Does wahl clipper oil really work

[JeremyB]

Hey guys

I was going to use some wahl clipper oil after I cleaned my track because I heard this helps conductivity but was wondering If it actually helps or just makes things a greasy mess.

thanks
Jeremy

merry christmas

[jrbernier]

I used to use the stuff, and it really works to improve the electrical pickup. The problems I see are as follows:

o - The rail is more slippery, and my engines do not handle as many cars up the 'hill' on my layout.

o - The oil mixes with the 'crud' and moves to thet side of the rail. It also loosens the 'crud' on the wheels of your cars and spreads that around the layout. This is really bad with plastic wheels. Last year I cleaned all of my track with a TTX track cleaning car(loaded with laquer thinner) and a 'sled' car with a masonite/drywall sanding pad on the bottom. Once the track was clean, all engine wheels were cleaned and I replaced all freight car wheels with P2K metal wheel sets. I did this between Christmas and New Year of 2003. I ran all winter with no track cleaning. I plan to do another track cleaning session this season as well, but inspection of the metal wheelsets show virtually no 'crud' on the metal wheel sets.
From my experiance, the Wahl clipper oil is a temperary 'fix' to get things running. The big problem is those plastic wheel sets that attract all the dirt and spread it around the layout.

Jim Bernier

[Eriediamond]

I'm in complete agreement with Jim above. One thing I worry about with any oil is the oil reacting with the rubber traction tires on some locos. I know Wahls is supposed to be plastic compatible but I not sure about it being compatible with those tires. The best way to keep track clean is to keep trains running on it with metal wheels, but thats not always possible on a home layout. Track with high volume traffic will stay cleaner then low volume trackage. My two cents worth, Ken and happy holidays to ya

[cacole]

Wahl, or any other oil, must be applied in extremely minute amounts to only very short sections of track by wiping it on with a rag while the trains are running, and then let your trains spread the oil over the rest of the layout. Any oil attracts dirt, so it must be used very sparingly.

[willy6]

I do know one thing, i asked my barber if he had any extra Wahl clipper oil, and he said "are you a model railroader too?"........enough said.

[JerryZeman]

Years ago, there was an article in RMC, which basically stated that just about any oil will improve performance. IIRC, they even went so far as to spread minute amounts of Noxema creme on the tracks.

The primary benefit of track oiling is to prevent oxidation of the tracks.

For starters, let me state where I live, the Chicago Illinois area. I don't have an overly dusty environment, and my basement is about as dust free as could be hoped for, with a drop ceiling, and a HEPA filter running continuously (but slightly undersized for the room size, I really need two). My railroad is HO, 32x28 ft. with a 20x3 double deck extension complete with helix and 8 track staging yard (all reverse loop tracks).

I have been oiling track for 12 years. I have outstanding results. The only time I have problems with conductivity is when I paint my tracks. Once I find problem areas, thorough cleaning makes the problems go away.

I need to emphasise that all my rolling stock has metal wheels. Plastic wheels are a prescription for disaster. I also go through a wheel cleaning about every five years, which I may do more often once I get operating sessions running more frequently.

A friend of mine in Alberta had big problems with dirty track. He tried track oiling. His problems went away. He is in a very dry environment, but his basement is not dusty either. Due to his job responsibilities, it is not uncommon that his railroad will go for six months without running. He goes down into the basement, fires up the railroad, and runs away. He is also running DCC, and all metal wheels.

For oil, I simply use LaBelle 108 oil. The preferred way to do it is to run around my Centerline car with the roller soaked with the oil. I do that maybe every year. Periodically, I place a drop of oil on each rail, and let the locomotive carry it around.

Yes, your locomotives will develop less adhesion. So what. Run shorter trains, double the hill, add helpers. Deal with it just like the real thing has to deal with poor adhesion.

Being the sick minded individual that I am, I sometimes oil my grades just so my operating crews will have problems to deal with. If the dispatcher didn't dispatch the train over the locomotives capabilities, there is no problem. If he did, then the road crew has it's work cut out for it.

Now, moving on to my three rail interests, I haven't been as lucky with track oiling. I belong to a modular hirail group. We clean our track at the start of each setup. Things start out working wonderfully, but as the day progresses, the track gets dirty, and thing go to Hell. It doesn't matter if we clean with Goo-Gone, oil the track, run all metal wheels etc. I would have never guessed that O would have more clean track issues than HO (I should also note that I am running DCC on my HO railroad, and TMCC in O hirail, DCS works sometimes, and seems even more succeptable to dirty track).

There is also a product out there called Stabilant 22A. Do a web search on it for more info, they have a Product Application sheet on their web site for model railroad applications.

