Anyone familiar with this method? Atlas Model Railroad Co. - Track cleaning cars, and wheel cleaning? How do you 'burnish' as the thread specifies?
Use a stainless steel washer to rub flat along all your track. The best follow up to all this is to treat the rail with NO-ox ID-A, http://electrical-insulators-and-copper-ground-bars.com/no-ox-id-a.html or http://www.sourcetelsupply.com/cata...d=131&osCsid=fe14a1efd3c97e6192cbf63e9d768ab6 or http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/171-226 If you order the bar mills it includes application instructions and a thorough explanation of why it is so effective. If you order from the others PM me and I will send you the same exact instructions from the original source. After the no-ox you will clean your track a few times more in your lifetime.
spidge - is this the method you use? burnish then apply the No-OX? if sohow often do you clean your track now compared to before?
Hi, Darrell, who submitted the "Gleam" method on the other boards thread has it posted on my railroads website as another way to clean track. He does provide some more info on the GD&R website (see the bottom of the Track Cleaning page). One thing you need to do, no matter what method you use, is you have to also clean the wheels on everything or you will just transfer the dirt back onto the track. Gary
What if you have newly laid track that has never been cleaned. Do you still need to do the fine sanding and burnishing or can you just apply the no ox? Daryl
I did the gleam method, burnished, then applied the no-ox. My track cleaning duties currently consist of vacuuming from time to time and its been 6 or 7 months since I have used anything on the rails. You should be able to get away with only sanding any soldered areas then burnish the rest. Remember to allow the no-ox to sit after application for 24-48 hours as it treats/penetrates the rails. After sitting simply wipe the rails with a dry cloth or scrap t-shirt. Don't forget the program track and ovals. Also after all this don't ruin your efforts by not cleaning the wheels of your locos and rolling stock. I like to have metal wheels but still have some plastic wheels (static catchers) on the layout. No-ox also works great for any moving contacts like the wheel and truck wipers. You may find that those poor runners now are among your favorites. Also remember to use a very thin film especially on painted track as any that ooses onto the paint will remove the paint and the paint will not stick to the treated part of the rail. Let me know your results.
I don't know. I use it. I just wondered if anyone else here uses the No-Ox method. This is the second time I've seen it suggested here, but only a couple of people have ever had anything to say about it. I incredibly reluctant to put something on my rails that only one of two people on Trainboard have even tried. I just wondered, because it sounds so great.
I'll stay with 91% iso-propyl alcohol which is "tried and true". The 91% iso-propyl alcohol also doesn't leave any residue and there is no wheel slippage after cleaning your track with it.
I been doing basically the same thing with a few little differences. I hit the rails initially with a 400 grit sandpaper, then go over it it with 1500 grit. You can "feel" the rails smoothing out as you go over it and it becomes polished. In order to reach hard to get at spots, I took the handle of a disposible razor and epoxied a small piece of masonite to it. The masonite is just a bit wider than the gauge of the rails and maybe 1/4" for the other dimension, I then attached a slightly larger piece of sandpaper with spray adhesive and trimmed it to the same size as the pad. After initially going over the rails with 400 grit after I ballasted it, I just touch it up once in a while with the 1500 grit. I then go over the rails with a product called "DeoxIt" by Caig Industries (www.caig.com) using a Q-tip. It sounds to be very similiar to No-Ox. It is pricey but a small bottle will probably last me the rest of my days. I also do the same thing to my loco wheels by removing the body shell, flipping it on its back, applying power and then burnishing the tread surfaces of the wheels with the 1500 grit, following it up with a light application of DeoxIt. This method has had a profound effect on performance, especially with my Kato RS loco's. I think this is because I took off whatever it is they use to blacken the wheels . My RSC-2 used to gunk up very quickly and I was frustrated to the point of seldom running it. It is now a smooth and steady performer, my new favorite. I am pretty picky about loco performance with most of my operations involving switching and this has really increased my enjoyment of running trains. Tom L. Milepost 84.75 BNSF Front Range Sub
There is a major ongoing discussion about NO-OX on another forum. People there seem to like it. NO-OX overview and score card - Jeff
Just posted this evening in the Inspection Pit of this forum: a great description of the Gleam method. Track Cleaning - Page 4 - TrainBoard.com
These threads seem to confirm that there is no easy way to clean track. I use elbow grease and bright boys and other burnishing tools to take care of any miniscule nicks and grooves. With a sealed room, I've never had a problem with dirty track, except for oxidation. Oxidation requires elbow grease to remove.
But if you could avoid the oxidation to you would. This is what no-ox will do for you and in your sealed room may last up to 5 years. There is a guy on Nscale.org, http://www.nscale.org/defaulteng.htm That has gone 4-1/4 years without cleaning his track except for vacuuming. OK, I will order a tube or 2 and send free, yes free samples that will do a sizeable layout to anyone who askes. Give me a couple days to get some.
The easiest way I find to keep the track clean is to run the trains regularly. But of course you have to start with clean track and wheels. When that does not work due to not running the trains I resort to cleaning the track and wheels as described on the GD&R website on the "Track Cleaning" page, this takes most of the elbow work out of the job. Gary
