boys" I just mill them down to original stone size.

These work well but still not as good as a hand cleaning of the track, still a neat toy.

Boosted


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## old blue (May 4, 2007)

I always had trouble with the front end of the Oscar hitting my guard rail. I ended up stealing the aluminum wheels off of it and trading away the chassis.


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## RiderZ (Feb 19, 2007)

Got my Oscar track cleaner today.It is in mint condition.Shows very little wear.Ordered the AJ's refill kit from eBay.It includes liquid cleaning solution,felt & front rail cleaning stone.
Gonna try it out tomorrow.







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## GT40 (Jan 18, 2014)

COOL

It does look like new.


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## RiderZ (Feb 19, 2007)

Added some flags.







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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

that is very cool and imaculate.
maybe shelve it! ?
of course I drag race stuff that others think should be treasured (and I do in a way) so maybe I shouldn't give advice!
LOL
it is yours, have fun with it.


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

RiderZ, could you measure the stone, since you have a new one, and post the dimensions

also all the Oscar's that I have have a guide pin, yours has a guide flag, I wonder when they changed to that style pickup, or if someone changed it, either way its a much better setup than the pin, which was fragile.

Thanks

Boosted


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

mine had a flag on it

I used folded sand paper on mine and home made felt wick
it worked pretty well till my kids broke it!!

Sadly after that I have no more kids
I just hope the cops do not find out!!


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## RiderZ (Feb 19, 2007)

The front cleaning pad measures 3/8"X 1". Ran it around the track a little bit today.No cleaning solution was used.The felt acts as a broom.The front needs some tweaking or weight for the front pad to make good contact with th rails.I'll play around with it a little more this winter.


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

You will find out with this type of wiper pick up assembly (like tyco) that your wiper adjustment is very critical to how this Oscar runs and stays in the slot, I would try adjusting the wipers to an almost flat position, then slowly lower them to make good contact, keeping them as flat as possible, if you run too much angle on them you will wear a groove in the ends very quickly, adding additional weight to plant the front end will give similar wear results on the pick-ups.

I made a shim to put under the Tyco wipers that is about .080 thick and that Is what I adjust the bend in the front of the shoe with. If the bend is too tall or short your angle to the track is going to be all wrong and cause wear on the pick up. 

Thanks for the measurements on the stone, can you give me an approximate thickness on it as well 

Boosted


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## RiderZ (Feb 19, 2007)

The Oscar runs good around the track.No issues there.Just seems the cleaning stone doesn't make good contact with the rails.The cleaning stone is very thin-1/16" or less.The bummer is I broke the stone into several pieces trying to separate it from the chassis.I was going to shim it to make better contact with the rails.Dont fret I already have a solution for a replacement.


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## RjAFX (Oct 26, 2014)

I use this, it has four grit levels if you will. It's not electric, no brushes to deal with, needs no balancing. 4 lanes done in 90 seconds.

Follow it up with a damp cloth, that takes 30 seconds. Oscars cute, but less effective.

PS: Finger nail buffing block $2 bucks Walmart.


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## RiderZ (Feb 19, 2007)

I hear ya RJ but there is no cool factor in that cleaning block you use.Its just a novelty.Its just gonna end up being a display piece on my layout.


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## RjAFX (Oct 26, 2014)

Like I said......Oscar's cute.


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

to just do the rails, nothing like driving

if I want the whole track done
it is by hand! I could never talk my wife into doing it


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## RjAFX (Oct 26, 2014)

slotking said:


> to just do the rails, nothing like driving
> 
> if I want the whole track done
> it is by hand! I could never talk my wife into doing it


Same here, but I did get her to buy me a couple finger nail buffing blocks.

Just so there is no miss understanding. I have an Oscar, and he has been on the track. He is cool, but not the best employee.


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Oscars and track cleaners like the tyco train setup I built work well on the rails for me as I have some sections that are just almost impossible to get too with a bright boy, I can tell you that my Tyco train / slot car setup will clean up rails that have set for months in about 10 laps. One thing that I have learned, is that braids for pickups work great for cleaning, I solder braids on worn out tyco 440 shoes on the train and they polish the rails great. 

I tried the nail block shown and was not too impressed, it wears out quickly, If I am cleaning by hand a Bright Boy is my choice, vacuum, then wipe with the anti-bacterial wipes, they dry quick and remove all the grime on the track.

Boosted


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Look at the Design!*

It's a garden tractor not a Hydroplane, Jim (in your best Dr McCoy voice).

Note that it has a worm drive and is intended to push a plow/stone. Also note that the stone is not flexible. Use a ghost controller on medium speed to allow it to wallow along and settle into the swails and do a proper grind; instead of just kiting over the high spots of the rail at full speed like a Hydro. At medium speed you wont be mangling foils, cracking the hone, or breaking the guide. 

I swiffer or hand wipe the majority of the compost off the track; then plop the track cleaner on and let it run, while I oil and warm up the cars, clean/inspect the tires and shoes. After I get the first car prepped, I change lanes and let the cleaner eat again. 

For "Alky", I prefer the printers/technical version. Your lesser grade "Alky" has water in it and I have a neurotic phobia about applying anything with H2O in it on my vintage rails. The trade off, and CAUTIONARY note is flammability! Some guys use a weaker T-jet magnet or a chunk of sheet lead to improve the wick function. I run either a hone or a grit block. It just depends on how badly fouled the rails are.

As Boosted mentioned, there is a proper adjustment setting for foils. It can be viewed at the "Riggen Sight" in the Tyco Lore. In a related matter, those vintage AJ's are a great wheel & tire combination, unfortunately I never met one that didnt need a touch of truing. That annoying lip/edge can be knocked down by chucking it into a decent drill motor and patiently using a coarse stone hone (good for Super Tires too!). It is also important to make certain that the threaded portion of the axles are true on all four corners. They are the weakest link. :freak:

By checking and eliminating the things that make your cleaner go "boing-oing" and running at the correct speed, your Oscar will plow along smoothly at maximum efficiency. If you listen carefully, you can hear the RPM and speed increase as the rails get cleaner. You'll know when it's done! :thumbsup:


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Downforce is the trick I used on the tyco train cleaner, the stone is spring loaded (towards the track) and I use some extra weight & 2 small neo mags to suck the car down to the rails, same thing with the wiper car. 




































You can tell by the lines on the stone, its cleaned miles of rails, the good thing about this setup is its a Tyco 440, chassis, cheap and easily replaceable for parts. 

Boosted


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

Boosted-Z71 said:


> You will find out with this type of wiper pick up assembly (like tyco) that your wiper adjustment is very critical to how this Oscar runs and stays in the slot, I would try adjusting the wipers to an almost flat position, then slowly lower them to make good contact, keeping them as flat as possible, if you run too much angle on them you will wear a groove in the ends very quickly, adding additional weight to plant the front end will give similar wear results on the pick-ups.
> 
> I made a shim to put under the Tyco wipers that is about .080 thick and that Is what I adjust the bend in the front of the shoe with. If the bend is too tall or short your angle to the track is going to be all wrong and cause wear on the pick up.
> 
> ...


Ok,
stupid-questions-time again....
the Tyco trains are track cleaners??? (never seen any in "Person"..) :freak:

I use a high-quality Arkansas-surgical-grade stone (black w/ extra fine grit)
been thinking on "Making" a track-cleaner (for about 5 years now..)
with the wheat (sp??) stone deck being somewhat spring-loaded with
tension/weight adjusting screws...
thinking that a larger (weight-wise diecast body might work (??)
probably just end-up as a conversation piece vs actually a functional precision-tool..

also FYI; "IF" you want a hands free, adjustable speed (constant currant)
controller. Gilbert made a "Peddle" controller, or use some sort of Radio Shack rheostat (??)

my 2 cents ;-)
but I LOVE them AJ's (Cute!!)

Bubba 123 :freak::drunk:


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Bubba, I added the stone to the center car and the felt wiper on the Tyco trains and made it into a track cleaner, works very well, and the stone is spring loaded like you mentioned.

Boosted


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## RjAFX (Oct 26, 2014)

Boosted......send it to me for testing. It might take 10 years to fully test so send spare parts with it..


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

I have tested it for at least 3-4 years, its done a ton of laps, Its only burnt up 1 arm in the process, several sets of pickups & brushes, but its pretty easy on parts for the laps it has made 

Boosted


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## RiderZ (Feb 19, 2007)

Really like your train.Looks like it should have come from the factory like that..Very creative.


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## RiderZ (Feb 19, 2007)

*!!!*

Oscar doing his thing.He does a decent job for a quick rail cleaning.Im amazed at how much the felt picks up.I added some of the AJ's solution to wet the felt a little bit.Ithink I'll keep him on the payroll.


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