Being cautious - white spirit
 

I've got an old triang-hornby shunter loco (number 47606 0-6-0) which I've refurbished to the extent in which it now moves properly. But the commutator and brushes are extremely dirty so it doesn't run very smoothly. I want to try cleaning them with white spirit which works wonders on dirty track and I expect it will here too, but I know that it can be quite corrosive and have some nasty side effects so do you think it's safe to use on the motor? (it's a standard motor, what modern day hornby might refer to as a 'five pole skew wound'). It's been under overhaul for some time so i'd really love to get it working good as quickly as possible.

some other things I thought I'd add:
The steel wheels are covered with a layer of black oxide (probably a result of 30 years of neglect). How the heck can I get it off as it's proving very difficult?

And it has a smoke machine (if you call it that). Hornby can sell you a tiny bottle of fluid for £4 that does the trick. but I've heard rumours that things like baby oil can work just as well. any tips?

Go to a good electrical or computer repair depot, they use a grease solvent which does't leave a residue. It comes under several trade names.

Whatever you do, don't get whatever you use on anything plastic. I used a well known brand of switch cleaner on several electrical items some years ago, result? 1 TV, 1 Radio Cassette, 1 Record Deck, 1 Transistor Radio. All wrecked. The stuff takes several weeks to act, then suddenly the plastic becomes what I can only describe as Flakey. It falls apart in tiny bits. Be very careful.
Cheers, 62440.

I used to be an aircraft engineer and we used an aerosol spray degreaser, it was harmless to surrounding materials.

I have always used methylated spirit for cleaning low voltage electrical contacts, including brush and commutator cleaning.....seems to do the trick OK and doesn't leave a residue. It is very inflammable though so you can't use where there is any risk of igniting it.

Alex10