[willyhowells]

I was just wondering how u guys clean ur r/c cars? I know I have seen some people use water and simple green. Is this okay?

thank you will

[1nferno]

I was told by a friend that he puts his buggy/Truggy in the dishwasher, on a gentle cycle, and TAKEN OUT BEFORE THE HEAT DRYING, Taken apart to the point of removing all bearings, electronics, engine, and any small parts that will fall threw the racks ie; pins, shock springs.
I tried this the other day...OMG did it work awesome!!! i soaked everything else in a rubbermaid bin with hot soapy water then scrubbed it all down, rinsed and voila, clean and ready to be put back together, after air drying of course.
While the dishwasher was on I checked all my bearings for play,
tool the seals off all the tight ones. sprayed them with break cleaner, the re greased them and put the seals back on.( maybe a little cheep but has worked for me well

[Guest]

All i do is take your Buggie, Truggie apart in the three section`s ( front , middle & rear ) plus your radio tray with your Servo`s. Grab your chassis and plug the engine and exhaust where ever water can get in and spray it with water, then Simply Green, give it a scrub with a paint brush and tooth brush ( better off not your`s ) and rinse. The other section`s i do the same, wash with the hose, spray with Simply Green, scrub, rinse and then make sure you give your bearing`s a good shot of WD 40, i actually give the hole Buggie a spray,( a light one ) all metal part`s to stop rusting ( screw`s, axle`s, etc. ) Put it back together, take some Armour All and another tooth brush and rag, close your eye`s and say the magic word`s ( Honey can you do me a favor )........................ DONE !!!

It sound`s like a lot of work and it can be if you don`t take care of it after each run ( a compressor is great to have ), i could of had my Cen Matrix taken apart in the hole time it took me to type this, just take your time and if you want do it in part`s, spend a hour now and a hour later, spread it out !!

I hope this help`s, you will never see a pic of my Cen buggie Dirty, only once when i showed a before and after pic !!

Good Luck !!

[Pipeous]

air compressor to remove the worst, use a steam blaster to clean things off, spray a little cleaner on the dirty parts and use the steam blaster again to get the dirt off, air compressor to dry it off, then toothbrush and some amway dust inhibitor (not furniture polish but close) for all the plastic parts.

I agree taking it apart in 3 sections but most can be done with above methods if wanting to clean and play. I can do all 3 rc's like that in a short evening, then just clean the bearings and oil them up...

I like the furniture polish for the plastic over wd40 because it smells much nicer so I can do it in the living room and watch tv. the steam blaster can be bought at xs cargo. I have an industrial one for cleaning 1:1 autos, but they sell a cool little one great for rc for about $15. once you try one, you'll find it does a good job on other household things as well. I can even live without the aircompressor if I am cleaning at night, the steamer is quiet

[Stalker]

Will, The above ways are good, Pipeous' way sounds fairly hassle free too.

If you want the easiest way of cleaning I've come across here's mine...

Step 1: Remove Radio try and engine from buggy/truggy.
Step 2: Spray down with simply green - I've found a 50/50 mix of simple green and water works great as well. Let soak for 5 - 10 minutes
Step 3: Take an engine cleaning wand ($12 @ Home Depot less at Princess Auto) and some hot water. Hook it up to a compressor around 60-80psi
Step 4: Spray away everything working from one side to the other (back to front, front to back what ever)
Step 5: Blow off all the water with air at the same 60-80psi. Make sure you take lots of care to get all the water out of the hingepins, bearings etc.

These are optional, I don't do them all the time but it's nice if you have the time

Step 6: Spray WD40 over the whole car, getting in the hubs, hingepins etc. Let soak 5 - 10 minutes
Step 7: Blow it all off really good again and you are done!

You just need to use a paper towel to wipe off the engine and radio tray and put it all back together. I can usually have an 8th scale cleaned and back together in less than an hour.

[Stalker]

Opps forgot to add:

I'm going to do some cleaning tomorrow night so if you want to come over after 7pm give me a call, get my number off of Steve or Patches if you want.

-- Jeff --

[Guest]

Those way`s are great, but i find that just doing it those way`s you don`t get the dirt from in and under all the section`s, by taking the three section`s off along with the radio tray, you get ALL the dirt out. The one thing that drive`s me nut`s is the sound of grind from the dirt that is in places where thing`s move, you would be surprised where dirt get`s. I think i`m a little to crazy about my buggie being clean !!

The best way to clean your RC is the best way you can, it all depend`s on how much time you want to take and how good you want it to look, the better you clean it the longer part`s will last ( in my opinion )

[Shim]

Hey Nitro Racer...

Are you going to be at the 5 this coming weekend?

[imported_BBFBCAP]

I just pulled the servo tray (both servos attached), radio box and engine out of my buggy and washed with a hose...for the first time!!!

WORKED GREAT!!! It only took minutes for me to do too. I will be doing this from now on, you can be rest-assured!!!

i saw Vic Garcia do this at the New York race (Full Throttle) and reinstall his power and electronics...in minutes!!! i was shocked at how well it cleaned the buggy and in no time flat!

Just my 2 cents worth. Good luck, and I have to say though...cleaning DOES suck!!!

[imported_Dukk]

I take WD40 in one hand and the blow gun off the compressor in the other. Sometimes a toothbrush if I've gotten into the mud too much.

Cleans the Savage up dandy - maybe not SPOTLESS but, it's a Savage, it's made to be in the dirt :GRIN: