Simple Green and Dirty Wheels

my trains get run every week at the club and some at home.  I have never seen that much stuff on my wheels.

Lee:

I noticed on your other post that you had filled in the underside of the fastrack with a foam filler as a sound deadener. I mention it because I wonder if the real culprit might be a hydrocarbon outgassing from the foam - reacting with the simple green - has caused the numerous headaches you've encountered.

Just a thought...

Neil   

Interesting thought, but I somewhat doubt it.  First, the foam under the Fastrack was left to outgas for quite some time before installation because I wanted it to fully cure, etc..  And it is now between two and four years old: I doubt there is much if any outgasing left. Still, it could be, except . . . 

Second, I tested several new Fastrack pieces recently, doing one half of each with Simple Green (and leaving it on, not wiping it off), and leaving one half alone.  No foam in them. After three or four aplications, a faint gray/black "goo" appears on top of the rails that have been treated, a gray goo similar to the first problems I saw with my track. I think the goo is possibly the tin or whatever plating is used over the steel dissolving - something anyway, but regardless the treated track is starting to go bad.  Again, no foam underneath these test pieces.  

Try a light oil instead, like Wahl clipper oil.

No - not exactly sure what you are suggesting using the oil for, but it does not matter. 

-if you meant to use if for cleaning/maintaining the track and wheels - absolutely not!  Nothing from now on but alcohol and bright boys.

- if for avoiding/stopping the corrosion, etc., on the track, also no: it is way too late for that with the Fastrck that is ruined.  The worst pieces are, by now, covered about 50% with rust.

The track was ruined and is being replaced, as described in other posts.  The goo that attached and dried to wheels and rollers comes off with alcohol and a bit of work.  

I am just reporting here that whatever "goo" the Simple Green creates as it interacts with the Fastrack plating, does in fact come off on wheels and reduce their conductivity to near zero, but causes no lasting damage 9although a lot of annoyance).

Your photograph of the locomotive wheels appears to show some light rust on them.

If so, do you have any thoughts on the cause?

It's not rust. It is a film at its thinnest, or a "crust" at its thickest, that is mostly gray with just a touch of brown.  Iso. alcohol and a Q-tip melts it instantly and even at its thickest takes it off fairly quickly, and completely.

Lee, I don't even advise the alcohal. I've had some build up with that and some traction tire issues. I've used a North East Trains Track cleaning car now for about three years with two scotch-brite pads cut o fit. About once a month around the layout and no problems. I run it in front of the loco and even clean up sidings.

  Ed 

The simple lesson in all of this (multiple threads) is to keep Simple Green away from your trains.  It's a fine general purpose household cleaner, but not intended for "special" uses like toy trains.

You're ALWAYS best off just using products specifically designed and intended for cleaning track and other parts of your trains and layouts.

I intend to use only bright boys in the future: I think that will be all I need with the Atlas track.  But I had to find a (hopefully) benign way to remove this gunk and iso. alcohol seems to do a fine job. 

In the future, I'm using Simple Green only for cleaning my garage floor, etc. 

"Lee, I don't even advise the alcohal. I've had some build up with that and some traction tire issues"

That is why MTH recommends denatured alcohol to clean track and traction tire wheels. It is all I use and never a problem in several years of using it.

Rob

Simple Green has citirc acid in it.  Citric acid doesn't play nice with tin which is what the track is plated with.  The wheels are usually sintered iron.

Best product you can use spray and wipe would be Zep Tuff Green RTU. Completely acid free, spray, wipe or rinse...beautiful job. I order it from Zep over the phone by the case in QTS. Cleans everything safely, smells good, works better..

The funny thing is that Simple Green really isn't a green product....kinda like WD-40 isn't a lubricant...but...the both sell in the millions every year.