Let's talk about cleaning the track!

I've been using Lucas' Gun-Oil to clean my track without problems. If the head honcho at Lionel says that Goo-Gone is the better choice. It's worth a try. Can I buy Goo-Gone at Lowe's or Home Depot?

To be fair, if one MSDS is going to be posted, the MSDS of all the other aforementioned track cleaners should be posted...  I'm sure many of them look equally intimidating.

 

Rusty

I agree, and besides, what does all that crap mean in english anyway?

Oh yes, I must try Simple Green as well. 

Simple Green only "works" on Fastrack.

Never had a reason to clean tracks, everything always seems to run fine.

re: Simple Green - poor Lee.  The guy unwittingly makes a mistake using it on Fastrack and people have not stopping kidding him since.  

 

I've been using Goo Gone for a number of years and it seems to be working well.  I know I don't clean it as often as I should as I am inherently lazy but it seems to be working fine.

 

Ed

Well, they are going to ban birthing.  The bady is eventually going to get sick, and/or die, so just keep illnesses from happening!

Hi Folks,

 

    It is my understanding that Goo-Gone needs to be washed off with a detergent and water, or at least rinsed with water.  I use it around the house but never yet on track or wheels.  I love WD-40 for putting what I believe is a protective coating on rails where the tin plating is worn away.  But it has been my experience that the film left behind by WD-40 seems to make the traction tires gummy (on my handcars), but I put up with that since it is an easy fix to replace the tires on my handcars, and the WD-40 has so many benefits.

 

   I use isopropyl alcohol most of the time for rail and wheel cleaning.    My father was a barber, so I used the Wahl clipper oil for 40+ years for lubricating the trains, some power tools, and my mother's sewing machines.  I only stopped using the clipper oil when I ran out of it several years ago and couldn't find it locally.

 

Take care, Joe. 

Carbon tetrachloride back in the day. Used it in my Lionel track cleaning car. Hey, I'm still alive :-)

Guys......I have to weigh in here. As many of you know, I am a nephrologist (July 1 marks 30 years). That means that for 30 years I have been dealing with the biological chemistry of small water-soluble compounds, both toxic and nontoxic.

Let me start out by saying that I am a big Mike Reagan fan. However, Mike, I believe you have confused inorganic hydroxides with organic ones.

As you have said, lye (NaOH or sodium hydroxide) is caustic and when accidentily or intentionally ingested causes an intense esophageal and gastric mucosal burn.

The organic hydroxides do not. They wreak there havoc by deranging intermediary metabolism. They do not cause mucosal corrosion when ingested. ( If they could corrode metal, imagine what they would do to a mucosal membrane!)

Ethyl alcohol is a hydroxide. It is metabolized by the liver (alcohol dehydrogenase) to acetaldehyde, a common metabolite. Those of us who ingest large amounts of alcohol can get gastritis or ulcers, but it is nowhere near the caustic injury of an inorganic hydroxide (A lot of it has to do with the wretching that also comes with it)

The alcohols all evaporate quickly at room temperature.....the track dries quickly.

Isopropyl alcohol ingestions are common. ( You can get really drunk and it's very cheap) There is no caustic mucosal burn. It is metabolized in the liver by alcohol dehydrogenase to dimethyl ketone, which is acetone. It is basically eliminated from the body via the lungs. You can smell it easily. The danger in isopropyl alcohol ingestion is respiratory depression. You worry about aspiration and respiratory failure. Close monitoring of the airway and supportive are is the general treatment.

Denatured alcohol. Stay away from it except under very controlled conditions. Keep it locked and away from children. (My advice: don't have it around) It is rendered poisonous by the addition of methyl alcohol. Methanol enters the liver and uses alcohol dehydrogenase to internally form formic acid and formaldehyde. Metabolism is then poisoned throughout the body. The treatment is extracorporeal removal with dialysis.

Methanol and isopropyl alcohol are sometimes ingested by a desparate individual. They make you drunk. But the consequences can be dire. (Anti freeze, ethylene glycol is handled like methanol).

I believe that one can continue to use isopropyl alcohol safely to clean your track.

 

I am sorry if I rambled.

 

Peter

Rusty

You want to know something?

You are correct.     

I had noticed that WD-40 was improving electrical performance, but I attributed it to its' track cleaning properties, which apparently isn't the case though the track certainly looks cleaner. And it's been a long time since I took Inorganic and Organic Chemistry but I do know that neither isopropryl alcohol or rubbing alcohol are acids (or bases for that matter). Their pH is relatively neutral and is only corrosive to aluminum at high temperatures.

 

The bottom line for me is this:

8 oz Goo Gone = $4.00 (only if on sale in a store) and it does leave a residue which is extra work to wipe off.

32 oz of Isopropyl Alcohol = $2.79 anytime, anywhere. Track is clean and no residue.

 

I vote for the I.A. and incidentally, according to Wikipedia, the chemical formula is C₃H₈O. I don't know where the OH at the end comes from.

I have always used WD-40 to clean Gargraves Flex track before I lay it. It comes dirty from the factory.  After I spray each piece, I wipe it clean and dry with an old tee shirt.  The WD-40 also helps lubricate the ties so bending curves is easier.  I use denatured alcohol sparingly on my yard, but the rest of the layout is cleaned dry with my track cleaning car.

.....

Dennis

This is the molecular formula; the structural formula more clearly indicates the presence of the OH group at the end of the molecule. You are right on the money with respect to Goo Gone or any similar product. The OP's statements regarding alcohols was based on a faulty premise. Anything he had to say about alternative cleaners after that had zero credibility with anyone skilled in the subject. His silence in the face of criticism was deafening.

I use Goo Gone with my R&R Lines track cleaning car and the rollers become quite dirty.  Goo Gone gets the job done!  I also use GG on a rag with the same dirty results.  I will try also using WD 40.  Thanks for the tip Mike R.

 

Patrick W.

You are going to get as many opinions as there are hobbyists on this subject, not only here, but on any forum of any gauge. I bet you will find folks who swear by Goo Gone, but the same many who swear at it for leaving a residue. I appreciate that Mike is willing to help and give his suggestions, but as a former science educator I also appreciate SkyHookDepot's input when he corrects misinformation. Mike knows trains, but not so much his chemistry. Not only is isopropyl alcohol not caustic, it also evaporates very quickly. (have any of you ever had swimmer's ear....the stuff that is placed in the ear is part isopropyl alcohol to help dry the ear canal out).

 

But, I am like Paul, I use the solvent Bestine.....just have to be careful of any sparks!

 

Rick 

I use rubbing alcohol when using my homemade Centerline type track cleaning car.

 

I also use fine sand paper for quick cleaning jobs when a section or switch is dirty causing bad operation.  Fine sand paper is also good for cleaning up old rusty track.  The cloth backed garnet type sanding material is best.  I have old 027 gauge track and do not worry about damaging the track.

 

I have enjoyed the chemistry and glad we finally got the OH in an organic alcohol right.

 

Charllie

In my line of work there are two ways to strip off unwanted residue, chemical or mechanical.  Friability not being an issue here I like Masonite sliders.  

 

The San Diego 2 rail club keeps one on the track at all times and claims zero dirt problems.  I have run them intermittently with success.

 

Unless you have a tunnelless 4' X 8' platform I would want the train to clean the track.  The warning on the Goo label is scarie.

 

My pulmonologist said if I can smell a chemical I should wear an organic respirator.

What do you think is the composition of Goo-Gone?

Thank you Yogi Berra! I feel like I'm in a Marx Brothers movie whenever I open this thread.   

 

 

hmph, and all this time I've been using 'Life-like Track Cleaner" fluid. Perhaps I need to go get some Isopropyl Alcohol....

Bob Di Stefano, TomB, Peter –

 

Thank You!

