Sam Jumper posted:Is that smaller gear next to the wheel plastic? Will any of the chemicals mentioned leave the plastic alone? If left to soak, won’t anything that attacks the rust also remove the blueing from the metal? Has anyone tried gun blueing on Lionel parts? If so, how close will it come out to the original Lionel color? With all of the work involved, eBay has similar postwar trucks in the $20 range. Wouldn’t that be easiest and maybe cheapest?
I have cleaned and reblued many train parts over the years. It will look fine when it is done. I also wipe on a light coat of oil to add a little rust resistance and to clean off the residue and bring out the color. Just did wheels, couplers and frame on an MPC boxcar that was in bad shape and now it looks great. I use Birchwood Casey rust remover and gun blue. Qtips and scotchbrite pads are your friends.
