Cleaning Brass Track

[Morar]

I'm looking for advice on cleaning my LGB track.

This afternoon my 3-year old spilt some strawberry smoothy on our track. Not only does it stick well to the track but it also stuck to the wheels and 'shoes' of the engine that was running at the time.

I got out the Brasso to clean up; which seemed to work OK. However, I'd appreciate your feedback on other track cleaning materials that might work better. I'm concerned that Brasso will leave a residue of its own.

Thanks in advance.

[tangerine-jack]

For unannounced spills, I just use some dish soap and water. I like the way it cuts grease and sugar, bird poop and hamburger toppings. It leaves no residue and just washes away. Mix a little in a styrofoam cup and clean the track with an old toothbrush. I wouldn't use it for regular cleaning, but for hit and miss spills, it works great.


[oX)]

[Anonymous]

morar
i use a scotch brite pad and GOO GONE, YOU CAN GET IT AT K-MART OR LOWE'S
I use it on my out side GRR and my in side RR both are brass track., i have been useing it about 4 years . ben

[Rastun]

Morar,
TJ and Benny have some pretty good ideas for what happened. Is your track inside or outside? I don't remember brasso ever leaving a coating on anything so that should be fine also, though a bit of work. At the moment I'm using snow to keep my track clean, it's snowing again so I can't get the track put into place. [:O][(-D][(-D][(-D]
Later,
Jack

[Anonymous]

Jack
I was running trains out side yesterday, and my c-16 burned a board up , took it apart , i have it running again , i took and did some other wireing and it works.., my snow is all gome . time to run some trains???? today it's raining .[:(] BEN

[Morar]

Thanks for the ideas on dealing with spills. I'll try them both.

Any recommendations on keeping track clean when it is outdoors? I found it took a long time on my hands and knees with brasso and a rag to clean 50+ feet of track. I fully expect to add a lot more track over the coming months.

[Anonymous]

Careful with the Brasso, I think it does leave a residue because that's what shines up when you buff it. As said, scotch brite pads are good.
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]

[powlee]

I use one of those small sponge blocks coated in emery cloth used for decorating. It cleans the track up nicely after a winter lay-up. Doesn`t harm the track as it is not used very often. Mine is fitted in a home made contraption on a long handle. The back isn`t what it was. We can get them cheap in our hardware shops bulk purchase. I presume you would find them in you Home Depot or Wally Marts.
All the best
Ian P

[Anonymous]

I had to do a lot of rail cleaning about a year or so ago and i recalled that when I was young and Australia wasn't a metric country we had pennies. If you immerse a penny overnight in white vinegar it would be pristine and shining the next morning.

To this end i soaked the ends of many of my rails in vinegar and then rinsed off with clean water and I got terrific results, as i then was able to soldered them ok.

I have an new problem now, my rails seem to have absorbed some oill from countless hours of use. I am thinking of painting the contact surface of the rails with vinegar and leaving for a while then hosing off.

What do others think.


regrds Ian

[SandyR]

Ian, that's a great idea, and thanks for the tip! Benny, I only use green scotch-brite, nothing more. I used to clean other brass items with Brasso, and found that if I didn't get all of it off, it would leave a powdery crud that actually seemed to attack the brass long-term.
SandyR

[Rastun]

Benny,

That's great you got to run for awhile, sorry to hear about the board in your c-16 but thankfully you were able to fix it. As long as the snow stays away for awhile you'll be fine Benny [:D]
Later,
Jack

[tangerine-jack]

Beware of using too much Brasso, the microscopic abrasive particles can harm your gears and bushings in your rolling stock. It sounds like way too much work to scrub with Brasso. I use an old broom handle with a 6 inch section of a 1X4 nailed to the end and a sponge or scotch brite pad glued to the 1X4. I spray WD-40 on the sponge and scrub the rails from a convenient standing postition. I use the WD-40 sparingly, too much would be harmful, but it works well at cutting the corrosion on the rail heads. Follow up by wraping the 1X4 with a clean cotton rag or fresh sponge and wipe the railheads clean of the WD-40. Leaves the rails shiny with out too much abrasion and prevents corrosion for some time.

I like the idea of the vinegar, I might try that and see if it works better.

[oX)]

[markperr]

Save the Brasso for the candlesticks and the ship's bell. If you keep using it on your track, there's a possibility that the chemicals that clean the brass will also harm the plastic ties. Best bet has been suggested, but here's a "one up" to it. Go to Home Depot or Lowe's or some other home center and get yourself a sanding pad and one of those extendable pole handles. To the sanding pad you can attach either the finest grit sanding screen (not sand paper, but drywall screen) or a scotch brite pad. You may have to ask the guys in the garden department if they sell the scotchbrite pads that size to fit the sanding head. Once you have all the necessary components, simply stand at the track and run the pad back and forth over the rail heads. Fifty feet should take you between three and four minutes to clean.

Mark