Best way to clean track (MTH realtrax)

I use alcohol (on a piece of soft cloth) as available at any pharmacy.

MELGAR

Hello Robbin. I to use MTH real trap. I got started with that in the mid 1980’s. I currently have a layout in the garage. I live in Florida near the Gulf. I get allot of corrosion and dirt. I live in a new development and the new house construction has just come to a end. Dirt was everywhere. I have been using lighter fluid on a piece of t-shirt. On the spots what will not clean I use real fine sand paper. I’m sure this is not the best way to keep the track clean but it does work very well. I have a Lionel tracking car that I put fluid in but it really just rides around not doing a very good job?

I used a bright boy and wiped the dust up with a rag.

Using a BriteBoy and Naphtha (lighter fluid) on a rag is the best way to clean dirty track. NEVER use sandpaper on tinplate track as it removes the tin coating, leaving the steel underneath exposed, and it will rust.

Track cleaning cars are good for very light dirt, but you need elbow grease for the tough stuff.

Larry

Isopropyl alcohol or lighter fluid and paper towels. If you have tunnels or you don’t have enough elbow grease, Centerline Products makes a good track cleaner that you pull (or push) behind your locomotive. They recommend Goo Gone. It removes the filth but I still feel the need to clean with alcohol or lighter fluid after the Goo Gone to remove any residue.

Interesting article on the subject here - https://model-railroad-hobbyis...5/publishers-musings

I use Goo Gone and clean up with Isopropyl Alcohol on a soft, lint free, cloth. Also, Bright Boy and a hand held, cordless, vacuum cleaner for weekly cleaning. Thanks all…

  This is how I repurpose old socks with holes in them.  Just add some alcohol and go to town. I seem to have an endless supply of holy socks.

Great idea, Mike. I have a mess of old socks.

In my opinion, 91% isopropyl alcohol is the best fluid to use for cleaning track. I apply it gently to my Atlas O track with a soft cloth. It removes the dirt and evaporates, leaving the track clean with no apparent residue. My trains always run well after cleaning this way and I keep the track pretty clean. I also use the alcohol on wheels and pickup rollers. If there seems to be dirt on the traction tires, I give them a quick wipe with the rag and alcohol.

MELGAR

Robbin

Welcome to the OGR forum.  You will find the answers to any O gauge question you have right here and many are just waiting to help you.

Do a search on track cleaning on OGR forum to learn all you could ever want.  Most of us have tried several track cleaning methods and many are now using mineral sprites for cleaning and then applying as small amount of NO OX ID conducting grease (yes it a paraffin based grease) treatment (wiped off after treatment) to eliminate all future track cleaning.  It has worked for me for over two years and my conventional O27 trains will operate better and slower too.

https://ogrforum.com/...stant-track-cleaning

https://dfarq.homeip.net/no-ox...r-model-railroading/

https://ogrforum.com/...3#159096765317812943

Charlie

Just a heads up..... Robbin created this thread/topic in 2020.

2020 topics, no problem,  Most of the best OGR topics are old and history.  There is a wealth of great stuff in OGR servers just waiting to be discovered.  Search is your friend.

Charlie

@Choo Choo Charlie posted:

2020 topics, no problem,  Most of the best OGR topics are old and history.  There is a wealth of great stuff in OGR servers just waiting to be discovered.  Search is your friend.

Charlie

I totally agree. I sure wish the search function here worked better than it does. I sure don't have much luck with it unless it is a pretty basic topic.

Brad

B rad

You have good point about OGR search.  I have found plain old Google works better and often gives multiple OGR hits usually a list of 5 or 6 for each topic.  That is one thing that drew me to OGR:  Google loves OGR, has OGR on the list to check for O gauge trains and gives many O gauge hits from OGR.  Google opens up the whole world for hits on your OGR topics too.

Charlie

Just ordered NO OX ID. Sounds like this stuff really works. Thanks to all for your terrific support with this track cleaning issue.

@Choo Choo Charlie posted:

B rad

You have good point about OGR search.  I have found plain old Google works better and often gives multiple OGR hits usually a list of 5 or 6 for each topic.  That is one thing that drew me to OGR:  Google loves OGR, has OGR on the list to check for O gauge trains and gives many O gauge hits from OGR.  Google opens up the whole world for hits on your topic too.

Charlie

Yep. Plus, what I do is add the keywords OGR Forum to my string of keywords on Google searches if I’m looking for info specifically in the forum. This is particularly useful if I recall a noteworthy reply or topic, but I can’t remember enough specifics for OGR’s advanced search to do the job efficiently. (If you’re only using the basic search in the OGR Forum, you’re wasting your time.)

In fact, it makes more sense for folks asking common questions to do Google searches first to see what information is out there before asking the question and awaiting for sufficient responses posted anew. Or, worse, getting replies that were less helpful or less accurate than the vetted discussions from the past.

The OGR Forum is nicely optimized for search engines — known in the industry as Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, so, as Charlie says, OGR Forum topics tend to rise to the top of searches even without using the OGR Forum keywords in the string of words.