StuartM Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I use the cardboard from cereal packets cut up into small squares I rub that along the rails and it seems to remove dirt I didn't even know was there. No residue, no dust, no fibres and there is a cheap and plentiful supply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodshaw Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Pendon use a square of hardboard, rough side down, weighted and mounted between two bogies as a simple wagon that can be run round the entire layout. Of course their track is pretty clean to start with. I find Isoprop good for cleaning wheels but I'd like to find something better than cotton buds to apply it with. I find pipe cleaners bent over work well. Just make another bend when the bit you're using gets dirty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesndbs Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Both have a place in the tool kit if used properly and with care 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesndbs Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Sorry for the multiple posts, only I managed to get some footage of the well used rails down stairs this morning. This short video completes the picture I feel? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesndbs Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 Good morning, having been testing the theory for some time and getting the chance to work with a very knowledgeable chap, I have this significant update to my previous video guide that I hope others will be interested in. If you do take the advice I'd love to hear how you get on? I used to clean the track before every major running session, since this its around twice a month! 2 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted March 4, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 4, 2021 Interesting video. I went over to White spirit for track cleaning some time ago after reading an article along similar lines as WS is non-polar. Generally happy with the results. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold young37215 Posted March 4, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 4, 2021 I undertook a major wheel and track clean over the new year mostly using IPA and have noted a build up of crud on the railhead already which rather validates the science as explained in the video. I shall be investing in a can of WD40 contact cleaner to see how this works for me. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 Great video, Mike. Your previous video about cleaning blocks not scratching rail surfaces was a real eye-opener & dispelled the myth that many have been spreading for years. It was nice to see a discussion based on what you observed & showed through your microscope. After seeing that, I'll be ditching my meths in favour of white spirit. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesndbs Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 2 hours ago, Pete the Elaner said: Great video, Mike. Your previous video about cleaning blocks not scratching rail surfaces was a real eye-opener & dispelled the myth that many have been spreading for years. It was nice to see a discussion based on what you observed & showed through your microscope. After seeing that, I'll be ditching my meths in favour of white spirit. Thanks very much, is white spirit not too greasy? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesndbs Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 3 hours ago, young37215 said: I undertook a major wheel and track clean over the new year mostly using IPA and have noted a build up of crud on the railhead already which rather validates the science as explained in the video. I shall be investing in a can of WD40 contact cleaner to see how this works for me. Thanks yes lol me to years and years of it hahahah we live and learn eh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium rab Posted March 4, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 4, 2021 5 hours ago, Pete the Elaner said: Great video, Mike. Your previous video about cleaning blocks not scratching rail surfaces was a real eye-opener & dispelled the myth that many have been spreading for years. It was nice to see a discussion based on what you observed & showed through your microscope. After seeing that, I'll be ditching my meths in favour of white spirit. What struck me about Mike's use of the cleaning block was the very light application. Where the damage would probably occur is with a heavier application. In order to scratch something you have to apply pressure. A light rubbing is much less likely to cause scratching. As for the polar/non-polar cleaners, (IPA/lighter fuel) I guess it proves that smoking is better for railway modellers than drinking 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelE Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 I have recently took to using WD-40 Contact Cleaner. It seems to work OK. No complaints. I have used lacquer thinner with good results too. I have also used RailZip, but that starts to build up in a short time, though in the short term it does work well. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium mezzoman253 Posted March 5, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 5, 2021 I found this interesting video on polar and non-polar cleaners https://youtu.be/nXH1_ZUfWCE So IPA is out and WD40 Switch cleaner or Lighter fluid are in. NOTE: WD40 SWITCH CLEANER and NOT the regular stuff which is POLAR. Rob 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 2mmMark Posted March 24, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 24, 2021 Having watched the video in question, I tried some WD40 Contact Cleaner on my 6.5mm narrrow gauge test track which uses Marklin setrack and the results are very acceptable. Some cleaner was applied to loco wheels by dropping some on with a small brush and letting capillary action take it round the rim. The cleaner was applied to the rails using a cotton bud. No other rail cleaning was done. While it's not conclusive, it does indicate there's gains to be made over simple physical cleaning. The proof of the pudding will be under exhibition conditions so that'll be some while yet. Mark 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesndbs Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 7 minutes ago, 2mmMark said: Having watched the video in question, I tried some WD40 Contact Cleaner on my 6.5mm narrrow gauge test track which uses Marklin setrack and the results are very acceptable. Some cleaner was applied to loco wheels by dropping some on with a small brush and letting capillary action take it round the rim. The cleaner was applied to the rails using a cotton bud. No other rail cleaning was done. While it's not conclusive, it does indicate there's gains to be made over simple physical cleaning. The proof of the pudding will be under exhibition conditions so that'll be some while yet. Mark Hi Mark, I am so pleased. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpgibbons Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 (edited) On 05/03/2021 at 04:29, MichaelE said: I have used lacquer thinner with good results too The main ingredient of lacquer thinners is acetone, which is mildly polar. So better than IPA, but not the best cleaning candidate here. To put things into perspective, relative polarities of proxies for common solvents are (v water =1.00): IPA 0.62, acetone (lacquer thinners) 0.35, hexane (WD40 contact cleaner) 0.009. Lighter fluid and white spirit are mostly low-polarity hydrocarbons so they would be at the bottom of the scale. However, an essential quality of a track cleaner is that it should not leave greasy residues, so more volatile hydrocarbons such as hexane are desirable. I'd guess lighter fluid is probably better than white spirit in this respect. WD40 contact cleaner looks the best candidate, but some of its rivals include lubricants and these may fail the greasy test. Edited March 27, 2021 by dpgibbons 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelE Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 I have since switched to the WD-40 Contact Cleaner but not have noticed any big difference over the lacquer thinner. It does a very good job of cleaning, but it just doesn't stay that way any longer that it would using lacquer thinner. I've also used Hoppes #9 Bore Cleaner with about the same results. That stuff really cleans, but again, it stay cleaner no longer than anything else I've used. The main lines do seem to run longer without a cleaning, but the narrow gauge RhB line seems to need a cleaning almost every session. At least parts of the line do. Maybe the BEMO locomotive is just a bit more sensitive to track that is not quite sterile. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
2mmKiwi Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 On 27/03/2021 at 15:05, dpgibbons said: The main ingredient of lacquer thinners is acetone, which is mildly polar. So better than IPA, but not the best cleaning candidate here. To put things into perspective, relative polarities of proxies for common solvents are (v water =1.00): IPA 0.62, acetone (lacquer thinners) 0.35, hexane (WD40 contact cleaner) 0.009. Lighter fluid and white spirit are mostly low-polarity hydrocarbons so they would be at the bottom of the scale. However, an essential quality of a track cleaner is that it should not leave greasy residues, so more volatile hydrocarbons such as hexane are desirable. I'd guess lighter fluid is probably better than white spirit in this respect. WD40 contact cleaner looks the best candidate, but some of its rivals include lubricants and these may fail the greasy test. Thank you for posting this very informative series on track cleaning. I was using IPA but I have now purchased WD40 contact cleaner and will try it out. Steve 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesndbs Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Guys, your findings would be most appreciated? Those who have switched from IPA to a non-polar cleaner recently. Do you find your unpowered wheels seem to get dirtier more quickly? My track is certainly cleaner for much longer, but I am seeing what I think is a bigger build up of crud on wheels. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 I came across the video quite by accident - and was a bit of revelation as I've never used IPA as I can't buy it around here - just a track rubber. Years ago, in the 60s and 70s, I used to use Ronson lighter fluid - can't get that here either. Seems like white spirit will be the way to go. I do have a question regarding alternatives: Years ago Peco used to do 'Electrolube' - is that still a thing and where would it come in the polar/non-polar scale? One thing I have noticed regarding electrolube (and it MAY be relevant to other contact cleansers) is that a number of older locos that had been enthuastically serviced by my father and stored away, now suffer from insulation breakdown on their wheels as the electrolube has bridged the gap! The matter of crud on rolling stock wheels was mentioned a little way up - I thought that was mainly due to plastic wheels rather than metal ones? Cheers, Philip 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesndbs Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 10 minutes ago, Philou said: I came across the video quite by accident - and was a bit of revelation as I've never used IPA as I can't buy it around here - just a track rubber. Years ago, in the 60s and 70s, I used to use Ronson lighter fluid - can't get that here either. Seems like white spirit will be the way to go. I do have a question regarding alternatives: Years ago Peco used to do 'Electrolube' - is that still a thing and where would it come in the polar/non-polar scale? One thing I have noticed regarding electrolube (and it MAY be relevant to other contact cleansers) is that a number of older locos that had been enthuastically serviced by my father and stored away, now suffer from insulation breakdown on their wheels as the electrolube has bridged the gap! The matter of crud on rolling stock wheels was mentioned a little way up - I thought that was mainly due to plastic wheels rather than metal ones? Cheers, Philip Hi Philip Ah yes Electrolube is still out there, it is a very, very effective light lubricator and conductivity enhancer and used in the right places (like Dapol's terrible class 73 pickups) its very good. However it is utterly pervasive and will always get where it should not be so great care has to be used. I run mostly metal wheels and it is these that are getting the build up. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Acautious word on Electrolube. Many years ago I was working at Pye (Philips). As an electronics firm I had the use of Electrolube - genuine article - at work. Peco around that time introduced their pen-styled Electrolube dispensers. I assume this was the same product as Electrolube, to the best of my knowledge, is a brand name. I don't know which variety I used, but I started using it, sparingly, as a lubricant for wagon axles. I remember some Airfix wagon kits that then got dissolved axle ends/bearings, which were caused by the Electrolube. I've always been wary of using Electrolube on plastic since. Wonderful stuff for its intended purpose though, as a switch contact lubricant. In other words, a conductive oil. Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 2mmMark Posted April 5, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 5, 2021 On 04/04/2021 at 08:59, mikesndbs said: Hi Philip Ah yes Electrolube is still out there, it is a very, very effective light lubricator and conductivity enhancer and used in the right places (like Dapol's terrible class 73 pickups) its very good. However it is utterly pervasive and will always get where it should not be so great care has to be used. I run mostly metal wheels and it is these that are getting the build up. Cheers The wheel cleaning technique I mentioned above seems to be working well on locos and I see no reason why it shouldn't work on metal rolling stock wheels. As for plastic wheels, the type of plastic seems to be the critical factor. Some years back, Denys Brownlee moulded some wagon wheels in white Acetal (a.k.a Delrin) which was fitted to a wagon in a train on Copenhagen Fields. It ran for the entire duration of Imrex - 6 days - and at the end of the show there was signs of use on the tread but no crud buildup. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaus ojo Posted April 14, 2021 Share Posted April 14, 2021 This is all very interesting and I believe every word is somehow true. There are so many reasons why rail contact may cause problems. If you try it with the wrong measures not touching the root cause result will be inferior. If you are having deep dimples because recently some loco did run with sparkling wheels neither white spirit nor IPA will help alone. But maybe some wet´n dry which should otherwise be avoided will help if rail and wheel are cleaned and smoothened further. Just an example and in no way exhaustive. The idea of alcohol is that it will dissolve both grease and water soluble dirt. May be in some aspect other solvents are better if they do not leave any residue. So I wouldn´t expect that anybody will be able to find the philosopher´s stone here in one rattle can. Well, very interesting pictures with the microscope at any rate. But it is not a scientific approach alone because a microscope is involved. cheers Klaus 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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