track and wheel cleaning...

[Flatrat]

I've been using a rail cleaning solution i got at my LHS from Woodland Scenics. It works acceptably well enough but I wonder what it's made of. Nothing on the label indicates its active ingredients other than to say that children shouldn't drink it, etc.

Am I paying a lot of money for alcohol and nice packaging? That might be my guess.

Cleaning the track is all well and good but what is a good way to clean the wheels on locos? If i brush on cleaning solution with a paint brush or toothbrush I think I'm only cleaning the parts of the wheels visible when the loco is inverted in my hand.

How do other folks clean oils and oxidation completely from the wheels of their engines?

Thanks,

Scott

[DKS]

Although I don't mean to sound disrespectful of WS, a number of their products are high-priced containers of otherwise cheap materials. For example, Scenic Cement is just thick white glue, which is available from other sources (such as Aleene's Tacky Glue) at a fraction of the cost. I have no clue what's in their track cleaner, but it's a good bet you can get something much cheaper. For myself, I've used rubbing alcohol to clean track and wheels for many years. It's a relatively benign solvent that does the job well. I apply it libeerally to a paper towel to clean rails. For wheel cleaning, I lay a piece of paper towel across the top of a scrap of flex, and soak half of the towel with alcohol. After rolling the car back and forth in the wet half, I repeat on the dry half to remove the remaining gunk. Locomotives get a similar treatment, except I'll do one truck at a time, powering the other truck to spin the wheels.

[Chris333]

I remember Robert Ray once saying that he cleans his goggles at work with alcohol. It would leave a small amount residue so he would thin it with like 20% water.

[MVW]

Plain ol' 91% rubbing alcohol for me. For track, I'll cut a 1" loop off an old tube sock, stretch it around a wooden shim, splash a little alcohol on the material and start scrubbing. When the material gets cruddy, just advance the loop of material around the shim so you have a clean section at the edge.

For wheels, same method as DKS.

Jim

[DKS]

I remember Robert Ray once saying that he cleans his goggles at work with alcohol. It would leave a small amount residue so he would thin it with like 20% water.

He ought to try Windex. It's made for things you see through.

[peteski]

Pure alcohol shouldn't leave any resudue.  Even the drug stove rubbing alcohol (91% isopropyl) shoudl evaporate with no resudue unless it has some additives (besides just 9% water).

As war as the Woodland Scenics rail cleaning solution goes, you can contact them and request a MSDS. Companies that manufacture/sell chemicals should provide MSDS on request. That will give you an idea what is in that liquid.

Since I'm one of Atlas Forum refugees, here is a pointed to some relevant info (yes, this topic is repeatedly discussed on forums).
http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=53202. It shows what I use for wheel cleaning.

If you feel like more reading, check out http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=66203 . On the bottom of the first page I posted bunch links to even more info!   

[mmagliaro]

+1 for the 91% alcohol.  It is much better than the cheaper 70% stuff.  I just use it on a paper towel, wiped down the railhead, as
others have suggested.  (It works better as a wetting agent in scenery glue too!)

[Nato]

       Isopropal on a cloth or on cotton swabs works quite well. Track cleaning cars by various makers,mostly Aztec and one Tomix/Atlas car for heavy duty jobs.For wheel cleaning (car wheels) go to a jewrley supply store and purchase a good Ultra Sonic Cleaner. I clean car wheels both plastic and metal,remove from cars, put in cleaner with cleaning fluid and run cleaner.I do about 30 wheels at once. Put on paper towel to dry then reinstall. For locomotive wheels get a (hard to find) Trix Locomotive Wheel Cleaneror the similar unit from Micro Trains.These run off  track power,use clip leads to connect to rails,then place loco in unit and clean wheels. You can take a paper towel (thin one) soak it in Isopropal,lay over the rails,put locomotive on towel over track,hold down and apply power. This removes alot of crud. Be careful with locomotives that have traction tires, or wheels coated with Bull Frog Snot. Too much pressure on track could damage the tires or remove Snot coating. Nate Goodman (Nato).

[Scottl]

I use coffee filters for the wiping with alchol- they are strong and lint-free.