richhotrain dante I did my layout over 2-1/2 years ago-without gleaming-and have had no operating problems requiring cleaning. Occasionally, I see spots on the rail of a black "gunk" that I wipe off, but they have no affect on the locos operation. Hmm, I have to challenge that statement about the black gunk on rails having no effect on loco operation. Occasionally, I will observe some erratic performance with a loco, particularly while it is running at lower speeds. Sure enough, there is a small spot of black gunk on the rails. Like dante, I wipe it off with some rubbing alcohol on a clean piece of cloth. But, until I remove the black gunk, it will affect loco performance. Which raises the question, what is that black gunk and what causes it? Rich
dante I did my layout over 2-1/2 years ago-without gleaming-and have had no operating problems requiring cleaning. Occasionally, I see spots on the rail of a black "gunk" that I wipe off, but they have no affect on the locos operation.
I did my layout over 2-1/2 years ago-without gleaming-and have had no operating problems requiring cleaning. Occasionally, I see spots on the rail of a black "gunk" that I wipe off, but they have no affect on the locos operation.
Hmm, I have to challenge that statement about the black gunk on rails having no effect on loco operation.
Occasionally, I will observe some erratic performance with a loco, particularly while it is running at lower speeds. Sure enough, there is a small spot of black gunk on the rails. Like dante, I wipe it off with some rubbing alcohol on a clean piece of cloth. But, until I remove the black gunk, it will affect loco performance.
Which raises the question, what is that black gunk and what causes it?
Rich
Rich, challenge if you like, but the locos' performances are not affected. Also, they are random and not usually at track joints. Finally, I can just wipe them off without any alcohol or other cleaning medium.
Dante
NP2626
There was an ongoing thread on the Digitrax Yahoo Groups talking about these Black Spots and one idea was that it was old track from the later 60s into the 70s.
A friend of mine had this old track (as that was when he first built his layout) and we had a problem with these black spots and they were very hard to clean off the rails.
Then in 2 to 3 weeks they would be back in the same spots - so it wasn't dirt - it was a type of corrosion.
We had purchased new track about 2 years ago and installed it in new areas of the layout and never had any problems with these Black Spots.
And the Metal Polish did nothing to stop the Black Spots on this OLD track!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
zstripe richhotrain I find smears of black gunk on sections of rail that are not rail joints. Rich Maybe the mice forgot to wipe their feet, before crossing the tracks.LOL. Take Care! Frank
richhotrain I find smears of black gunk on sections of rail that are not rail joints. Rich
I find smears of black gunk on sections of rail that are not rail joints.
Maybe the mice forgot to wipe their feet, before crossing the tracks.LOL.
Take Care!
Frank
Alton Junction
richhotrain Hmm, I have to challenge that statement about the black gunk on rails having no effect on loco operation. Occasionally, I will observe some erratic performance with a loco, particularly while it is running at lower speeds. Sure enough, there is a small spot of black gunk on the rails. Like dante, I wipe it off with some rubbing alcohol on a clean piece of cloth. But, until I remove the black gunk, it will affect loco performance. Which raises the question, what is that black gunk and what causes it? Rich
Frank, We've lived very similar lives! Unlike you, I haven't stopped being a SOB and although having spent 2 years seven months and 10 days in the U.S. ARMY, I was lucky enough to have not been sent to Vietnam althgough the war was going strong while I was in. Thank you for your service, Frank!
You take care, too!
Mark,
I was not Just a truck driver.....an owner, custom car builder,painter, welder, carpenter, electrician, roofer,Father, Grandfather, drinker,smoker, Sob, mechanic, Vietnam DAV Vet and anything else I could learn about. In my 73 yrs, I was not one to sit on my hands....the only time I would do that was to stop from waving at everyone. LOL.
