I purchased a CMX Track cleaning car about a month ago. It does a good job of cleaning. The problem is that I live in a high humitity area (Miami) and the track seem to need cleaning often. I am using Lacquer Thiner as the solvent.
1. Is there a problem using the CMX weekly or less?
2. Is it a good idea to run the car with a dry cloth after running the Solvent?
3. How about running Alcolhol after the Lacquer and then dry?
4. One of the metal clips that holds the cloth is loose and will drop down and short out . How do you tighten this clip?
Thanks in advance for your replies
Harold
Unless you have brass track or a poor layout environment, weekly track cleaning is overkill. Monthly maybe.
How large is your layout?
If you do some good track prep the amount of time cleaning will be reduced. Clean it by hand and use 600 grit sand paper to smoothe out the railheads. Then clean again. Dont use the store type track cleaning fluid. Stick with basic alcohol or similar. Also if you have any plastic wheels on your trains consider changing them to metal. At a minimum don't run plastic wheels over track that has just been cleaned until it is totally dry.
Springfield PA
Number 1........Don't use lacquer thinner to clean your track, I would suggest 90% isopropol alcohol
Number 2........You need to seriously consider investing in a "de"humidifier if your moisture problem is that bad. Sears sells them and they are one of the best investments a person can make in a humid climate, unless you like "rust" of course.
Mark
P.S. One of those little weather stations that gives you the temp and humidity would also be advised.
Forty Niner Number 1........Don't use lacquer thinner to clean your track, I would suggest 90% isopropol alcohol
Mark Have you 'used' a CMX track Cleaning car? It has a very high quality adjustment for the 'drip' of teh fluid. I can adjust mine for something like one drip every three seconds. I use lacquer thinner in mine and have had NO problems with smell or melting ties. I usually set mine for about 2 drops per second when moving(it does take two P2K GP's to move it!). The lacquer thinner evaporates very fast, and I rarley smell anything unless my nose is right there.
My standard 'every year' track cleaning train consists of the following:
I just run this train all over the layout(freight cars removed). A little 'hand work' is some of the spurs completes the job. You can use alcohol if you have an allergy or rash from lacquer thinner, but either will not leave any 'residue' or film on the track. When done, I have clean dry trackage. We use a pair of CMX train s at the club every month to clean the tracks.
I used to use Whal Clipper oil and was amazed at the much better electrical pickup. The down side was if one used too much oil, the engines would slip and die pulling trains up grades. Also the mixture of clipper oil & dirt made a 'crud' that got tracked around the layout. Plastic wheel freigh cars are really bad at moving this 'crud' around. About 20 years ago some folks started using Goo-Gone. It did a good job, but left a 'film' on the rail that just attracted dust and the crud problems would start. Even the electronics store 'tuner cleaners' seem to leave a film on the tracks.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Well shoot Jim, why not use gasoline, they're both about the same as far as being flammable and the fumes aren't anywhere near as harmful since they are no longer putting lead in the gas!!!
Back in the days when you could buy 100 octane at the pump we used to use a pint of lacquer thinner as "octane boost" in a tank of gas, it was like adding an extra 50 HP, of course continued use would probably blow the engine sky high so we didn't do it unless there was money in the mix.
It's called "paint" thinner for a reason, you're supposed to use it to thin your paint.
Having used both alcohol and lacquer thinner in my CMX car, I'm casting my vote for the lacquer thinner. Jim is right. If you adjust the drip properly, you will smell very little thnner. I always fill the car outside or in the garage, though. The filling process releases more smell into the air than cleaning the track.
As far as your need to clean frequently - have you also cleaned your engines' wheels? The cleaner only works on the track, but if you started with dirty track and wheels, you've still got dirty wheels. I wet down a paper towel with alcohol (don't use lacquer thinner for this) and place it on the track. Then I run one truck of the engine over the towel and hold the engine so the wheels spin on the towel. Lift the engine and reverse it, and shift the towel a bit to move the black stripe (yeah, those wheels were dirty) over a bit, and repeat with the other truck.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Run a track cleaning train before an op session if needed. It consists of two Atlas GP38's, a CMX with a slow drip of Wahl's clipper oil, a gondola with tools, spikes, etc, another CMX with a dry pad, and a drover caboose. Interesting to run, does the job. My basement is climate controlled.
Bob
How about the question about tightening the clip that hold the Pad so it doesn't drop down and ceate a short.
Can't comment on the clip, haven't had a problem with either of my CMX cars.
A slight (very slight) inward bend of the clip should keep it from dropping out of the groove. We're using strips of mid-wale corduroy as cleaning pads, as well as the CMX strips, and haven't had this problem.
Re the slipping clip. You might try heavier cloth. I use a fairly heavy wale upholstery type corduroy.
Try damp rid in your basement if the humid is really bad. We had a moisture problem in our lake house, so we hang damp rid bags on the doors (we get the damp rid at Lowe's). You could get a dehumidifier but you have to remember to empty it.
I fill my CMX N scale with Denatured alcohol. Turn valve three quarters for drip. I use aircraft windshield paper cleaning clothes rather than any other material. Works great. Clean track every three months because I run my locomotives through sewing machine oil lightly applied on programming track. Since I have Kato Unitrack. Do not use an abrasive on track. Kato recommends denatured alcohol to clean unitrack. Read on blog Unitrack has a coating on it so abrasive pads ruin the coating.
We use acetone in the one on the club layout. There's no issue using stronger solvents like acetone or lacquer thinner. The drip is slow enough to just keep the cloth damp, so no solvent drips ontot he ties.
However, there really is no need to use strong solvents - there's no reason track should get that dirty.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
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