The rods provided with my Model Railroader binders for holding the magazines leave vertical dirt marks in the center of the magazines. Has anyone needed to clean the rods for their Model Railroader binders? I have tried using a clean cloth to clean the rods, which removes visible dirt/grease, but further residue seems to still leave dirt marks in the magazines. Should these rods be painted? Thanks for any advise.
It is common to put a very light coating of oil on bare steel to prevent rust. I have noticed the rods in my binders tend to have an oddly sticky feel to them, which I assume is that very light coat of oil which has dried out. If it is a lubricant then it won't take paint very readily.
This may sound odd, but maybe baking the rods in the oven for a while at around 200 degrees would take care of the problem at the possible cost of making the oven smell like oil. You could also try rubbing them with a paper towel w/ a small amount of GooGone or similar citrus solvent (CitraSolv for example). But if you totally remove the oil you may be introducing rust onto the pages
Dave Nelson
Your points are all valid. If I leave the rods as they are, it marks the magazines. If I remove the coating, I promote rust, which will mark the magazines as well. That was why I questioned painting them. For what these binders cost, I would have hoped for a better product to protect my investment. It also does not help that Kalmbach provides no assistance with questions like these.
I would clean them up with acetone or something to prepare the surface and then dip or paint them in the enamel paint you use to touch up your kitchen stove or porcelain sinks that get chips in them. Or something like that...so that a good coating leaves no marks at all.
-Crandell
selector I would clean them up with acetone or something to prepare the surface and then dip or paint them in the enamel paint you use to touch up your kitchen stove or porcelain sinks that get chips in them. Or something like that...so that a good coating leaves no marks at all. -Crandell
Welcome to the forum, Dude!
I got rid of all my rod binders years ago but I always used acetone and peanut oil . . . . . . . . . . and I am only borderline crazy.
Take the rods out of the binder -- remove the magazines!!!!! -- I bring this up so that down the road apiece some lum-ox doesn't come back with the lament of "you didn't say to remove the magazines!" -- and rub them down thoroughly with acetone to remove accumulated crud. Then impregnate a soft cloth with peanut oil -- if you don't use peanut oil for cooking -- it's about the only thing I do use -- then corn oil will probably work in a pinch -- and rub down the rods with that -- this peanut oil is going to act as a rust inhibitor. Now if you don't believe that it inhibits rust I have a 25 year old wok that I coat after each use for that expressed purpose. Take a dry cloth and thoroughly wipe down the rods before reassembling the binder.
Why, you ask, don't I coat the rods with WD40? Try it and you will find out!
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet