Metal Tracks Issue, Heng Long

[MrChef]

New Heng Long Tank arrived just in time for my birthday but,,, Has any of you experienced corrosion on metal tracks or wheels like this before out of the box?
and sprockets too-

[MrChef]

Being that I want to blue/blacken them. I tried cleaning the track to test if it would work or if I'd need to just paint them. I used rubbing alcohol, then mineral spirits, then Zippo fluid, then dawn dish soap, then simple green, then super clean. Nothing happened. The corrosion stayed on nicely. So I tried to etch it with a metal pick, that scratched it. So it sounds like a metal brush would clear this up but I wasn't done trying stuff that would limit elbow grease. So I used white vinegar and then peroxide still nothing. So I went to home depot and got a new set of wire brushes for my drill. I saw a bottle of Brasso and grabbed that just for fun. My next trick was going to be Easy-Off Oven cleaner since that did a great job of stripping paint off another set of metal tracks I have and left them perfectly prepped for bluing.

So I tried the Brasso and it does work but it leaves a coating which won't work for the bluing. So the next step is the drill with wire wheel prepped withe the brasso. I'll let you guys know what works.

Just tossing this out there if anyone else has experienced it before.

Chef

[cmdrcody]

Are those Tiger1 tracks? I didn't have any discoloring or corrosion on mine I just got a month ago.
And if you were going to use gun blue on them to look more realistic, you wouldn't ever see the that anyways.

[MrChef]

Are those Tiger1 tracks?

No they are Panther/Jagdpanther tracks.

And if you were going to use gun blue on them to look more realistic, you wouldn't ever see the that anyways.

We might think that. But I tested the blue on the corroded part and it didn't work as it is supposed to. Gun Blue requires a clean prepped surface to work properly so nope, no go.

I'm off to see what works. I'll report back. As I really like the blackening/bluing but if that doesn't work out I'll be painting them. So no worries.

Chef

[quitcherbitchen]

looks like over-spray from the photo. Will it buff off with sandpaper?

[Rubicon99]

New Heng Long Tank arrived just in time for my birthday but,,, Has any of you experienced corrosion on metal tracks or wheels like this before out of the box?
and sprockets too-

Just drive it for 10 minutes outdoors in some dirt and it will be all gone. Driving tanks outdoors does wonders to cleaning track and also makes them look so much better as they weather and wear naturally.

[MrChef]

looks like over-spray from the photo. Will it buff off with sandpaper?

I thought the same. Maybe a clear coat of even outgassing when shipped in the box during transit. It really had be confused. I tried every paint thinner I had. I tried Simple Green and Super Clean and was ready to try Easy Off Oven Cleaner. Yes scratching with a tool or sandpaper does remove it but damn that's alot of work. So I tried a metal brush on my drill but that was too aggressive. Thank god I tried it on the inside of one of the sprockets that was affected so ya can't see my mistake.

[MrChef]

Next I tried WD-40 with a stainless hand brush and this kinda worked but not enough. Next I tried Brasso metal polish. Nope.

What did eventually work was of all things=


And



and my drill

[MrChef]

Almost exactly perfect now and no driving them in the dirt would take forever if it took 1 entire drill battery to fix. But I like your thinking=

[quitcherbitchen]

Way better