Am ballasting brand new Peco HO Code 83 flextrack using WS ballast, 50/50 water/white glue as adhesive and 50/50 water/91% isopropyl alcohol as wet water spray before applying adhesive. All is going well as this is my third layour build so I'm relatively familiar with the process and typical track cleaning methods. However, a close examination of the ballasted track several days later reveals an irregular pattern of discoloration or oxidation or deposits of some kind on the railheads. Have never seen this before. My concern is the difficulty in removing the apparent contaminant. It has proven to be EXTREMELY difficult to remove the staining and polish the railheads back to their normal, bright silver appearance. Short of using some sort of abrasive, which I am loth to do, I'm stumped and expect to have to spend an inordinate amount of time restoring a lot of track.
Oh, and no, I have not tried to run a train on the completed track to see if it is affecting conductivity. Any insight appreciated. Thanks, geoff.
That sounds like something in the water.
I used to live somewhere that had a lot of iron in the water and it couldn't be used for certain hobby uses as it would leave deposits behind. Distilled is the best way to go.
Hmmm. Good point. For household water here we use an ion exchange water softener to remove lots of minerals present in the water in this part of the country, mainly calcium and magnesium. Last layout was in a home supplied by a utility with a reservior and was naturally "soft". Easy fix to try tonight and see if there is a residue tomorrow. Thanks. Meanwhile, still need cleaning ideas how to remove existing accumulation.
Total shot in the dark but your mention of calcium in the water makesme think to try CLR cleaner as the C stands for Calcium. I have no idea if it will help but worth a shot.
Hello All,
mrnimbleShort of using some sort of abrasive, which I am loth to do, I'm stumped and expect to have to spend an inordinate amount of time restoring a lot of track.
The only "abrasive" I use on my rails is a fine grit sharpening stone.
I've used this to level plastic frogs on Atlas Snap-Switches, never on the rails for cleaning.
A-line sells Homosote pads for cleaning rails.
They can be used dry or with your liquid of choice.
I use Aero-Car Hobby Lubricants ACT-6006 Track & Rail Cleaner or Denatured Alcohol.
Let us know your results and as always...
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
I typically avoid overspray problems by avoiding sprayers. I put down wet water and cement with a pipette, which is much neater and uses less liquid.
My track cleaner of choice is lacquer thinner, applied with a CMX machine. For small areas, a rag will do.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I, for one, would like to see a picture.
Stuff that precipitates out from your water supply is some sort of salt. Not table salt, but chemically a salt. Organic solvents, lacquer thinner, acetone aren't going to help.
Water or denatured alcohol are polar solvents. Use gloves with denatured alcohol, the methanol in it causes bad juju.
For all the bad mouthing of Bright Boy's, you can finish that up with 2-4,000 grit wet dry sand paper you can find at any auto supply store.
If you have organic chemicals from your water supply precipitating out on your rails, that is the least of your problems.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I also wonder if it might be mineral deposits, without knowing the kind of contaminant it is, nor what you have on hand, recommending a cleaner is tough.
I have used before straight 91% Isopropyl (Rubbing Alcohol) when cleaning rails, either in a CMX car or by hand with a lint-free rag. If that does not work, an abrasive that won't leave deep scratches would be a standard pink pencil eraser. (Everyone has those lying around somewhere.)
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Recently I replaced a crossover, used gray ballast with 50-50 Mod-Podge & water. When dry, I added black highlights, first with a diluted mix of India Ink and alcohol, a mix I've used to weather timbers for bridges. Color-wise, it worked well but the mix caused a reaction creating a brass-colored film on the nickel silver rails, which required removal with ultra fine 6000 grit finishing paper (Hobby Lobby).
So for ballast highlights, I'll go back to my original method of black Kiwi Shoe Dye, and 50-50 alcohol and water. Without the water, the alcohol can affect the acrylic paint on the track.
Jim
Conclusion, for a couple of you that asked: it appears to be a contaminate in the tap water i used (and I drink this stuff?!). I remixed a new batch of wet water spray using 91% isopropyl alcohol and distilled water with no residue at all. Still faced with deep cleaning the discolored rails but I'll follow a couple of suggestions offered above and move on. Thanks everyone for your interest and advice. Geoff
Although I know many folks say that an abrasive will damage your track, I've been using BrightBoys on my track (nickel silver code 83) for like 35 years and I've never seen a problem. I bet one would clean up your problem quite easily.