How do you clean your RC?

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Not a fan of supposed "do it all" wd40. I have it around the house like 99 percent of the population. It will ruin locks for sure. Ask any locksmith. But absolutely keep it away from my RC bearings. It will carry dirt into them. And it is NOT a lubricant of any value. Its a very old product that was specifically designed for Water Displacement. Think old school distributor caps with points in the 1950's. But some people swear by it. Just not me. Yes it us very cheap to buy. It will displace water well, but leaves a film to deal with that I feel varnishes up and attracts dust. Sure it will make your rigs plastics look better than brand new, but at a price to pay.
But again, people swear by it.
Just not me. There are other options out there. I will let others chime in.
 
Well, I have said it before, and will say it again...

I use WD40 in my Saito, Webra, Enya, O.S., Magnum, MDS rc airplane glow engines and have NEVER EVER had a bearing failure in flight.

Also use it on my 1/8th on road, off road nitro buggies, for yrs, still have a LRP .28 5-port glow engines for yrs, its a torque beast, eats spur gears for lunch. Have sprayed it on bearings after washing the Losi 5ive, and the Baja, and the same, NO BEARING FAILURE.

So each have different view of what to or not to use. IF, for very prolonged periods of storage then spray WD40 and a few drops of castor oil (you now the laxative sold on Walmart, yes that), and all set for yrs.
 
Like I said , most people have it. It may work for them. That's ok too. I have two OS's. Castor oil is your friend for sure. But my brew contains Marvel Mustery oil for after run lube. I don't know why its a mystery that it works. Lol. Nitro engines bearings are more robust for obvious reasons and thus lubricated much like a full scale engine and are not sealed for the most part. Different than other bearings that are prepacked with lubes. i can see using wd40 as a solvent in a pinch. Great topic.
 
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Not a fan of supposed "do it all" wd40. I have it around the house like 99 percent of the population. It will ruin locks for sure. Ask any locksmith. But absolutely keep it away from my RC bearings. It will carry dirt into them. And it is NOT a lubricant of any value. Its a very old product that was specifically designed for Water Displacement. Think old school distributor caps with points in the 1950's. But some people swear by it. Just not me. Yes it us very cheap to buy. It will displace water well, but leaves a film to deal with that I feel varnishes up and attracts dust. Sure it will make your rigs plastics look better than brand new, but at a price to pay.
But again, people swear by it.
Just not me. There are other options out there. I will let others chime in.
+1. In simpler terms, when you spray it in your bearings, it takes out the film of grease inside of them, and replaces them with a slippery substance that doesn’t have much viscosity or film strength. Essentially it’s like putting water in your bearings; just doesn’t rust them. For those wondering “well if it’s not a lubricant, why does it fix my door hinges when they squeak?”

That’s because it’s slippery. Just like water, not like oil/grease. Take a can of PB blaster’s lubricant (quality stuff) it’s what I would use for rc bearings. It’s actually a lubricant and actually has film strength, so acts like a grease, unlike WD which will quickly dissipate (just like water) and then you’re beat.
 
I use chain lube in areas many would use WD-40. It goes on wet but dries to wax. Fixes locks so well that I went and shot some in every lock around my house. I use it for metal on plastic gears 3s and in sliding drive shafts.
For bearings I use AVID Slip oil in the hypodermic needle bottle.
WD-40 I try to use to keep screws from rusting but I don't load it on my vehicles. I have the squeeze spray bottle and shoot some on a towel and wipe down.
 
I use chain lube in areas many would use WD-40. It goes on wet but dries to wax. Fixes locks so well that I went and shot some in every lock around my house. I use it for metal on plastic gears 3s and in sliding drive shafts.
For bearings I use AVID Slip oil in the hypodermic needle bottle.
WD-40 I try to use to keep screws from rusting but I don't load it on my vehicles. I have the squeeze spray bottle and shoot some on a towel and wipe down.
I think more like you do. I can spray a squeaking hinge with water too and it will lube that hinge for all of 5 minutes because water is slippery. But that doesn't really prevent it from squeaking again.
WD displaces water. But it is not waterproof. Plain Water will quiet a noisy hinge also. I have used WD on hinges. It will last a short time. Unless you keep feeding that hinge with wd. But that's silly. But a noisy hinge is a good example. I remember a custodian who would be called for noise hinges. He carried around cans of wd. He said it was his best tool. But he would always be called to the same places. He loved it. He got paid to walk around with wd and looked like a star and always got a tip from the condo owners. Respraying, coming back to the same condos with same noisy old hinges and window ballisters. He had wd by the gallon cans. But it was a joke if you ask me He knew the drill.
 
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I will use WD as a solvent in a pinch on bearings. When i am low on real solvent. But I find it usually congeals with the old lube. I also rinse out the wd completely before relubing. I just don't want wd near my lubes. They don't get along well. Lol. I use WD to remove adhesives and chewing gum. And permanent marker inks. There are uses for it around the house. But in 30+ years in RC I learned it is not my go to lube or even a cleaner. There are so many options that are better. Just my spin. Many really like it. What more can I say. I did much research on wd40 and the company. They market that stuff like it's gold. But like I said earlier, it just displaces water like it was meant to 40+ years ago.
 
