How do you clean your track?

Many moons ago, I used to use alcohol and a rag. Effective, but a PITA to get the trains running smoothly again. John Will turned me onto using lighter fluid, and I never looked back, …I can pretty much blindly walk the track and wipe off the track with a small dab on a rag……trains don’t hesitate a second after a cleaning……has something to do with the conductivity value of lighter fluid vs. alcohol…..

Pat

Zak: You pictured a Centerline track cleaning car. They came with a roller pad which is very similar to a paint roller. You may be able to use a readily available paint roller from a big box store and make your own The roller just needs to fit inside the center opening with enough room to roll as the car is pulled down the track. The original supplied roller had two plastic plugs which went in either end to hold some weights which applied some downward pressure. You could add your favorite track cleaning solution to the pad to help it loosen the grime on the rails. The roller can be washed and re-used until the nap is worn down.

If you find a commercial roller that will fit, just cut it down in width to fit. One roller should give you four or five new cleaning rollers when cut down.

Yep, I used to use 91% Isopropyl to clean track, but after reading that it has a high Dielectric constant, I switched to using Low-Odor Mineral Spirits.  While effective, alcohol seems to require more frequent track cleaning because of the higher resistance its residue leaves on the track.  Higher resistance leads to more carbon deposits on the rails.  Some recommend No-Ox, but I haven't tried it since it's a dielectric grease that needs to be thoroughly wiped off after application.

As Pat says, Lighter Fluid works well too.

Here's a chart of Polar Solvents.  I think it was @gunrunnerjohn who posted this.

Pat - do you use lighter fluid like a Zippo refill or good 'ol Kingsford for the BBQ?

@ryoung3 posted:

Pat - do you use lighter fluid like a Zippo refill or good 'ol Kingsford for the BBQ?

I’ve been using the cheap lighter fluid for zippo’s and what not, but I’ve been buying it from 7-11 of all places,…….the store brand is waayyyyyyyy cheaper than official “zippo” fluid,……I bought 2 bottles one time while I was getting a slurpee…..I haven’t gone through the first bottle, and that’s been a couple years now, ….and I run my crap to death & back,…..The only drawback to using lighter fluid is the room stinks for like 10 minutes after a wipe down…….but it ain’t no big deal, throw open a window, go get a cup of coffee, and it’s gone ……I think there may be an alternative, like pure naphtha??……but I’ll let the chemists tell us the rundown on that …..

Pat

Green Scotch bright followed by a felt pad on a kit bashed tank car.

@harmonyards posted:

Many moons ago, I used to use alcohol and a rag. Effective, but a PITA to get the trains running smoothly again. John Will turned me onto using lighter fluid, and I never looked back, …I can pretty much blindly walk the track and wipe off the track with a small dab on a rag……trains don’t hesitate a second after a cleaning……has something to do with the conductivity value of lighter fluid vs. alcohol…..

Pat

Pat, I have an important question, is lighter fluid as a track cleaner totally safe?

Same question regarding track 2 feet away from the furnace?

I know of a horrible tragedy where a dad sprayed kittens with kerosene to get rid of fleas, there was an explosion and the dad and his daughter were set fire and burned to death.

All are welcome to chime in on this. Arnold

I use CRC Contact Cleaner & Protectant (part no. 03140). Works great for tracks, wheels, and rollers.

Arnold, great question.  Reading the product label would give a good indication of a cleaner's flammability.  Many recommended cleaners have a low Flash Point ... the temperature at which their vapors will ignite.  Many of these chemicals' vapors are heavier than air and will accumulate near the floor.  Gas and LP Water Heaters and Furnaces often have the pilot flame and burners near the floor.  IMO, best not to use low flash point solvents near any active heat source whose temperature is close to or above the the cleaner's flash point.

91% Isopropyl Alcohol applied from a piece of cloth.

MELGAR

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Pat, I have an important question, is lighter fluid as a track cleaner totally safe?

Same question regarding track 2 feet away from the furnace?

I know of a horrible tragedy where a dad sprayed kittens with kerosene to get rid of fleas, there was an explosion and the dad and his daughter were set fire and burned to death.

All are welcome to chime in on this. Arnold

Lighter fluid is obviously flammable, but it’s the liquid that’s more the flammable part. Lighter fluid by design doesn’t vapor off like other solvents ……you’d have to practically atomize it to make it a flammable vapor…….but,  91% isopropyl is highly flammable!..…..and the hidden danger of an alcohol fire, is you’ll never see it,….but you’ll feel it,……it’s like any chemical we work with in our hobby, ….KNOW the product you’re handling, KNOW the precautions, and TAKE those precautions…..

Pat

I keep a Bright Boy Eraser, a Scotch Brite pad, and NoOX grease for track cleaning. I typically need the Bright Boy for used track that is a bit cruddy. I also hit a streak of new Ross track that needed some blackening material taken off the center rail. I do Scotch Brite after doing dusty work on the layout. I apply NoOX to newly installed track.

It’s so great that we have such brilliant people to give such good and important advice on this Forum. Thank you. Arnold