Track Cleaning - Again

[MK]

Emphasis on "again." 

It's really an update from the original with new items added and some old ones scratched off.  So again is appropriate.

[Chris333]

Mineral spirits at work. I'd work on a metal table and wipe it with MS. Would flash dry, but leave an oily film that would come off with solvent cleaner. So if most of this stuff uses MS as a base and MS is an oil. We are right back to putty clipper oil on the rails 

[MK]

Interesting.  My mineral spirit (nothing special, I THINK I got it at Home Depot years ago) feels oily and slippery on my hands when wet.  But after it dries 100% it left no residue on my hands.  My skin turned white'ish but that's because it removed all the natural oil.

Mineral spirit is known to be an excellent degreaser so leaving an oily film behind would be counter intuitive.

I wonder if the mineral spirit you use has additives.

[Chris333]

All I got was a bunch of wood working sites. Some say not to use mineral spirits because it leaves an oily residue. One said it didn't and that may be because it was an ecofriendly (odorless) version.   

[MK]

All I got was a bunch of wood working sites. Some say not to use mineral spirits because it leaves an oily residue. One said it didn't and that may be because it was an ecofriendly (odorless) version.   

I think we need to do an extensive study on track cleaning with JUST mineral spirits and publish an article.   

I don't think mine is oderless because it reeks but I'll take a look later on what the gallon can says.

[Bendtracker1]

Mineral Spirits, Paint Thinner, Naptha and White Gas are derived from petroleum products.
All will leave an oily residue to some extent.
If you don't want an oily residue, then use Lacquer thinner, Acetone or even MEK. (But be careful using these as they are toxic and extremely flammable and should be used with care.)
 
If your skin is turning white after cleaning, then there's a good chance that you're probably using lacquer thinner.  Lacquer thinner will remove/dissolve the oil.

[peteski]

Mineral Spirits, Paint Thinner, Naptha and White Gas are derived from petroleum products.
All will leave an oily residue to some extent.
If you don't want an oily residue, then use Lacquer thinner, Acetone or even MEK. (But be careful using these as they are toxic and extremely flammable and should be used with care.)

That disagrees with my experience.  Are you a chemist?
*PURE* Naphtha completely evaporates from a piece of clean glass (just like Acetone does).  I use Naphtha for most of my loco mechanism cleaning.  But if it is contaminated with lubricants, (as in after cleaning a mechanism), then it will leave oily residue since Naphtha fully evaporates leaving the oils dissolved in it behind).

If your skin is turning white after cleaning, then there's a good chance that you're probably using lacquer thinner.  Lacquer thinner will remove/dissolve the oil.

Again, not correct.  Any liquid solvent which can dissolve oils (including skin oils).  In my own experience (like MK's), skin of my fingers will turn white after contact with Naphtha, Mineral Spirits, Acetone, 99% IPA, Denatured Alcohol, MEK, Toluene, Xylene, and any blends of those solvents like Lacquer Thinner.

Nowadays (when I'm older and know better) I wear Nitrile gloves when I know my hands will be exposed to any of those chemicals, and try to minimize contact as the gloves still allow some of those stronger chemicals to permeate through the rubber.

What I wrote is based on personal experience. As usual, the Internet is full of conflicting and often incorrect or partially correct info. Such a wasteland of information!

[Chris333]

I remember a guy who used to work with lasers told me that alcohol would leave streaks on his safety glasses. So he figured out the right amount of water to mix with it so it would be streak free.

[Point353]