After spray painting my tubular track, will there be any issues by letting it dry and then sanding the top with some fine sandpaper vs. wiping the still wet paint with a rag?
Thank you
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Our 3-rail track is steel with a thin plating on the surface. This plating does not rust. If you sand the tops of the rails, you risk removing the plating. The exposed steel surfaces will rust and will require more frequent cleaning for trains to run smoothly. I always recommend that people NEVER use an abrasive cleaning on 3-rail track. The only exception is Atlas track, which is solid "nickel silver" like HO track. Atlas can be safely cleaned with abrasives.
LIONEL6457 posted:After spray painting my tubular track, will there be any issues by letting it dry and then sanding the top with some fine sandpaper vs. wiping the still wet paint with a rag?
Thank you
First of all, just don't let the paint dry. Before the spray paint is completely dry, use a soft cotton rag wrapped around a short piece of 1"X2" wood, moistened with lacquer thinner. Simply keep rotating the rag around the piece of wood, all the while wiping the pain off the tops of the rails. I did our whole layout that way.
Another trick to try is to put a little Vaseline on a finger and very lightly coat the top of the rail BEFORE painting. Let the paint dry and then simply wipe off the rail. It is important to clean the inside edges of the two outside rails and the top of the middle rail. Russ
I should have asked this question BEFORE I painted the rails and ASSUMED that I just needed to sand the paint off.
Will acetone dissolve Krylon spray enamel? I have some already.
LIONEL6457 posted:I should have asked this question BEFORE I painted the rails and ASSUMED that I just needed to sand the paint off.
Will acetone dissolve Krylon spray enamel? I have some already.
You might as well try some, but I believe lacquer thinner might be better.
Lacquer thinner works with Krylon.
Now here's a question about old tubular track. Can the surface of the running rails be restored in some way. I have some old and some not so old tubular. Soldering to the older track is more difficult because the plating is not quite what it was when the track was new. If I clean the area where I want to solder to, it exposes bare steel, which will not take the solder.
Getting back to the question about restoring tubular track. As Bob Bartizek pointed out, once the plating has gone, track cleaning becomes more frequent. Short of putting a thin layer of WD-40 on the rail heads, what other things can be done to keep the track from "rusting".
Yes, I know WD-40 could cause slippage, but with Magne-Traction it may not be an issue.
Soldering to old tubular track is actually pretty easy to do. Here's a little trick I've used for many years. Get some electrical spade connectors and INSERT them into the BOTTOM of the tubular rail. Once inserted attach the wire and give it a 90` bend for clearance reasons.
For cleaning and keeping things running I never use WD40 I always use Wahl oil. A drop or two on each rail is all I use. It is especially formulated for use in electric hair clippers. Works wonders. Russ
I do not favor ever sanding steel track. Sanding creates fine particles of steel dust, which will adhere to wheels of Magne-Traction locos (I found this through experience) and may be attracted to the locos' magnets (as in motors).
I would try acetone (IN A 
WELL-VENTILATED ROOM
) wiped on the top. You'll use a lot of rags
and several pounds of elbow grease
. If acetone doesn't work, there are other materials.
LIONEL6457 posted:I should have asked this question BEFORE I painted the rails and ASSUMED that I just needed to sand the paint off.
Will acetone dissolve Krylon spray enamel? I have some already.
Yes acetone will do your job very easily .