No-Ox is not a polish. I believe its essential component is a electrically conductive lubricant that mitigates oxidation and promotes electrical conduction. I did my layout over 2-1/2 years ago-without gleaming-and have had no operating problems requiring cleaning. Occasionally, I see spots on the rail of a black "gunk" that I wipe off, but they have no affect on the locos operation.
Rich,
I believe no one...CMX, or gleaming, can make that claim...everyone's environment is not the same. What I was interested in was the explanation of what was really going on with the condition of the track. I can understand the use of the washer to go over the rails after the sanding part...but the polish part seem's like it's defeating the purpose of the washer. A butcher sharpen's His knifes and then uses a round looking file with no teeth on it to smooth out the filing lines in the knife, but He does not polish it. They are microscopic scratches, but the fact remains, they are there.
I'm too darn old to go through all that, whether it works or not. I'll stick with the Lacquer thinner twice a year....DC don't mind a little dirt.
Frank, speaking for myself, I have no argument with the use of the CMX car and lacquer thinner. It clearly is effective.
But the arguments for gleaming and metal polishing are compelling because those who use one of those two methods claim that years go by without ever having to clean track again. The CMX car users make no such claim.
Bob,
If I may suggest and to other's who are really interested and finding out what may be the easiest way of cleaning your track and the how come's and what not's of solvent cleaning and organic build up and other types.....Read the entire article that Hwolf linked to. I know a lot of people now a days, don't like to do that, but it will explain a lot about what works best, AND WHY...That is the interesting part. That Article in part come's with the CMX machine.
I have a rather large layout that will sit for long period's of time and contrary to other's way of using it, I push it around the layout, rather than drag it....for one very simple reason...the engines pulling it have to go through all the dirty spots before they are clean and all they are doing is spreading the dust and dirt around.
Just My 4
http://www.tonystrains.com/download/CMX-man-generic.pdf
I have a Bachmann G scale shelf track running around the wall in my computer room. It is the steel track and the engine was constantly stalling because of dirty track. I finally cleaned the track with iso alcohol and then applied a coating of NO-OX polish(?) and haven't had the engine stall since. That was 3 years ago. I only run this train about once every few months, espcially when my great grandson visits. I plan to do the same with my HO layout; about 300' of track. I have tried gleaming some of the hidden track on my HO layout and then using the NO-OX, which works as well, just a lot of work. I am assuming the NO-OX is about the same as Mag Wheel polish or any of the other polishes mentioned here on this thread.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
zstripe JimT, I believe You are absolutely correct. I was the executor of three wills in the past eight year's....my parents being two of them and they had a safe which they had told me the combination of and it also had a key. Anyway there were a lot of silver coins in there namely silver dollar's. After checking around about what I had and possibly what they were worth. My close friend suggested a collector He knew very well....made a appointment with Him and He came to my house and with His loupe He proceded to look at all the silver dollar's with it marking down on a paper what they were worth. Long story, short....three 1850 silver dollars minted in San Francisco, would have been worth 35,000 if I had not used Jewler's silver polish on them....should have left them alone. He said although it was a fine polish, He could see the scracthes the polish left. He paid me 15,000 for the coins and showed me proof of their worth. I would just use lacquer thinner twice a year and the heck with all the other stuff....DC equipment is not that fussy about clean track anyway. Take Care! Frank
JimT,
I believe You are absolutely correct. I was the executor of three wills in the past eight year's....my parents being two of them and they had a safe which they had told me the combination of and it also had a key. Anyway there were a lot of silver coins in there namely silver dollar's. After checking around about what I had and possibly what they were worth. My close friend suggested a collector He knew very well....made a appointment with Him and He came to my house and with His loupe He proceded to look at all the silver dollar's with it marking down on a paper what they were worth. Long story, short....three 1850 silver dollars minted in San Francisco, would have been worth 35,000 if I had not used Jewler's silver polish on them....should have left them alone. He said although it was a fine polish, He could see the scracthes the polish left. He paid me 15,000 for the coins and showed me proof of their worth.
