03-16-2012, 10:57 AM
I spent my evening last night cleaning track. Good times.
I think its the first time in a long time, longer then I care to admit, that I spent a couple hours just cleaning track. ...and it shows!
I was also motivated to try a new product I picked up weeks ago, but finally got the nerve to try and use.
![[Image: SAM_0753.jpg]](http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee118/tetters73/SAM_0753.jpg)
It's called Track & Rail Cleaner "ACT 6006" (<--- whatever that means?) made by a company Aero-Car Hobby Lubricants based in Western Springs, IL, USA.
Never heard of them. There was however a website on the bottle too, http://www.aerocarlubricants.com which I have yet to check out.
Following the directions on the bottle it says to apply a small dab onto a soft cloth which is what I used, or rather the remains of an old cotton t-shirt. Then wipe off the residue with another soft cloth. After talking to guys at George's Trains including a customer who using this product they suggested that because it would be my first time using this product to buff the track with a Bright Boy to get the oxidization off the rail heads. Then I went to work in about three foot sections of the layout at a time using nothing more then the cloth and my fingers, I buffed, polished, and wiped. ( lather, rinse, repeat... )
How did it do? I think it did as well as to be expected and judging by the mess on the six rags I used to clean everything, my track work needed it. That said, the rails are not spotless and the rags were still coming up greyish/black after wiping several times. This is most likely due to the fact that I have not cleaned my track work in very, very, very, very ...long time. So I'll give it a couple of weeks and go over it all again and see if I can get the white rags to come up nearly spotless.
How does it work? Well, like Wahl Oil, it leaves a thin film on the track, after you wipe it down with a dry cloth which is supposed to help prevent oxidization. It also suspiciously smelt and felt like Wahl clipper oil, however I was assured that its not. Even though right on the bottle it says, Paraffinic Hydrocarbon, which is (surprise!) an oil. I didn't pay a lot for it, something like 8 bucks for the bottle taxes in so I'm not going to cry about it if it doesn't work and I never use it again.
All that said, I've been running some trains since then and so far no problems. I'd really like to avoid using abrasive blocks on the rails too as I'm afraid of pitting. I've also found that even though a Bright Boy makes the rail shiny, it still leaves a black film on the track as evidenced when I rub the rail with my finger after I have used it. I've been told this product is also safe to use on loco wheels, but to clean off the wheels with some rubbing alcohol otherwise your trucks will lose traction on steep grades. I'll have to give that a go, however at present I just use a cotton swab dipped in a small amount of thinner, which cleans the crud off nicely and would seem to avoid the step of applying the cleaner all together.
So, I'll revisit this again in a couple weeks and give the track another once over. I'm hoping that after the second application the rags will come near spotless and that as I continue to use the product, application times will become less frequent. Our club started using this stuff and we clean the track maybe twice a year, before our fall and spring shows.
I think its the first time in a long time, longer then I care to admit, that I spent a couple hours just cleaning track. ...and it shows!
I was also motivated to try a new product I picked up weeks ago, but finally got the nerve to try and use.
It's called Track & Rail Cleaner "ACT 6006" (<--- whatever that means?) made by a company Aero-Car Hobby Lubricants based in Western Springs, IL, USA.
Never heard of them. There was however a website on the bottle too, http://www.aerocarlubricants.com which I have yet to check out.
Following the directions on the bottle it says to apply a small dab onto a soft cloth which is what I used, or rather the remains of an old cotton t-shirt. Then wipe off the residue with another soft cloth. After talking to guys at George's Trains including a customer who using this product they suggested that because it would be my first time using this product to buff the track with a Bright Boy to get the oxidization off the rail heads. Then I went to work in about three foot sections of the layout at a time using nothing more then the cloth and my fingers, I buffed, polished, and wiped. ( lather, rinse, repeat... )
How did it do? I think it did as well as to be expected and judging by the mess on the six rags I used to clean everything, my track work needed it. That said, the rails are not spotless and the rags were still coming up greyish/black after wiping several times. This is most likely due to the fact that I have not cleaned my track work in very, very, very, very ...long time. So I'll give it a couple of weeks and go over it all again and see if I can get the white rags to come up nearly spotless.
How does it work? Well, like Wahl Oil, it leaves a thin film on the track, after you wipe it down with a dry cloth which is supposed to help prevent oxidization. It also suspiciously smelt and felt like Wahl clipper oil, however I was assured that its not. Even though right on the bottle it says, Paraffinic Hydrocarbon, which is (surprise!) an oil. I didn't pay a lot for it, something like 8 bucks for the bottle taxes in so I'm not going to cry about it if it doesn't work and I never use it again.
All that said, I've been running some trains since then and so far no problems. I'd really like to avoid using abrasive blocks on the rails too as I'm afraid of pitting. I've also found that even though a Bright Boy makes the rail shiny, it still leaves a black film on the track as evidenced when I rub the rail with my finger after I have used it. I've been told this product is also safe to use on loco wheels, but to clean off the wheels with some rubbing alcohol otherwise your trucks will lose traction on steep grades. I'll have to give that a go, however at present I just use a cotton swab dipped in a small amount of thinner, which cleans the crud off nicely and would seem to avoid the step of applying the cleaner all together.
So, I'll revisit this again in a couple weeks and give the track another once over. I'm hoping that after the second application the rags will come near spotless and that as I continue to use the product, application times will become less frequent. Our club started using this stuff and we clean the track maybe twice a year, before our fall and spring shows.