Major toilet issue has caused some green corrosion on my Division point yard entry and turnout ladder. I am looking at losing 7 pieces of Atlas code 83 flex track and 8 turnouts! Is there any reliable way to clean this stuff off? Will baking soda or a baking soda and Vinegar misture work? Any experiences? Pretty bad on some pieces and a few turnouts. not so bad on some others. I'm going to rename the Division Point Bad Water Junction!
I took all the track off the layout and threw away the roadbed. I have sealed the plywood sub road bed prior to beginning reconstruction. ANy other thoughts other than plumbing repair (Done!) and moving the bench work (i Can't!)
Good part is it was some of the first work I did 3 years ago when I got started so i can make it better. IF I can find som Track etc!!!
I've used white vinegar to clean cat urine off track. It worked but did require several treatments.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
You need to be more specific as to what happened, normal sewer backup should not have turned NS track green usually unless it sat in that condition for quite awhile (bought some second hand unused flex that had that problem due to standing water on concrete (chemical reaction), bright boy cleaned it up but was a lot of work so just cut off the ends. Maybe something like CLR would work?
Over a period of time (a year may be more) a toilet was losing the seal at the back. I have an older special needs son who is also diabetic. His "aim" is not good and urine was dripping around the toilet through the basement floor down the cross beams on to the layout. Eventually, The toilet was replaced and resealed. I cleaned up what I saw but now 18 months later the crossion is on the back side of the track and is noticable in all rail joiners and Turnout rails. I think the liquid got into the cork road bed, was soaked up and "spread" much further than the original "spill". My layout is still under construction and operation is scant. I noticed I was having stalling problems and detected the crossion on the back of the flex track
Hopefully the "narrative" will provide some additional thoughts. Jeff
If you have the track off the layout, I would go for good old hot soapy water in the kitchen sink. Or a trip thru the dishwasher. Scrub with a tooth brush. Rinse in fresh water. Dry well. Outdoors in the sun is good. This ought to get rid of any corrosive liquids or deposits that might cause further corrosion. To deal with any remaining corrosion, I'd go with supermarket brass polish. Nickel silver is mostly copper and I forget what else to give it a white luster, but it's not that much different than brass (copper and zinc) and brass polish will clean it up.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
dstarrNickel silver is mostly copper and I forget what else to give it a white luster
Put one piece through the dishwasher and see what happens. I know a guy that puts rolling stock and track through the DW and it blast all the old ballast off so he can reuse it. He does the same with rolling stock. He takes the trucks off and the DW removes old weathering powder and any cheap acrylic paint that might be on them. Just make sure to do a test run with one piece only.
Good luck.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."