How do you clean your RC car?

[mzanzirc]

Apologies is this has been discussed.

But how do you clean your RC car?

After I have run mine, I give it a good wipe down with a paintbrush and blow it out with a handheld blower. Then I spray the whole car down with a bio-degradable degreaser and let it sit for 10min. My electronics are "waterproof". Hate that word. I rather say water resistant. Then I take a hosepipe to it and wash all the degreaser off and let it dry out in the sun and give it a blow with the blower. I then spray the whole car with a PTFE lube which is also a water repellant. Wash it down again with water to get all the excess lube off, let it dry out and it comes out clean, shiny and lubed. I will then add a little Q20 (same as WD40) on the bearings ect.

I found no issues cleaning this way in 3 years. Stock bearings still good. But if they fail, I'll just buy new bearings from a local bearing shop.

I know a lot of people hate washing with water. But I'm not fazed too much. As long as I let the car dry out completely before turning it on again, I see no issues.

Show us your cleaning routine. There are a ton of these vids on YT, but each to their own I guess. I hate a dirty RC car.

 

[WickedFog]

Apologies is this has been discussed.

But how do you clean your RC car?

After I have run mine, I give it a good wipe down with a paintbrush and blow it out with a handheld blower. Then I spray the whole car down with a bio-degradable degreaser and let it sit for 10min. My electronics are "waterproof". Hate that word. I rather say water resistant. Then I take a hosepipe to it and wash all the degreaser off and let it dry out in the sun and give it a blow with the blower. I then spray the whole car with a PTFE lube which is also a water repellant. Wash it down again with water to get all the excess lube off, let it dry out and it comes out clean, shiny and lubed. I will then add a little Q20 (same as WD40) on the bearings ect.

I found no issues cleaning this way in 3 years. Stock bearings still good. But if they fail, I'll just buy new bearings from a local bearing shop.

I know a lot of people hate washing with water. But I'm not fazed too much. As long as I let the car dry out completely before turning it on again, I see no issues.

Show us your cleaning routine. There are a ton of these vids on YT, but each to their own I guess. I hate a dirty RC car.

My routine is very similar, at least when I do clean them

 

[Hepher88]

I use a cotton bud wrapped in a wet wipe to get into all the little places haha otherwise I just do a general clean, clean the fule tank, check all the moving parts for any potential problems after bashing it and then it has its own bag to be put away in

 

[BeardRub]

I turn it upside down and shake it so that the rocks and sticks fall up into the body, then I shake that out the side and let it fall out. I give a good whoof of air from the Mk1 Mouth Parts into each wheel, the motor, and the steering links to get the chunks off. If I'm really bothered by the filth I grab a can of compressed air and a dry paper towel. The only part I've wet-wiped is the bodies.

I'm not trying to claim this is good or bad, but I'm not seeing any buildup after lots of dry, dusty racing and rock running. I do a lot of 1:1 driving and using firearms and it seems to me that you really don't have to clean things meant for hard duty very much if you keep em properly lubed and free of rust bringers.

 

[Tunedfrog]

Air compressor.

 

[Rcflyer616]

Apologies is this has been discussed.

But how do you clean your RC car?

After I have run mine, I give it a good wipe down with a paintbrush and blow it out with a handheld blower. Then I spray the whole car down with a bio-degradable degreaser and let it sit for 10min. My electronics are "waterproof". Hate that word. I rather say water resistant. Then I take a hosepipe to it and wash all the degreaser off and let it dry out in the sun and give it a blow with the blower. I then spray the whole car with a PTFE lube which is also a water repellant. Wash it down again with water to get all the excess lube off, let it dry out and it comes out clean, shiny and lubed. I will then add a little Q20 (same as WD40) on the bearings ect.

I found no issues cleaning this way in 3 years. Stock bearings still good. But if they fail, I'll just buy new bearings from a local bearing shop.

I know a lot of people hate washing with water. But I'm not fazed too much. As long as I let the car dry out completely before turning it on again, I see no issues.

Show us your cleaning routine. There are a ton of these vids on YT, but each to their own I guess. I hate a dirty RC car.

Compressed air

 

[Gresvk]

I used for the first time this product and I liked it.

Depending of what kind and how much dirt it haves I use toothbrush and ear cleaners.

And of course always compressed air.

 

[RustyUs]

Always start with compressed air, and all kinds of brushes of course. But...

 

[BobP]

I use a electric air mattress inflater, It blows high volume of air without blowing so hard as to blow dirt and debris in bearings. I also use it to cool my RC. after a race to be ready for the next one.

 

[scavenger]

I mostly get all the big chunks with compressed air and a small variety of paint brush and bottle type brushes. I avoid a wash unless it's really bad to keep the rusty fasteners and such to a minimum. None of my stuff is "pretty" so I just try to keep it in perspective. Don't worry so much about a spotless RC. I thrash my toys so they look like hell but I concentrate on maintenance and remember that a clean RC is just better to work on. Cleaning up the car will most times reveal damage that would otherwise go unnoticed.

 

[offroadrcguy]

Use an air compressor to get all the rocks and dirt out. Then at the end i use an old paintbrush to brushaway the rest. Never washed my car. I don’t worry about detailing my truck that much because after bashing It’s gonna get dirty. Just a simple clean will do the job.

 

[Xraycer]

This is probably, yet, another reason I mainly run crawlers nowadays. There's just significantly less cleaning involved. At least for me anyway. It certainly helps, since I usually don't venture into the mud.
Back when I did a lot of bashing and ran dirt tracks, I cleaned with a household bristle brush, a craft paintbrush, and a cordless leaf blower.

 

[Doom!]

Air compressor and a damp cloth. But I'm like @Xraycer , I avoid mud and gunk when I can.

 

[ahr43]

Off-road, my trucks run grass track or bash dry dirt. On-road dry surfaces.

Cleaning the chassis consists of removing the body and inverting the truck to shake out the big stuff. Then a once-over with a stiff bristle brush for the small stuff. Necessary maintenance or annual tear-down is the only time they see detailed and dedicated cleaning.

Cleaning the body is a warm water wash, followed by toweling off, air dry and a buff coat of PlastX.

 

[WickedFog]

I used for the first time this product and I liked it.

Depending of what kind and how much dirt it haves I use toothbrush and ear cleaners.

And of course always compressed air.

View attachment 146693

That looks suspiciously like Simple Green

 

[Sixtysixdeuce]

Compressed air and glass cleaner

 

[DrFranz]

Compressor is the quickest way. Then coat with silicon spray and ready to go again. If I can, when I sense the run time is almost over I'll stay in the grass or make a few passes in the puddles to start the process before the run is over

 

[9x19]

I just tell the wife:

Git your lazy behind outside and clean my RCs!

Then having finished my nap (which included the above dream), I use a compressor to blow out the loose stuff, and for any stubborn spots, I use a mist spray bottle left over from the Nitro days with water and a few drops of simple green... then the compressor again to dry.