I haven't tried Stabilant 22A yet, but my employer uses Stabilant 22 to service intermittant connections on diesel engine electronic fuel injection systems (it got the nickname in the field of "wizard ****"). Volkswagen also sells Stabilant 22 as a service tool through their dealer network for servicing of electronic connectors. It really does help conductivity through electronic connectors, and is supposedly great for helping out model railroads. I am definitely going to give the stuff a try. It is very expensive, IIRC, a 1/4 ounce of the stuff is around $50.00 (you don't need a lot).

regards,
Jerry Zeman

[Anonymous]

Our club in Indiana that I used to belong to used the Wahl oil in a custom tank car with a track wiper for many years, but recently switched to Alcohol based cleaner since most of the layout has been relaid with nickel silver track, the club has been around since before that type of track was avaible and all the main lines are hand laid on true scale roadbed. without the oil on the old track, stuff wouldnt run well, the club meets weekly and runs every time, but the alcohol handle the cleaning well and we do a cleaning night where all cars and locomotive wheels are cleaned before we operate.

[Virginian]

Well, let me ante up as a firm believer in no oil of any kind on the track. Oil is a lubricant. Anything 'wet', oil or whatever, will collect dust. That's why the electrical/electronics industry absolutely shuns oil for any MOVING contacts. Stabilant 22A contains a component to break down non-conducting residues and oxidants, restoring or improving contact, and it also leaves behind a film to prevent further corrosion, and it is great stuff for fixed electrical connections such as connector plugs on automobiles. That's why silicone grease is recommended too on new contacts, because it insulates the connection point from the environment. In moder RRing, almost all the conductors are moving contact points, so therefore oil is a no-no.
I have lived in Eastern N.C., Southeastern Va. (humid, salt air), Canada (dry air), and am now in Ohio for the second time, and have never seen the need to oil track. About twice a year, maybe, I wipe the track rail heads with laquer thinner on a piece of old percale sheet. I do have a lot of plastic wheels on stuff. Yes, they do get stuff on them, and every once in awhile I clean those, too, usually with an old X-acto blade scraper and a piece of dry or alcohol wetted sheet. If the track is clean and dry, the stuff just stays on the wheels. And, tractive effort is very important to me. A large steamer pulling 8 or 9 cars just ain't real prototypical.
I had a friend who became convinced that Wahl oil was a great thing (I suspect it is, for hair clippers, which is what it is made for), so even though he had minimal issues, he tried it. It took us about two years to get it all off the system, frequently cleaning cars, engines, and track. I should have recorded all his cussing during those numerous cleaning sessions to play for those pondering this oil useage.
I admit to zero experience with anything other than nickel silver track, (which is actually stainless steel,) which is very slow to oxidize, AND the oxidant is actually conductive as well. I once knew a guy with a unique method for 'cleaning' track. He had some early kind of DCC or whatever, and it was very sensitive to conductivity. He would take an Athearn loco, clean the wheels good with laquer thinner, and then run it around the layout at full throttle with enough load behind it so that it was barely moving and therefore spun the wheels all the way. He said this polished and cleaned the rail heads, and he would wipe them off with a dry cloth when he was finished. I wasn't particularly impressed, but it definitely did seem to work for him.
If you want to try oil, have at it, but be advised there are two sides to this issue.

[cacole]

If you have the money, there's a product made by Caig Laboratories of San Diego, CA, for the electronics industry, called DeoxIT D100L. Priced at around $35 for a 7.4ml bottle with an applicator brush, it is sold by Mouser Electronics and possibly by DigiKey. The label reads, "Connector and contact treatment. Improves conductivity, deoxidizes, seals and protects connectors and contacts. Reduces intermittent connections, arching and RFI, wear, and abrasion." It sounds expensive, but one bottle will last several lifetimes.

At the Cochise & Western Model Railroad Club's 20x40 foot HO-scale layout, a very small amount per every 50 feet of rail, applied very lightly with the brush in front of a running train, lasts nearly six months. We are in a building that has no heat, no insulation, and no air conditioning, and Arizona is a very dusty environment. This product does not appear to attract dirt like oil would.

[cmrproducts]

I f you use metal polish (most any kind) on the rails there is no more cleaning of the track for at least a year. The engine wheels stay cleaner longer and the sound engines work all the time!

It sounds to good to be true! But it works. I have over 2600 feet of track and do not have to clean the track or engine wheels and I am still running some plastic wheels on some of my cars, so the problems with plastic wheels is really not a problem (for me anyway).

Give it a try and if you don't like the way it works then go back to your old ways. But so far all those that have tried it in northwest PA, have thrown away their track cleaning cars!

Later

BOB H Clarion, PA

[rogerhensley]

Does it work? Yes, when used in moderation along with a wheel cleaning schedule.

[cwclark]

I use it on everything on the layout...i've used it for many years too and have found it does the job..just use it sparingly....Chuck

[Cox 47]

I'm not sure how or why it works but it works for me. I have used it on 3 layout both large and small and mixtures of all types of track NS brass all brands even some old steel rail from the early 50's it worked on it all. Icould'nt see any diff in number of cars or build up of crud on wheels. I tryed another brand and it did'nt work at all?

[mikebonellisr]

I have used Wahl clipper oil since the mid 80s with good results.I now also use conducta-lube.The results seem the same to me .They both work well.