I would just use lacquer thinner twice a year and the heck with all the other stuff....DC equipment is not that fussy about clean track anyway.
That and keep your track in a safe!
zstripe JimT hwolf http://www.tonystrains.com/download/CMX-man-generic.pdf Above is an article from CMX. It gives alot of good info on different types of Solvent. Enjoy Harold Appreciate that link, especially to the info about laquer thinner etc. and why certain solvents are better for removing plastic than others. ''So here (finally) is the bottom line: To me, from the chemist’s perspective, the CMX, when used with lacquer thinner on the sorptive pad, is the best method of mechanized track cleaning presently available.'' Take Care! Frank
JimT hwolf http://www.tonystrains.com/download/CMX-man-generic.pdf Above is an article from CMX. It gives alot of good info on different types of Solvent. Enjoy Harold Appreciate that link, especially to the info about laquer thinner etc. and why certain solvents are better for removing plastic than others.
hwolf http://www.tonystrains.com/download/CMX-man-generic.pdf Above is an article from CMX. It gives alot of good info on different types of Solvent. Enjoy Harold
Above is an article from CMX. It gives alot of good info on different types of Solvent. Enjoy
Harold
Appreciate that link, especially to the info about laquer thinner etc. and why certain solvents are better for removing plastic than others.
''So here (finally) is the bottom line: To me, from the chemist’s perspective, the CMX, when used with lacquer thinner on the sorptive pad, is the best method of mechanized track cleaning presently available.''
Here all this time, I thought you where a Truck Driver when in fact you were/are a Chemist?
eaglescout Terry, I would just add that some folks recommend starting with 400-600 grit sandpaper and progressing up to 1500 grit or higher. The reasoning is that the smaller the microscopic scratches in the track from the sandpaper the easier the burnishing is and the less likely to catch dirt. I believe the polishing mitigates this possibility effectively. To Rich: Yes, it is a lot of work initially, but if you rarely or never have to do the process again isn't it worth it?
Terry,
I would just add that some folks recommend starting with 400-600 grit sandpaper and progressing up to 1500 grit or higher. The reasoning is that the smaller the microscopic scratches in the track from the sandpaper the easier the burnishing is and the less likely to catch dirt. I believe the polishing mitigates this possibility effectively.
To Rich: Yes, it is a lot of work initially, but if you rarely or never have to do the process again isn't it worth it?
Can't help but relay an anecdote from a former student of mine who worked for a pretty accomplished silversmith. The master was training a newbie one time, and generally the first job given to apprentices is the polishing of pieces in the shop.
He watched the apprentice for a while and then asked, "Do you know what you're doing?" to which the apprentice shot him a quizzical look; so he asked again, "Do you know what you're doing? I mean, do you really KNOW what you are doing?"
So the apprentice responded, sure, I know what I'm doing--I'm polishing the silver, which is the process of taking the scratches out of the silver.
To which the master silversmith replied, "Aha! You don't KNOW what you are doing."
"Polishing is the process of putting scratches ON TO the silver. With higher grit polishing compounds, you are first placing relatively large scratches on to the silver; and with each progressively layer of finer grit abrasives, you are putting increasingly finer and finer scratches on to the surface of the silver. That's what you are actually doing."
Don't know how true this is, but maybe it's a helpful way to look at track cleaning.
eaglescout To Rich: Yes, it is a lot of work initially, but if you rarely or never have to do the process again isn't it worth it?
