Scotch Brite pads work well for light cleaning. If the track is rusted badly, I have used a brush disk in my Dremel tool to buff it off. Make sure to do this away from the layout so no metal filings get in/on motors or other electrical or magnetic pieces.
Goo Gone gets sticky stuff off.
Charlie
jrzyrhodesI have old track for American Flyer. Was wondering what the best way is to clean it?
I am just about done doing just that. Here is what I did.
I used rubbing alcohol (70% isopropyl alcohol) on an old toothbrush to clean off the metal ties (including the undersides) and the rails being careful not to get too much alcohol on the paper insulating material between the rails and the ties. Then, before the alcohol evaporated, I used an old white sock to rub off the alcohol and to shine the metal ties.
Any of the rails that were rusted, I used a Bright Boy eraser type cleaner to rub on the top side of the metal rails. I had considered using sand paper but was advised by others on this forum not to do so for fear of taking off the surface of the rails. The Bright Boy worked wonders.
While the track probably doesn't look "like new", it looks good enough in my opinion.
Others may suggest other techniques for cleaning the track, but I was quite pleased with this method.
Rich
Alton Junction
Greetings and congrats on your collection. I use WD-40 for my HO track as some of it is older than I would like to admit. Use gun cleaning patches as they seem to work the best and don't leave any lint behind. Wipe off the excess as you go and the WD-40 will leave a nice clean look. Also it acts as a conductor for the electicity.
The best,
johncpo
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month