Track Cleaning with ALCOHOL

I always use 91% Isopropyl. It is what I always have in the house.

Rubbing alcohol is usually 70% with the remainder water.  The less water the better.

I have been using 91% until I ran out, then I bought some 99% isopropyl alcohol at a local grocery store.

Larry

Every time I tried alcohol, nothing got cleaned, except maybe my clock.

91% does a good job at a decent cost. Forget 50%

Go to Pep Boys and buy a spray can of CRC Electro-motive contact cleaner.  It is non flamable and dries in seconds.  Excellent product. 

Good idea Marty, I will pick up a can next time at Pep Boys.

 

I tend to use methylated spirits (Denatured alcohol). I get it from B&Q which is very similar to Home Depot even down to the store design/layout. 

 

I like Marty's idea of using contact cleaner. I always have a can of that laying around.

 

Nick

Hi Marty,

You can order electrical contact cleaner from www.allelectronics.com  Much larger can at a price that's cheaper even after shipping. I buy one case at a time. It's what I use to clean the crud from prewar motors. Just a thought.

 

God Bless,

"Pappy"

I use 91, 70, and 50 % alcohol depending on the paint under what I'm trying to clean. 91% can be too harsh for some use.

I used 91% isopropyl, but then switched to denatured. Fumes take a while to go away and it's flammable, so stick with the 91% isopropyl. I found it left a film.

I usually use windex for cleaning track. The only Alcohol around my train room is for adult consumption only...

How about using track cleaner?

 

(I've also used what Marty uses too.)

That's what River City 3 Railers use, along with Polar Fleece fabric wrapped around a wood block. Works great.

 

Gilly

Guys, I have tried it all.  I would not steer you wrong on this.

I've always used denatured alcohol but will have to give Marty's suggestion a try.

I have had good experience using 91% alcohol.  I also found that using the blue heavy duty shop paper towels wrapped around a small wood block, or ice cream stick, makes the cleaning process easier.   I wrap maybe 4 layers of towel around the wood, then as it picks up dirt, I just rotate the block.....every 4 rotations I just unwind the towel and keep cleaning.    I have used denatured alcohol, but the fumes/vapors are strong and harmful and the results aren't that much better.  

Thanks to all. No Pep Boys in this country.

 

I'll try HD & Lowes for 91%% Isopropyl Alcohol.  I can't find electrical contact cleaner anywhere. I'll try our NAPA Auto supplies though.

Thanks for the advice. I knew this was the place to fund out.

contact cleaner is the best product for this task, NO water. however it costs about $14 for a 5oz spray can and denatured alcohol is $14 for a gallon. depending on the size of your layout the spray could get expensive.

I tried WD40 very sparingly applied to a piece of towel stretched across a piece of 1x4 and it seems to have done a super job. No residual issues...caboose lights don't blink anymore. But I repeat...very sparingly applied to the towel.

Rubbing alcohol. Been using it for years. As for sprays, careful, some will make your traction tires slip if not removed completely.

I use  contact cleaner routinely on engines, has fixed numerous glitches but too expensive for use on tracks although it works.

I use 91% Isopropyl alcohol on my track and light cleaning of my engines. If they need more, then the contact cleaner comes out.

 

Then after successfully completing a cleaning and everything is running properly, then the other alcohol might come out (but don't get the three confused!)

Marty, We don't have a Pep Boys, just a small town. Would this be it:

 

http://www.amazon.com/CRC-Indu...tive+contact+cleaner

 

George (G3)

I use both contact cleaner and denatured alcohol on a drywall sponge. The abrasive helps with the heavier crud.

If you want to have some fun, go in to your wife' "clean" kitchen and wipe her counter down with a white paper towel and 91% alcohol. It will be a dark gray. I use BOUNTY paper towels, they are mildly abrasive. Learned that cleaning old guns that I had.

Gentlemen,

  As usual Marty is absolutely correct, the CRC electro-motive contact cleaner is the best stuff for cleaning tracks, spray it lightly on a rag and simply wipe the track down, buff it absolutely dry if you must.  Nothing comes close!

Reminds me the next time I am in P Boys I need another can.

 

G3, call them they will ship it to ya.  Looks like the same CDC product, slightly different can, for about the same price.

PCRR/Dave

 

Guys,

For clarification (There are several CRC cleaners) is this the product that Marty is using?

 

Thanks.

 

I use denatured alcohol where I can reach.  It is available at any hardware store.  Other places I use my homemade track cleaning car which is designed to use dry.  Works great too.

.....

Dennis

As Jim stated, I too use Windex for track cleaning. Forty years ago, I visited a train shop to buy liquid track cleaner. The shop was sold out of cleaner, but the person behind the counter suggested saturating a rag with Windex, wiping the track, then following up with a dry rag to remove any remaining residue. They went on to say that track cleaner was just reformulated Windex.

The 91% isopropyl alcohol is in most drug stores and the cosmetic departments of Wal-Mart and Target. It works fine for me. The CRC contact cleaner can free up sticky E-units but it is expensive for track cleaning.

Specification data for CRC Electro-Motive Cleaner

http://www.crcindustries.com/faxdocs/msds/5018.pdf

 

Principal ingredient is Tetrachloroethylene. Tetrachloroethylene is an excellent solvent for organic materials. It is volatile, highly stable, and nonflammable. For these reasons, it is widely used in dry cleaning. Usually as a mixture with other chlorocarbons, it is also used to degrease metal parts in the automotive and other metalworking industries. It appears in a few consumer products including paint strippers and spot removers.

 

At temperatures over 315 °C (599 °F), such as in welding, tetrachloroethylene can be oxidized into phosgene, an extremely poisonous gas. Therefore, tetrachloroethylene should not be used near welding operations, flames, or hot surfaces.

 

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified tetrachloroethylene as a Group 2A carcinogen, which means that it may be a carcinogenic to humans. Wear plastic gloves and a medical type of face mask if this concerns you.

Yes, be careful with tetrachloroethylene (perc).  It is a toxic chemical.  

 

Has anyone tried citrus based cleaners?  

ai,

   That looks like the spray bottle from Pep Boys, that I use.  I believe Marty uses the same stuff.

PCRR/Dave

been using denatured for years- cheap, easy & quick, (and no- you don't have to pick two).

 

two threads going at once with almost the same info.

 

cleaning

 

 

CRC Contact cleaner not available here in Western Canada, BUT a product called NEXXTECH Contact & Head Cleaner Spray is.   It is sold by THE SOURCE which came about when all the Radio -Shack Stores closed down a few years ago.

 

I'm going to them tomorrow and see what this product contains.

 

I did find 91& Isopropyl alcohol at Walmart Pharmacy and bought a small bottle.  And Rod Stewart had given me a small unmarked bottle of it. I just did not know that was in the bottle he gave me. It was marked track alcohol. So, I guess I'm good for cleaning these old switches  and all my track.

I have been using Clorox Cleaner-Bleach in a spray bottle around the house for the last few months. Works great on cleaning and deodorizing. his morning, just out of curiosity, I wet some Bounty paper towel and cleaned some track with it. Wow ! Did a great job. This is, relatively, new tubular track. Worked as good as 91& alcohol or better. Late today will use it on some standard gauge track i dug out to set up.

I've been ballasting track lately and accidently made a stronger solution of wet water,(big squirt of dish soap in a spray bottle) so I spayed the ballast then glued and then wiped up with a towel.....WOW....couldn't believe the dirt that came off. Way better than any track cleaner or home remedy I've found.  I don't know the long term of effects on the track or ballast with a spray bottle and haven't tried a wet towel soaked with wet water yet.