Cleaned tracks with vinegar..what went wrong??

Some Vinegar is acidic, what kind did you use? White, Apple cider, other.

Imo don't mess around with old rusty track, buy new or nearly new, it will save allot of headaches.

Dave

I never tried that, but I have tried (a popular brand of rust converter sold in car maintenance shops in U.K.). The actual effect is that it removes the rust, but also the tin-plating which protects the track from surface corrosion.

Most such preparations are basically dilute phosphoric acid.

I've used the Electrolysis method to remove rust from track (and other steel items) with great success.

Larry

Vinegar in ANY form is acidic. It is by definition, Acetic acid. Most vinegar is ~5% Acetic acid.

Chris

LVHR

@PostWarFanatic posted:

What did I do wrong?

Nothing; you just exposed a lot of fresh clean surface under conditions that promoted oxidation and hence rust.

Menards has good new track at a reasonable price...

I used shop rite brand 5% white.   

Yes I know track is cheap.   Restoring this is a challenge for me.  I'm determined to do it lol.   

I looked at the tracks today.  If I can clean the tops of the rails a little the conductivity should be there.  The rust for the most part gives it a nice patina look like real rail.

Did you think of trying to wire brush the "new" rust off?

Try a very small amount of baking soda on a barely damp buffing wheel. It’s a very, very mild abrasive that should get rid of surface rust without scratching deeply. (It would also have neutralized the vinegar.) When you have to wash anything metallic, a hair dryer is a big help. Even if there’s residue, it’ll either blow off or some off with a dry paper towel.

Don’t forget if there is rust on the outside of the rails then there is rust inside where the pin resides. Rust is a poor conductor and the resistance can cause the pin to heat up.  I have heard of pins turning orange from the heat and that is a dangerous situation.  Save your challenges for something more creative and buy some Menards track.

I'll try all those things.   I'll also check out menards just in case

@PostWarFanatic posted:

Hi

After reading the forum looking for ways to rehab some rusty track I just tried vinegar since I couldn't quickly get evaporust.

I let the track sit for 24 hours in vinegar.

Then I cleaned what was left with a scour pad.

Rinsed with cold water.

Soaked in a bucket with warm water and baking soda

Rinsed again

Baked in oven for an hour.

By the time I pulled the tracks out of the oven, the ties and many of the rails flash rusted.   They are still better than the before condition but noticably rustier in some spots.

What did I do wrong?  I did my best to dry and wash off all the vinegar.

Perhaps I'll try evaporust next

The problem is that flash rust is a result of small iron particles that have become lodged on another metal surface. When moistened, these iron particles rust very quickly and create a spotty film of rust in the area they have affected.

After using vinegar, you need to immediately rinse with as hot as water you can tolerate with dish soap. Then you need to dry immediately. After drying use a contact cleaner with lubricant.

I used Evaporust on a lot of track bought used.. Rinsed in very hot water and immediately dried with compressed air. Not a sign of rust anywhere and in fact looked new.

Most tubular track has a zinc/galvanized coating to inhibit  rust.   Cleaning with an abrasive pad, or acidic solution that reacts with zinc, over time, removes the zinc.  Protective coating gone, the steel/iron will rust.   You can clean and paint the sides of the track, but the top surface needs to be clean, bare, metal to conduct electricity to the wheels, and third rail pick-up.  A very light coating of oil, also inhibits rust, but can cause dust, dirt and crud to accumulate.  IMO, Mike CT  

The key to cleaning old track is the timing.  You can put it in the Evaporust anytime... but running it through the dishwasher and baking it in the oven at 350 requires perfect timing for when the wife goes shopping.

Jon

I cleaned a lot of old track recently with 5% white vinegar, with great success.

I left it in the vinegar for 24 hours, and then as soon as I took it out, I shook each piece vigorously, making sure to "dump" as much possible out of the open ends of the tube track, and then immediately dropped it in a scalding bath of water and a little baking soda.  I only left it in for about 3 minutes.   

