GarGraves track renovation/restoration

WD40 has been suggested on here.

Never water.  WD40 worked well for me, i suspect others may have a different opinion.  Test a few pieces, place them on some cardboard, spray liberally, forget about it for a day, attempt to slide the ties before attempting any flex. 

Good morning, there is a product made by the company SEA FOAM.

Its in spray can and works great for removing rust on anything.

I purchase it at my local OReilys Auto Parts stores. ( white colored can )

I purchased a small box’s of old taps and dies. Laid them out on a piece of cardboard and sprayed them with the Sea Foam product and with minutes you could see see the result starting to dissolve.

Thank you, guys.

WD40 works, it's just a bit messy to clean up.  Unless the track is rusted, I don't see the SEA FOAM deruster.

Just soak the ties with Seafoam and light a match and the ties will free themselves from the track pretty quickly.  Make sure you have a fire extinguisher ready so you don't burn the house down.

Good afternoon, question for Gunrunner John, could you contact me on my own personal email ??
I have a none related train electronic question for you maybe you would be interested in.

Thanks

mstrittmatter62@gmail.com

@MarkStrittmatter posted:

Good afternoon, question for Gunrunner John, could you contact me on my own personal email ??
I have a none related train electronic question for you maybe you would be interested in.

Thanks

mstrittmatter62@gmail.com

His email is in his profile, so you can initiate contact.

Thanks Roy, appreciate it !!!!!!

"Just soak the ties with Seafoam and light a match and the ties will free themselves from the track pretty quickly.  Make sure you have a fire extinguisher ready so you don't burn the house down."

Sorry, do we know each other?

So @Arthur P. Bloom, what technique worked for you ?  I too have some old Gargraves that I need to start using and it’s stiff as a board.
Rich in SD

I haven't tried any method yet. Probably will use WD-40 first and report.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

WD40 works, it's just a bit messy to clean up.  Unless the track is rusted, I don't see the SEA FOAM deruster.

Sea Foam is not a deruster per se, it is something you put in engines gas tanks to clean the engine and injectors. Have seen people pour it into the cylinder of small engines and claim it miraculously fixes them.......it is basically another variant on Gumout.

One gentler thing I would try instead of WD40 might be tuner cleaner, it has a lubricant built in but is gentle.

I agree with others, designate a section to play around with before trying this on the mass of track, and find what works best.

Truthfully, after tinkering with WD-40 and old Gargraves track, I just buy new track, it's not that expensive.

Since this subject pops up from time to time, maybe a few pro-active recommendations would be useful.  IOW, if you have excess Gargraves...no immediate plans for use, but hesitant to part with it against possible future plans and price increases...how best to store it to avoid/minimize acquiring arthritis or rigor mortis of the flex track?  I'm no expert on the matter.

First, I wondered that Gargraves might have posted some recommendations for long-term storage.  But, no...there are no such FAQ's/answers on their website.  A phone call...or their response to this posting...might be interesting, though.  I mean, do they have a 'Best Used By' dating for their own inventory?

Secondly, do we really understand the nature of this 'arthritic' problem?  IOW, is it a rusting issue of the tinplated rail?, an interaction between the tie/stain and the tinplating?, combination of the two?,  something else entirely?

If, as I suspect, it has to do with ambient temperature/humidity conditions/variations under which the storage will occur, what's acceptable?  Or ideal?

And what steps should be taken to prepare the box...or loose pieces...of track for long term storage?  Hermetic sealing?  Desiccant packs?  Pre-treatment (WD-40?  Spray silicone lubricant?  ) of the track?  Combinations thereof?

Being more pro-active might help reduce the amount of remediation work, personal stress, budgetary chaos.  Hey, at $12.75 msrp per section of tinplate flex, a full box is currently $600+!!   Can't agree with a cavalier "I just buy new track, it's not that expensive"!!   (Geez...some of you guys must have a printing press in your basement, too!!)

Just a few different thoughts.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

KD

@dkdkrd posted:

And what steps should be taken to prepare the box...or loose pieces...of track for long term storage?  Hermetic sealing?  Desiccant packs?  Pre-treatment (WD-40?  Spray silicone lubricant?  ) of the track?  Combinations thereof?

Being more pro-active might help reduce the amount of remediation work, personal stress, budgetary chaos.  Hey, at $12.75 msrp per section of tinplate flex, a full box is currently $600+!!   Can't agree with a cavalier "I just buy new track, it's not that expensive"!!   (Geez...some of you guys must have a printing press in your basement, too!!)

I have no idea what you'd do to prep for long term storage, I buy track to put it down.   As for storing it, I doubt drying it is the issue, pretty sure the issue with using old track is the dried out ties don't slip as easily on the track.  I actually tinkered with some old track, and the ties were as dry as kindling wood, and they did indeed take a lot more work to position.

A full case of 51 pieces of Gargraves is not $600+, it's $450, at least that's what Ross sells it for.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

A full case of 51 pieces of Gargraves is not $600+, it's $450, at least that's what Ross sells it for.

Wow!  And the other 6 Gargraves items that are offered through Ross are quite a bit less, too!  Much of Gargraves pricing was last adjusted in late 2021, per their pdf listing.  Couldn't find a last pricing date on the Ross list.

And Gargraves bulk package is 50 pieces...not 51...per their price sheet.   "Baker's Dozen" analogy?

Hmmm...  "Loss Leader Strategy" on Ross' pricing, ...maybe?

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You got me crawling around under the table...AGAIN!..., John!  I recalled that I still had a Gargraves bulk shipping box from when I built my layout in 2008.  Purchased it through our LHS.  Fifty (50) pieces had a msrp price tag of $302.50...$6.05, each!!!   Less than half the current msrp!

Also, per my response above re pro-active track storage thoughts...  The bulk box had a date stamp of "January 2008".  (The LHS price tag was dated April of that year.)   And in big bold letters on the side of the box is the caveat: KEEP DRY. Of course, it begs the question 'What is dry?'

And, John...  Whether it's $449.95 or $600+ for a 50-51 piece box of G's flex track,  if it won't easily flex anymore, I'm still loathe to snap my fingers with a 'Tsk, tsk, shame on me!' and order brand new track!!  I'm still trying to save enough money to get enough of those famous John Wills & Associates Passenger Car LED lighting regulators to re-equip several dozen cars!   (Lately, the eggs are winning out!)   

Then, there's that other issue of one's mortality...

(sigh)

Inflation has certainly hit the track, here's the price progression buying through Ross, and they have the best prices I've found.

5/2/2019 Full Case - Tinplate Phantom Flex Track (51) 3' Sections 101GG 1 $359.95

12/20/2020  Full Case - Tinplate Phantom Flex Track (51) 3' Sections 101GG 1 $399.95

02/16/2023  Full Case - Tinplate Phantom Flex Track (51) 3' Sections 101GG 1 $459.95