WD40 is not a lubricant. Like mentioned above it is a water displacer that just so happens to have some lubricating properties, the lube in it actually drys out over time and will attract dirt like a magnet.

I use WD40 for soaking a arms and wing mounts and for getting water out of some of the hard to reach places, but I wipe it all off afterwards and do like @crimsonfancy and use the Teflon based wax chain lube.

@SrC I use Marvel Mystery oil to soak all my bearings after I clean them. Then I put some molybdenum grease in them.
 
WD40 is not a lubricant. Like mentioned above it is a water displacer that just so happens to have some lubricating properties, the lube in it actually drys out over time and will attract dirt like a magnet.

I use WD40 for soaking a arms and wing mounts and for getting water out of some of the hard to reach places, but I wipe it all off afterwards and do like @crimsonfancy and use the Teflon based wax chain lube.

@SrC I use Marvel Mystery oil to soak all my bearings after I clean them. Then I put some molybdenum grease in them.
I use this on my bike chains as well as on my rc cvd joints etc. Just not in my bearings. It has some chrome moly in it. And is rubber safe.
 

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I use this on my bike chains as well as on my rc cvd joints etc. Just not in my bearings. It has some chrome moly in it. And is rubber safe.
I started using this as well, I out some on my Typhon 3s back in like March and when I tore down the rear of the car last night to replace the a arms the rear the hinge pins were still coated in it.
 
I started using this as well, I out some on my Typhon 3s back in like March and when I tore down the rear of the car last night to replace the a arms the rear the hinge pins were still coated in it.
Absolutely great for squeaking hinge pins and balls. It self cleans because of the wax base. Rubber safe. Attracts no dirt. CVD pins and joints wear so much less. The joints don't accumulate dirt. Last much longer. My 2 $75.00 bicycle chains are like butter and stay clean with Chain Saver. Its basically a motorcycle chain product that's supposed to last 3k miles between applications. It a robust product. Hard to find locally. Harley Davidson dealers usually carry it. But at a very high markup. I get it on AMZ. I tried the liquid non-aerosol version. But you actually waste more than using the can with the red nozzle tip. You only need a drop literally. Let it dry completely before using. And I try to keep it away from my bearings.
 
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Simple green is the awesome. I use it full strength. It is also a degreaser, so make sure to lube all bearings afterwords. Ive used it on my dirt bikes for years. Only thing i have found that removes the red clay mud/dirt stain on my plastics and doesn't discolor aluminum like some other degreasers.
 
I've used that on my Cannondale BB Ultra. It's good stuff. Never used on my RC rigs though. Its a thought.(y) Bikes get the same grime as RC rigs.
 
I normally just hose off the car, air compressor it dry, and then in the summer leave it in the sun, or in the winter I leave it over a heater vent in my living room to let the heat dry out anything still remaining.

I've also been using this lately, it just seems like it's diluted simple green with a foam nozzle. Works OK, maybe a little less harsh than hosing it off.

 
Agree with everybody about NOT using WD-40.

I bought the Chain Saver wax-based stuff, and I'll use that on the diffs, drive joints, and also where our More Experienced Members use it. I did some 'experimenting' with it (Damn Engineers!), and the only thing I found a bit weird about it was whatever solvents they use as a carrier for the wax attacked the heavy 'Painter's Plastic' I have my work tables covered with. It made the plastic expand where I sprayed it, looking like a big blister. After it dried it was pretty slippery, and stayed stuck to the plastic sheet on the work table.

I'm replacing all the OEM bearings with AVIC "Revolution Ceramic" sealed bearings, so I'm not going to worry about lubing them.

As far as cleaning my Senton, I turn it upside-down, shake all the stuff out of it, and then brush any dirt off the bits with a "chip brush" from Harbor Freight. I've never run it in mud, water, or snow, so clean-up is pretty easy.
 
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I started experimenting with the stuff I had on hand and found my first choice to produce great results. Foubd this motorcycle cleaner stuff at walmart and the teflon does a great job at keeping dry or damp dirt from sticking to the plastics. It won't help with mud, but not much out there would.. I spray the showroom stuff directly on the model and work it into and over the detail using a very clean and dry or brand new 2" angle brush after knocking off the worst of the dirt with an air compressor.

If I feel like the teflon is building up (haven't yet but it's the same procedure I use for my bike) I'll hit it with the matte finish cleaner first to remove any previous buildup then reapply using the same technique.

Another trick I picked up using this stuff with the bike, is to recognize when it's going to leave a haze due to too much dirt being suspended in the cleaner before it dries.

If it looks like it's going leave excessive dust deposits I'll wipe it down with a damp rag before it completely dries but most of the time if I just keep going over it with the dry brush it knocks off any remaining residue on the last couple passes over. Then it's ready to repel the dirt from my next run!
 
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