So how and what do you all use to clean

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shortround9191

shortround9191

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Ok guys of course I’m dirt, gravel will be sand when I can. It’s rained here a lot so doesn’t take much for the trucks to get totally nasty. I’ve started rinsing mine down with water soon as I know that I’m done for the day. Have a few brushes tooth brush and a soft wheel brush like doing car rims. Make fun of me but I then use one of my smaller EDF Jets to blow dry to car followed by a light coat of ArmorAll foam tire shine the kind that doesn’t leave the wet look just darkens the plastics while coating but bolts screws that I’ll wipe down with a microfiber cloth
 
lol I would use edf jet too if I had one, I only recently picked up an air blower to dry mine but they got hung on the radiator before that 😅, I just hit mine why gt85 or wd40 (some people cry about using it say it attracts dust lol these people must run they’re vehicles in a sterile labs not through all the dirt/dust/gravel that I do 🤷) but still get rusty nuts & bolts a pet hate going titanium screws on buggy makeover (bloody expensive pill to swallow for some nuts & bolts) no right or wrong way of doing it just try avoid soaking electronics in the process

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Nelson.81 said:
lol I would use edf jet too if I had one, I only recently picked up an air blower to dry mine but they got hung on the radiator before that 😅, I just hit mine why gt85 or wd40 (some people cry about using it say it attracts dust lol these people must run they’re vehicles in a sterile labs not through all the dirt/dust/gravel that I do 🤷) but still get rusty nuts & bolts a pet hate going titanium screws on buggy makeover (bloody expensive pill to swallow for some nuts & bolts) no right or wrong way of doing it just try avoid soaking electronics in the process

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Brave my luck I’d be melting stuff the cleaning took like 10min turned out pretty good

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I use a couple of little bristle brushes.

Methylated spirits for oily residues (more often associated with Nitro or 2 Strokes).

GT85 (contains PTFE) for plastics and metal cleaning/shining.

Sometimes a toothbrush for detail cleaning.

That's basically it. I never blast my rigs with water like some people do - I dislike making things too wet here in the UK, because stuff would take an age to dry most of the year.

I am religious at keeping rigs as clean as possible though - it's standard operational procedure when racing to prepare the car for the next round and keep things spotless.

This was equally important for on or off-road cars. That being said, a dirty off road car can weigh up to a pound heavier when it's covered in mud/grass.

Bashers often wonder why people bother. 2 reasons:
  • cars work better when they're kept as clean as possible
  • It's easier to spot issues before they become a problem out on the field
So in reality, whilst it's 100% personal choice how clean your rig should be, the benefits are just as relevant for bashers as they are for racers.

Spotting oil/grease appearing is useful in determining diff maintenance, especially on high powered brushless rigs.

It's important to store rigs dry and protected if you live in a humid, wet or cold region to help keep corrosion at bay. 👍
 
I believe in cleaning like yesterday found a few screws had backed out after I cleaned. If I just put it away next bash would have something most likely breaking just the luck I have. Now I don’t go crazy cleaning well maybe once or twice a week depending on conditions I’m driving in.
 
AggyMi said:
Haha, I've cleaned nothing yet beyond using an old dry paint brush

Ordered! £29.99 on Amazon
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I have used one of these since I got in the hobby 4 years ago it's brilliant and take the filter out the bottom and it's even better 🙂.

I only use that blower and a tooth brush to clean the dirt and dust off the RCs, I use WD40 when I have been a idiot and blasted through puddles to free up bearing when I cannot be arsed to swap them out.

Also I do like to use WD40 in a little tub and dip a toothbrush in and go all round my cars to clean them and try my best to wipe it off afterwards as where I run them it attracts dust for miles and builds up all around the drive line bits n bobs.
 
If it's really dusty or muddy I will take the tires of and rinse it down with a hose on a gentle setting (no pressure). I spray it with a diluted all purpose cleaner and let sit like 3 minutes then rinse again. I don't spray directly on the electronics. I dry all the large surfaces with a rag and then put it upside down infront of a fan. All the water eveporates in 30 mins usually. Have basically no rust on the screw heads which always rust first. Then I'll spray all the exposed bearings with some grease, ideally something that dries up completely.

If it's just a bit dusty or lately I've had a lot of pollen I'll usually leave it. An air compressor or duster would be nice for this though. I don't like to use pressure with water but for those pollen it would work well.
 
Niekname said:
If it's really dusty or muddy I will take the tires of and rinse it down with a hose on a gentle setting (no pressure). I spray it with a diluted all purpose cleaner and let sit like 3 minutes then rinse again. I don't spray directly on the electronics. I dry all the large surfaces with a rag and then put it upside down infront of a fan. All the water eveporates in 30 mins usually. Have basically no rust on the screw heads which always rust first. Then I'll spray all the exposed bearings with some grease, ideally something that dries up completely.

If it's just a bit dusty or lately I've had a lot of pollen I'll usually leave it. An air compressor or duster would be nice for this though. I don't like to use pressure with water but for those pollen it would work well.
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This is similar to my methodology:

Dry (with microfibre cloth)
Clean (with methylated spirits)
Inspect
Protect (with GT85)

The little blower shown here would be a great addition! 🤩
 
I spray them with a dish soap and water mixture. The i rinse them off with the garden hose and hang them to dry. After drying i spray the whole car with silicone for rust prevention and shiny plastics.
 
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