What cleaner/solvent do you use to clean your track?

I use the closest thing to 100% isopropyl alchohol I can find on a paper towel as it will leave no lint. Tough stains that don't come off with the alcohl get hit scrubbed with Lionels abrasive eraser first.

Like Rick says, 91% isopropyl alcohol on a paper towel.

Another user of Isopropyl alchohol here. I try to use 91% when I can, but the more common 70% seems to work fine for me also.

Yep rubbing alcohol, drys fast, no time to cause rust.

I use denatured alcohol. Is that too strong?

That, but Goo Gone and De oxit, too. And my naked fingertips, from time to time, too.

No, it is not too strong.  I've been using it for years with nary a problem.   Its a great cleaner and evaporates quickly.

Hi Guys, this is very helpful.  What about light rust?  (I am sure this has been covered 100's of times before, but I couldn't find it in a recent search, I seem to recall scotch brite and a dremel tool using a wire brush).  THanks, Dave

100% pure fluoroantimonic acid.

 

When I reclaimed my Gargraves track from my old layout it had light rust. I sprayed a rag with WD40 and wiped the rails then used a wire brush on my roto-tool. Worked like a charm.

I use the 99% Isopropyl Alcohol for manual cleaning and a cleaning car with ScotchBrite pads to run around and do automatic cleaning.

Track man 2000

 

 

Dry though.

Simple Green on a blue paper shop towel from Home Depot.  

I use a printers supply outlet to get my "deglazing" solvent to clean my Fastrack.  It cleans with no moisture content and super fast drying.  Have used this for 6 years with no problems.  Also put it on my track cleaning car pads. 

 

TEX

Steve

Denatured alcohol.  I prefer this over regular isopropyl rubbing alcohol as it contains less water, does a better job cleaning the rails overall, and also in my experience, rubbing alcohol leaves a translucent residue that I don't get when using denatured.

Uhh... not really.  99% Isopropyl Alcohol obviously contains less than 1% of anything else, and it never causes a problem.  Read about what's really in Denatured alcohol, maybe you'll come over to the dark side.   Manufacture of Denatured Alcohol

In fact I tried denatured alcohol at the recommendation of an MTH owners manual. Took only a matter of minutes to make my train room smell like an automotive paint shop....never again, isopropyl all the way! BTW I have an entire quart of that denatured stuff free for anyone who wants to come pick it up, too hazardous to ship,or throw away, can't even get rid of the stuff.

Yep, the smell of Isopropyl fades quickly, and isn't nearly as obnoxious as Denatured, it's been so long since I've used the other stuff I forgot about that.

I believe the big gripe with most rubbing alcohol is that it is diluted with water to reduce the alcohol content significantly. Denatured alcohol does not contain any water. However, you can buy isopropyl alcohol at some stores that is 91% alcohol by volume. I use denatured alcohol on an old white sock.

 I am already getting old and senile so the smell of denatured alcogol doesn't bother me.

Rob

Actually, Safeway carries the 99% stuff, that's all I use.

Gunrunnerjohn,  all I can say is that we will have to agree to disagree. 

Yes, denatured does have a strong odor and you definitely want to have adequate ventilation as with most solvents and other chemical cleaners.  To me, it's a tradeoff.  I came from the opposite of you, I used rubbing alcohol in the beginning, and after using denatured I switched.  Your mileage of course may vary. 

Oldrob, actually denatured does contain water, but it contains less of it than isopropyl does.

As was referred to above, denatured alcohol is ethyl alcohol (same as what's in liquor), with a few percent of one or more other solvents added to make it undrinkable.  "Poison" is perhaps too strong a connotation.  These additives are "poison" in the sense that they are undrinkable, but then so is the ispropyl alcohol that others are using.  These other additives (denaturants) are typically other types of alcohols, ketones, or esters ... commonly used in paint and laquer thinner, and other cleaners.

 

So, if you like isopropyl alcohol, thats fine ...  I would just use the 99%+ verson so there's negligible water content.  I have had great results with the ethyl alcohol (denatured alcohol) on a clean rag.

