Anyone have a good link for proper buggy cleaning?

First I blow everything off with compressed air. If you dont have a compressor, stop off at the gas station. I then use denatured alcohol in a spray bottle. If needed I use a toothbrush to get the tuff crud.

After that, a 50/50 mix of Armoral and water, again blown off. It will give everything that 'brand new' look, and the dust comes off easier the next time.

i take servo tray out and air filter off carb, leave engine and pipe in with rubber band and plastic bag covering pipe outlet and carb then power wash it, if muddy use dirt bike cleaner to soak first then power wash it, once finsihed spray with something like gt85 which is lubricant, penetrator and water displacer all in one, buggy comes up looking new after about 5 minutes work.
been using this way for about 2 years and seen no ill effect on bearing or diff's etc

losixxx said:

i take servo tray out and air filter off carb, leave engine and pipe in with rubber band and plastic bag covering pipe outlet and carb then power wash it

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I used to do something like this until I opened my clutch and it was all rusted.

Now, I just use a stiff bristled paint brush to get the dust off. I think I might invest in an air compressor. I don't care about a like new finish. When I take it apart for maintance, I wash the PLASTIC parts with soap and water. The metal parts I clean with either old Nitro (the oil pervents rusting) or for parts that dont like oil (cluch, brakes, etc) I use DA like FastEddy said.

I don't much care if it's clean -- just so long as it's mean.

I take the eletronics, motor, and gas tank out. Lean her against the house and let the water hose do my work. Spray everything off and come right behind it with silicone spray (NOT WD-40!!), let it sit for about 5-10 min put everything back in and the buggy is good as new. No dirt, rust or anything that could harm the car. Clean the motor and gas tank with water and a toothbrush, and the whole car is clean. The whole process takes me no longer than an 45min, and I never had any problems. But that is just my way of doing it.

Yea, I think everyone has their own way!

I don't race much during the week, only on the weekends. So I usually have a few days to clean the thing up pretty good. And, being winter, I don't race at all so I've been able to completely strip down the buggy (every little screw and part) and clean everything. This is quite a bit of work so I wouldn't recommend doing this all the time!

Anyways, really all you need to do for cleaning is get the big dirt off, and make sure the dirt isn't getting in the way of any moving parts. Little bits of dirt can get in hinge points and ball-ends, into the diff casing, on the shocks, etc. As long as you get those parts clean, you're okay.

It's a good idea to clean off the engine, too, because if it's caked with dirt, it won't cool off as well.

Generally, while at the track I use a compressor to clean it off after each run. When I take it home, I use a damp cloth on the parts I can get to, and then I run them over with some armor-all or those neat armor-all wipes. I never use any sort of spray liquid, nitro blast, whatever. The easy "cleaning" just makes your life harder in the long run, I think. The dirt gets pushed into places that are more difficult to reach.

I make sure all the parts move freely and clean them out where appropriate. I take off the tires and clean them up, too, but you definately don't want to dunk them in water or even get them too wet because once the foams get wet, it can ruin an otherwise good tire. A trickle of water and a brush works best for the tires, I think.

Sometimes I go a step further and really clean it, but not every time. When doing these cleanings, I'm also checking inside the diff cases for dirt and wear on the gears, as well as shocks for leaking and air bubbles.

1/8th scale has got to be one of the messier off-road vehicles; you got not only the mud and dirt from the track but you also have fuel spilling and exhaust making the dirt stick even more.