As soon as I pulled it out of the scalding bath, I shook it off again, and blasted it with a heat gun (from Harbor Freight) on high, until it got really really hot.   Then I just set it on a dry towel, with the open ends of the track tilting down.

I agree with what others have said, that your problem was in large part that you didn't dry the track aggressively and immediately .   You can't fool around with the track when it is damp.

The biggest challenge is not getting your hands burned.

Hope this helps.

Mannyrock

@Mike CT posted:

Most tubular track has a zinc/galvanized coating to inhibit  rust.   

Actually, it's a layer of tin - hence, "tinplate". Tin takes solder well, which was the main construction method for early 20th Century toy train equipment. This pre-dated the tab and slot method.

GG track is tinplate - other than stainless, of course. Very easy to solder. I do have to remove my rail brown paint at the solder spot, then touch it up.

Old track is fine; common sense on what to keep and what to toss. That old rusty patina can look good, actually, so long as the pins and where the pins are inserted are not overly rusty. That can be pretty easy to fix, too. Rusted through rail is probably a toss-out (or a scenery item!).

@PostWarFanatic posted:

Hi

After reading the forum looking for ways to rehab some rusty track I just tried vinegar since I couldn't quickly get evaporust.

I have found wiping off the items(paper towel or clean cloth) right after cleaning prevented flash rust on tools I soaked in Evaporust.  When I did not dry off the tools I got flash rust.  Not sure if this applies to tin plated track.

I think it's 027

I ended up getting some harbor freight evaporust.   

I soaked the track pieces from a few hours to over night.   Instead of washing it off with water I just dried each piece with a rag until it was dry.  I then put in a pan and oiled the track up.   Before I'm ready to use I'll clean the oil off but wanted to just coat it now for protection.

What's the danger of not giving the track a bath in water after using the evaporust?  I've read a few forums that suggested coating with clean evaporust will protect the metal after cleaning so my understanding is just wiping it down would not harm the metal.

I am opposed to our "throw-away" society and rehabilitated 60-year old 0-27 track I acquired for a trolley line as follows: I used light sand paper to clean the top of the rails (leaving the sides untouched and avoiding that "new track" look) and washed each track after gently sanding with WD-40 and wiped it immediately. My trolley line works as good as new.

Mark

Old track.  Never understand the allure.

No one will appreciate your hard work reconditioning old rusty track.

Alan,

Here is the allure for me.   I can get get 8 pieces of Lionel O31 N.Y. track, in VG used condition, for $7.00

I have learned, though, not to buy used track that is just in "fair" condition. Really hard to clean that up and really not worth the effort.

By the way, I bought some new Made In China Lionel 031 track a while ago.  It is beautiful  but terrible.  The metal is either thinner or weaker than the Lionel N.Y. Track.    It comes with the pins in one side, but if for some reason you have to remove those pins, you can forget it.   No matter how carefully I try to spread the rail open from underneath, or how wide I spread it, the crimp in those pins is so deep that you have to almost destroy the ends of the track to get the pins out.  If you can get it out without wrecking the rails, then when you insert new pins (as in connecting that end to another piece of track that already had pins) and try to recrimp it, the ends of the Chines rails "split" in two or three places on the very top of the rail, right next to the end of the rail.  I never have this problem with the N.Y. track.

Mannyrock

Manny

too much work too little gain. but each his own.

Alan,  I guess you never had the joy of digging ditches in August for minimum wage.  :-)

@AlanRail posted:

Old track.  Never understand the allure.

No one will appreciate your hard work reconditioning old rusty track.

I think the goal is to save money. Some track is harder to get, for example remote command switches. So a used rusty track might be much less expensive and easier to get your hands on.

For me it is to save money...I also like the nostalgic look of it and I can't stand China....even more so after this year.

I can appreciate the time and effort put into restoring old track in the interest of nostalgia, patriotism and cost savings.

There is plenty of room in this hobby for both scale and traditional postwar operators.