I think you guys are too paranoid about Denatured alcohol. I use it here, my wife uses it EVERY DAY in the lab(pure denatured), without ANY safety gear other than a clear face shield, no mask, and MTH would not recommend a dangerous substance to clean their wheels. It's not like we are going to bath in it.

Rob

I think Mr. Calloway needs a shot of alcohol.

Of course, he might have a point.  If you read the MSDS for Denatured Alcohol and the MSDS for Isopropyl Alcohol, neither is especially good for you.  However, the medical profession has been using Isopropyl Alcohol for many years for many purposes, I've never heard a doctor talk about Denatured Alcohol.

Let's look at the bold print for Denatured Alcohol.

Emergency Overview
--------------------------
POISON! DANGER! VAPOR HARMFUL. MAY BE FATAL OR CAUSE BLINDNESS IF SWALLOWED. CANNOT BE MADE NONPOISONOUS. HARMFUL IF INHALED OR ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN. FLAMMABLE LIQUID AND VAPOR. AFFECTS CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. CAUSES IRRITATION TO SKIN, EYES AND RESPIRATORY TRACT. MAY AFFECT LIVER, BLOOD, KIDNEYS, GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT AND REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

Now let's look at the bold print for Isopropyl Alcohol.

Emergency Overview
--------------------------
WARNING! FLAMMABLE LIQUID AND VAPOR. HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED OR INHALED. CAUSES IRRITATION TO EYES AND RESPIRATORY TRACT. AFFECTS CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. MAY BE HARMFUL IF ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN. MAY CAUSE IRRITATION TO SKIN.


Guess which one I'd rather use?

I can't believe it!  So called adults getting worked up about what to clean track with.  Good recommendations and comments based on experience are what the poster wants to see, then he can make a decision himself.

 

This is a toy train hobby people, calm down and enjoy it.

 

TEX

Steve

Gosh, what was your experience, or are you just here to take potshots?

Still available,1 full quart of denatured alcohol, free for the taking,local pickup only!

I just tried the Toamato sauce. Cleaned the rails well but a little messy.

I use Goo Gone and Scotchbrite pads or Goo Gone in my track cleaner car.

No alcohol concerns included.....or tomato sauce.

I've always used a dry white sock. I put three fingers inside and place each finger over the rail. A little elbow grease and it works great. I used to use a liquid but noticed that when I took the track apart the liquid worked its way between the pin and rail.

romiller

 

For cleaning my fastrack I use Lionel's track cleaning eraser and track cleaning fluid. Both work great together. The eraser does a great job of getting the hardened grease off the tracks and the track cleaning fluid does a great job of cleaning up the bits and pieces of dirt and leaving a smooth shine on the rails.

 

-Mike

I use Life-Like track cleaner It works well, it’s less noxious, non-flammable and safer than alcohol. It contains detergents and solvents.

A friend of mine uses nothing but acetone. From reading about it, it is probally saver than Denatured or Isopopyl alcohol. I haven't tried it but am curious as to what effect it has on rubber traction tires.

We used Goo Gone at the train club before we started noticing we were throwing a lot of traction tires.

You're kidding, right?  From the MSDS for Acetone:

 

Emergency Overview:

 

Danger! Extremely flammable liquid and vapor. Vapors may cause flash fire or explosion. Harmful if inhaled. Vapor concentrations may cause drowsiness. Causes skin and eye irritation. Harmful if swallowed. May cause target organ or system damage to the following: Eye, skin, respiratory system, central nervous system.

 

Sorry, but in addition to the above, acetone attacks most plastics and paint!

If you don't get all of the goo-gone off the rails throwing the traction tires is the result.  goo-gone is good for loosening up the stuff but you have to use something to remove the goo-gone.

So now we need to know what cleaner to use to clean the Goo Gone.

At our club we also found that GG was not good for rubber tires.

Track needs a degreaser, some use alcohol and some use other flammable materials.  I assume that the flammable materials are being used because any residual evaporates.

 

I mentioned before I use Simple green, which is an excellent degreaser.  Since it does not have the evaporative properties of flammables, I spray it on a towel and wipe the track.  If you mix it 1:4 or stronger, there is no elbow grease required to get the track clean.  I think you can stop using the Goo Gone altogether.