I was wondering what some groups do to keep their Budd stainless cars clean. Are there any methods that are not so labor intensive? We have 9 that we use and it is not practical to scrub them down every few months. Thanks for any suggestions.

Mike

http://www.itm.org
masticke@indiana.edu

Mike,

You must have read my mind. I had planned to ask the same question as our group owns seven ex-New York Central Budd-built Empire State Express stainless coaches. As I was wearing my arm out last Wed. night with my can of Bar Keeper's Friend scrubbing our RPO car, I too was wondering if there was a better way.

What does your museum currently use? Your cars on your website look really nice! We have used a combo of Bar Keeper's Friend (an Comet like cleanser) and an acid wash which Amtrak uses. The acid works to some degree, but leaves streaks. The Bar Keeper's Friend seems to work pretty good, but makes for an great arm workout.

I have heard of baking soda blasting, either dry or injected into a pressure washer stream, works really well if you have the right equipment and use the right grade of baking soda. But I too would love to hear if there is anything out there that really does the job with a lower labor requirement and possibly without the the need for a lot of special equipment.

Anyone???

Until later,
Chris

> I was wondering what some groups do to keep
> their Budd stainless cars clean. Are there
> any methods that are not so labor intensive?
> We have 9 that we use and it is not
> practical to scrub them down every few
> months. Thanks for any suggestions.

> Mike



Rochester Chapter NRHS Fall Foliage Excursions

crhauf@frontiernet.net

I do not know the exact concoction, but when MARC Train Service gets a car graffittied, a contractor that has a mobile power washing business cleans the cars using a mild acid wash, followed by a neutralizing rinse. It does not leave a streaky finish. I could find out what he uses if it is not proprietary. This not only removes the paint, but leaves the cars very shiny, and I believe we are only paying about $300.00 per car to get it done.

Steve Zuiderveen

> Mike,

> You must have read my mind. I had planned to
> ask the same question as our group owns
> seven ex-New York Central Budd-built Empire
> State Express stainless coaches. As I was
> wearing my arm out last Wed. night with my
> can of Bar Keeper's Friend scrubbing our RPO
> car, I too was wondering if there was a
> better way.

> What does your museum currently use? Your
> cars on your website look really nice! We
> have used a combo of Bar Keeper's Friend (an
> Comet like cleanser) and an acid wash which
> Amtrak uses. The acid works to some degree,
> but leaves streaks. The Bar Keeper's Friend
> seems to work pretty good, but makes for an
> great arm workout.

> I have heard of baking soda blasting, either
> dry or injected into a pressure washer
> stream, works really well if you have the
> right equipment and use the right grade of
> baking soda. But I too would love to hear if
> there is anything out there that really does
> the job with a lower labor requirement and
> possibly without the the need for a lot of
> special equipment.

> Anyone???

> Until later,
> Chris


SZuidervee@aol.com

> I was wondering what some groups do to keep
> their Budd stainless cars clean. Are there
> any methods that are not so labor intensive?
> Thanks for any suggestions.

We have two RDC's here at Reading & Northern which were cleaned in spring 1999 by a company that was developing an "environmentally friendly" cleaning solution (something like simple green ??) at the time.

It was a spray-it-on, wait-a-while, rinse-it-off process, that had to be repeated quite a few times
-our cars were pretty dirty- but the results were pretty good. It took away the road dirt and brake-shoe dust, and left a nice shiny stainless. And no scrubbing, just a sprayer and a garden hose.

As of '99, the company was Everbrite Industries of Lehighton, PA./ a Mr. Ben Verta.

I believe the Reading Co. T&HS has had a more recent contact with this party.
Try contacting John Stoudt or Mike Tillger at RCT&HS.