Hamltnblue Try out CRC 2-26. It does the same thing and works good. Just spray some at one spot on the track and let the trains spread it out.
Try out CRC 2-26. It does the same thing and works good. Just spray some at one spot on the track and let the trains spread it out.
Can't get CRC 2-26 in Canada, might be the same in Australia.
Peter
Most liquids that are sold as track cleaners have the usual problem of leaving a residue behind. This includes Goo Gone & Wahl Clipper Oil. The residue attracts dirt and you wind up with 'gunk' on the tracks and wheels. Alcohol & lacquer thinner do not leave residue. You need to clean both the track and the wheels of your trains. Plastic wheels are terrible at collecting crud and tracking it around a layout!
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Here's a link to a popular club in my area. This is where I originally read the info on using CRC. http://www.gatsme.org/HintsTips.html
Springfield PA
My 'trick' if you cna call it that is to run ONLY metal wheels, runs trains frequently, and above all, NEVER apply anything to the track. In fact I never clean my track, other than to wipe off paint when painting the rails. Liquids mix with dust and form all sorts of gunk, which gets picked up by your wheels and spread, and attracts still more dust - a never ending cycle. My advice would be to use laquer thinner or similar to completely clean the residue of previous cleanign fluids A light cloth or paper towels will help here to wipe it all off. ALso clean all your wheels. Then, run lots of trains. And have fun.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks Cacole,
Logic tells me that it is not good to put chemicals of any sort on the track and maybe the problem is a buildup of Wahl oil used in the past. However the buildup of oxide seems to me to be too rapid and it would be good just to be able to go down to the layout and run flawlessly for even a few minutes which is why we latch on to instant cleaners
However if anyone has got "inside knowledge" through heaps of experimenting, then I for one would be glad to hear it!
Regards from Oz
Trevor
Yes, I have a bottle of CAIG DeoxIt. It is not meant for model railroad use, but is for electronics uses.
I have tried using it on a large HO scale club layout with mixed results.
First, apply it very sparingly and let the trains spread it over the rail. Too much attracts dirt, because it is a rather sticky product.
Over time, the dirt it attracts causes problems that require the use of a CMX Clean Machine filled with lacquer thinner to get it off the rail.
We have stopped using it on the rail, but it is good for cleaning motor commutators.
We also have some No-Ox but don't use it on the rail, either, for the same reasons.
Applying any type of chemical product to the rail just seems to attract more dirt and requires more frequent use of the CMX.
Both No-Ox and DeoxIt seem to cause rolling stock and locomotive wheels to also get gummed up with dirt more frequently.
Hi All,
Here in Australia I cannot get No-Ox but having tried Wahl Oil I cannot stop crud and residue forming over the back of my layout which resides in my shed and sometimes causes erratic contact in the truest corollary of Murphy's Law - that part which is inconvniently just out of reach!
However the CAIG product Deoxit is available here and I'm wondering if any of you have tried it and your impressions please? Plastic compatibility? Life of the cleaning cycle?
TIA
Trevor www.xdford.digitalzones.com