Hate to be that guy myself... NO OX is NOT a cure all. There are way to many variables on track. Just to name a few....... Track manufactures: There are so many mixtures of alloys from manufacture to manufacture. Some will gum up long before another will. Environment: Is the layout in the attic? Is the layout in a spare bedroom? Is the layout in the basement ? The garage? An enclosed patio? In a shed? An RV ? A hermetically sealed room with an airlock to keep microscopic particles away from the tracks? No matter where you have it...the environmental conditions will play a bigly role on how your track is going to react to dust and 'gunk'. Wheels: Plastic or metal ? The debate still rages on as it has for years as to which is better. Again...way to many variables to say one way to take care of track is better then another. Experiment until you find what works best for your individual situation. There is NO magic cure !
Not a NO-OX believer either. Not saying it doesn't do what the experts claim it does. I've applied it, worked with it without great results. As others have mentioned, DUST is my nemesis. I push a gondola around the track AHEAD of the locos and I drag an old ROCO cleaning car BEHIND them. I also apply graphite to my rails and this by far is the key to my success. I have even applied a small amount of graphite to the pad of the ROCO car to help spread it around the layout. I do this every now and then, like before an Op Session and I haven't needed to clean my tracks for several years, all I do is run the duster and I'm done. Here is my Duster setup But as they always say, YMMV with different types of environments that we each have our layouts in.
Same here. I have had little or no success with the NO-OX. I am down to using my CMX rail cleaner with moderate to good results. I have to run that cleaner less often then others I have used. Like you DUST is not a friend !! I vacuum the rails about once a month. I do find the more often I run trains the less I have to clean the rails. I also have 2 dogs and they 'visit' me in THERR RV from time to time. Dog hair wrapping around axles at the axle cups is what drives me nuts !! It's like someone threw out an anchor on the trains !!
i have not tried the graphite thingy yet. i might give it a go when i get everything moved to new location..... i do know that dust is my enemy i just cant win that battle..
NOW this i do believe is what happens after i run the cleaning car ahead of locos....like other have said if i run them every day they work pretty good, its when i dont run them for days on end that i have the most problems... like now i have not ran trains in months like 4 or 5. , have not even looked at them. i know that for sure they will not run until i run that cleaning car first.....but im sure that after wards they will run fine...so i fact it could be the no-ox still working. i really dont know.......
But then again... Most any track treatment will still be there after the dust is removed. I have read Joe Fugates article on 'Dielectric Constant' of numerous 'solvents' used for track cleaning. It is a good read for everyone. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/mrhpub.com/2019-05-may/online/index.html?page=9 Any liquid you clean or treat your track with will also leave a 'film' or even penetrate the rails. The one thing I find interesting is there is no mention of NO-OX. The lower the # the better the product is for cleaning...or treating rail.
that is a good read and i have tried a few of those.. but they just dont last with the dust,,,IE wipe off the dust and you wipe off the coating . Also some of them made the track slippery so the wheels would spin more.....
There is an updated list by Joe that has No-Ox listed. The entire article can be found here. It adds another factor of health concerns of some of these cleaners. Those crossed out are "not ideal" after weighing in the potential health hazards, especially in an enclosed space where our layouts are often located. https://online.fliphtml5.com/buups/famw/index.html#p=11 In my opinion,, the confusion about No-Ox is that people see it as a cleaner. It's really a surface/track treatment. You need to clean the tracks first (e.g., mineral spirits) before applying No-Ox and apply it correctly. Many of the items listed are cleaners, i.e., Deoxit D5, mineral spirits, CRC contact cleaner, etc. But a few, like Wahl clipper oil is really a treatment. I've never heard of an oil being a cleaner. As a side note, take a look at this long thread on MRH. One guy sent a piece of dirty track to a lab for metallurgical analysis and got some interesting findings. The first post gives a good summary of the findings. https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/black-gunk-12186610
Seeing Mineral Spirits on that list, may I recommend the "odorless" Spirits. It will make TLOTH much happier. I use it for soaking the 50 year old grease out of old gun actions.
MK...thanxs for the update url. I have the original url saved and didn't know Joe updated the list...
I find it interesting about the Wahl Clipper OIL. People freak at the sight of the word OIL in the product name.
If you have any kind of a dust issue, then I'd suggest staying away from anything with an oil or petroleum base. Mineral Spirits and Odorless Mineral Spirits has an oil base and if left on the rails, it will attract dust and make it stick to the railhead even worse. Which is why Gasoline, Diesel, Turpentine and Goo Gone has been crossed of the list. Not too mention the health risk associated with them. I never understood why they were added to the list in the first place? If you wipe down any surface with Mineral Spirits, it will leave an oily film. Whereas Lacquer Thinner won't, Lacquer Thinner will breakdown the oil and will remove it with a good wipe. I'm not saying you should use the Lacquer Thinner instead of Mineral Spirits, just don't use the Mineral Spirits. My take away that works for me is cleaning the track with Lacquer Thinner or Acetone once if it's really dirty. And NO, I don't use much of the stuff and I don't sit in my basement huffing the stuff either. I wrap a rag around my finger and just dip the tip in the lacquer thinner or acetone, just enough to get the tip wet. If you wish to wear nitrile gloves, feel free to. After that I've wiped it down with the WD40 CONTACT CLEANER, not just plain old WD40. After it has evaporated, I applied graphite. You do not need to cover every inch of the rails with graphite or even very heavy. I use a stick of 4B, I lightly swipe about 6"-8" every three to four feet and around places where I have a lot of turnouts. Be sure to turn the track power OFF before applying it as well. Once applied, you run the locos to spread it around. The first thing I noticed was the lack of stalling and the lack of flickering from my headlights. The only time I re-apply the graphite is if it's been sitting for awhile not running anything. Then I'll use my duster train, and I may lightly swipe a few areas with graphite and I find that I'm good to go. But as they ALWAYS say: YMMV
Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I will say this though, there is a whole lot of actual proof out there that shows if No-Ox is applied properly, it will provide endless trouble free running as it significantly improves conductivity between the train wheels and track. Regardless of train room environment. I did not say that its prevents dust. I still have to vacuum every once in a while. But I definitely never have to scrub and clean my track like I did before using No-Ox. I've applied it once! Once!
I still have to vacuum. Yes. But I had to vacuum before I used No-Ox. Difference is now I Only have to vacuum. No more endless scrubbing.
I never asked No-Ox to deal with the dust. I'm fighting with the dust regardless of using No-Ox. Yes it is a testament to how good it works.