 

Alex

WOW!  This is BAD, this is Good, no, it's BAD. If you use it, there will be side effects, drowsiness, loss of sleep, restless leg syndrome, yada, yada, yada.  I guess we'll all have to use our own best judgment.  

 

Read all the posts, and if you think it looks like an American Medical Association finding, you are not alone. 

I once heard Steve Martin on the radio reading his short story called "Side Effects."  It took a couple of minutes for him to read.  It was for a mythical drug and one of the laundry-listed side effects was for the problem it was supposed to cure!

 

Rusty

OK Guys....I have resisted getting into the fray...but....as I have said before on other similar track cleaning threads:  I use the product pictured below.  It is available locally at Home Depot and Lowe's but may also be in other stores.  Look it up on the web...pretty good stuff.  Now here is the unbelievable part....  I use it once and have YEARS of running trouble free.  No track build up, no sparking, etc.  It is plastic and rubber safe and improves conduction better than anything I have tried.

 

On another note:  taught chemistry and biology for years and Peter's explanation above is right on.  Don't fear using I.A. but I bet if you try the product below, you will be pleasantly surprised!!

 

Alan

Rusty:

 

Often, no, almost 90% of the time, the symptom you are taking the drug for, is one of the side effects.  Go figure?  

We should be very careful with our comments on this thread.  Several posters have mentioned using 'Simple Green' in jest because one of our forum members ruined his track using 'Simple Green'.  Remember, new viewers read these posts and may not be aware of the sarcasm intended.  We sure don't want them ruining there track by misunderstanding posts in this thread.

 

Earl

For the benefit of new members here who are not aware of this, I will say this for all to read and understand:

DO NOT USE

SIMPLE GREEN

TO CLEAN YOUR TRACK!!

---

Do you think that is strong and clear enough?

 

Many of the remarks in this thread about Simple Green are sarcastic remarks, made due to a horrible problem a forum member had after he used Simple Green to clean his track. He ended up REPLACING all his track because of what the Simple Green did to it!

Those of you posting "favorable" comments here about Simple Green should remember that this is not a "private" forum. There are people reading this forum today that have NO IDEA of the problems that Simple Green created for the other forum member. there are newbies reading this that will take your comment out of context and go get Simple Green and clean their track! Not good.

 

Please remember this before you post another sarcastic comment that will be misunderstood by someone.

Rich:

 

As I am one of the newbies, I appreciate your input in this matter.

If you have DCS on your layout, you will DEFINITELY be surprised, but NOT pleasantly. After reading about that stuff, over on the 2-Rail Scale Forum, I rushed out a purchased it. Luckily, I did NOT use it on the whole layout, but only one main line and the yard lead. It totally destroyed the DCS signal!

 

I went back to using Denatured Alcohol and re-cleaned the same sections all over again and, the DCS signal was back to normal

Goodness gracious, model railroading is so complicated, no wonder it's difficult to get new people into the hobby. There isn't even a simple effective recommended way to clean track without a huge controversy!

 

All I do is run plain denim cloth pads on my home-made rail cleaner cars in my regular trains, and I rarely have need to use any liquid cleaners in addition.

It's GOOD, it's BAD.  I have been using an old tee shirt or old washcloth, and rub REAL hard.  No residue, except for an occasional loose thread.  Works pretty good on accessible track. 

HotWater (Jack)

 

     I have used the 2-26 with no problem but only have Legacy. What is causing the interference in DCS? I think many would like to know as I will be installing DCS in the future.

 

Ray Marion

1,1,1 Trichlorethane.  Not good for the ozone but it is great for cleaning

Ray,

 

I have no idea why that stuff left a film on the rails, the same as GooGone, but neither product worked well on my home layout nor our big modular layout. We have all gone to Denatured Alcohol, which gives the best results for both Legacy/TMCC and DCS operations.

Especially dry cleaning...leaves no residue.

As long as all your connections are tight all you need to do is rub the tops of your tracks with a rough pad such as Scotch Brite, even in a track cleaning car, and you will be fine.

.....

Dennis