saronaterry Gleam You will need: 1. 600 grit sandpaper or a briteboy. I used a bb. 2. Mag wheel polish. I used Blue Magic, found at the auto parts store. 3. Some small pieces of cork roadbed. 4. A stainless steel washer big enough to span both rails. The one I used was rounded on one side. Steps: 1. Clean the rail with a Brite boy or simular. 2. Slide the washer over the rails, with a little pressure to close up the gaps and nicks. You'll feel the washer slide easier when you are close to being done.This is the burnishing part. 3. Put a very little bit of polish on the piece of cork. I just smear a bit on with my finger. 4. Slide the cork/polish along the rails, reapply as needed to the cork. I did about 6-8' at a time.You will feel less resistance when done.This is the polishing part. 5. Let that dry/ haze up as you would when polishing your car. 6. Wipe residue up with a clean t-shirt or terry cloth towel scrap. 7. You can run a dry piece of cork along the rails here . Not really needed. I didn't. 8. Enjoy running trains and NEVER having to clean track again. I did the GLEAM method in '07. With the exception of some scenery work that slopped over, I HAVE NOT had to clean my track since then. Semi finished basement, well over 500' of track, northern Wisconsin with all the temp fluctuations that occur. Central heat, no AC. I can go downstairs after a month, turn on the Digitrax system, and run trains. No wiping,etc. If I didn't experience this, I would not believe it, either. I sold my Centerline to a forum member. Hope that helps. Terry in NW Wisconsin
Gleam
You will need:
1. 600 grit sandpaper or a briteboy. I used a bb.
2. Mag wheel polish. I used Blue Magic, found at the auto parts store.
3. Some small pieces of cork roadbed.
4. A stainless steel washer big enough to span both rails. The one I used was rounded on one side.
Steps:
1. Clean the rail with a Brite boy or simular.
2. Slide the washer over the rails, with a little pressure to close up the gaps and nicks. You'll feel the washer slide easier when you are close to being done.This is the burnishing part.
3. Put a very little bit of polish on the piece of cork. I just smear a bit on with my finger.
4. Slide the cork/polish along the rails, reapply as needed to the cork. I did about 6-8' at a time.You will feel less resistance when done.This is the polishing part.
5. Let that dry/ haze up as you would when polishing your car.
6. Wipe residue up with a clean t-shirt or terry cloth towel scrap.
7. You can run a dry piece of cork along the rails here . Not really needed. I didn't.
8. Enjoy running trains and NEVER having to clean track again.
I did the GLEAM method in '07. With the exception of some scenery work that slopped over, I HAVE NOT had to clean my track since then. Semi finished basement, well over 500' of track, northern Wisconsin with all the temp fluctuations that occur. Central heat, no AC. I can go downstairs after a month, turn on the Digitrax system, and run trains. No wiping,etc. If I didn't experience this, I would not believe it, either. I sold my Centerline to a forum member.
Hope that helps.
Terry in NW Wisconsin
richhotrain eaglescout There are many threads on here about gleaming. If you do it right there is nothing better. Better than the Metal Polish method? Rich
eaglescout There are many threads on here about gleaming. If you do it right there is nothing better.
Better than the Metal Polish method?
Gleaming includes the metal polish as the last step of the process.
Thanks for that info on the gleaming process, Terry. I got exhausted just reading it. I am going to try the Metal Polish method, a lot simpler.
I agree with the others--Goo Gone is bad for tracks. it accumulates crud.
What do I use to clean tracks? Nothing. Instead, I use Wahl clipper oil. It not only increases conductivity (in some mysterious way), but it eliminates the need to clean track. I haven't cleaned my track (or locomotive or rolling stock wheels) since I started using it about 15 years ago.
I know that the model railroad world divides into pro and anti clipper oil users. But it works for me.
Here's more information about it from my blog: http://cprailmmsub.blogspot.ca/2009/09/to-oil-or-not-oil-tracksthat-is.html
John Longhurst, Winnipeg
Queenbogey715 is my Youtube channel
Somebody needs to jump in here who actually knows something about the Gleaming Process! I have understood it to be a burnishing process whereby you rub the railheads with a smooth piece of stainless steel, like a spoon.
There, I've explained what I know about it, which in all likelyhood is dead wrong! However, I have at least "Poked the Bear" which should cause someone to jump in a explain to me how far from the truth I am. Enjoy the education, everyone!