Spilled soldering flux
#1
I knocked over a bottle of rosin flux today. It landed on a bit of track and flowed onto the Homasote and onto some fabric and the rug.
It also got on some tools and my fingers.
I managed to get a lot of it into a container. I got it off my hands with soap and hot water, alcohol, and talcum powder. Also used a bunch of cleaning wipes.

So what do I do with the rest? A lot is sitting (and gelling?) between the ties of the track. Is the track and roadbed now toast?

Dayle ran the curtains through the washer and the stuff is still in them; they were thrown out and replaced with spares.

Can I paint over what's left?
David
Moderato ma non troppo
Perth & Exeter Railway Company
Esquesing & Chinguacousy Radial Railway
In model railroading, there are between six and two hundred ways of performing a given task.
Most modellers can get two of them to work.
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#2
Liquid rosin flux should dry hard enough that you might be able to scrape off a lot of it but it could remain sticky for a while before drying hard. One thing that cleans up rosin flux is acetone, but then you have to be careful of getting it around some plastics. If you want to try to paint over it you might try putting on a primer first. When we had our business, we did a lot of soldering, PC boards, wires and even some connectors, and we used flux that was water soluble. Cleanup was easy, just rinse away the flux with water and a brush. I kept some of it and also solder with water soluble flux, and that's all I still use.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#3
I used Isopropyl Alcohol on some of the tools and much stuff came off. The pliers will be tricky as some of it seeped into the joint; also the handles get a bit sticky again.
I'm going to let the track set and ten ballast it. The ties are shiny, but I'll either paint or put matte medium on them. I'm seeing how the m.m. does on the Homasote.
David
Moderato ma non troppo
Perth & Exeter Railway Company
Esquesing & Chinguacousy Radial Railway
In model railroading, there are between six and two hundred ways of performing a given task.
Most modellers can get two of them to work.
Reply
#4
Yeah, alcohol can work, but takes a lot more effort than acetone and won't do as good a job. Still, it's a lot safer to use. Good luck on your cleanup.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#5
Don, I don't quite trust acetone on plastics and rubber.

I think the matte medium/scenic cement coating has worked for some of it. Didn't get time as we had an energy audit of the house today.
David
Moderato ma non troppo
Perth & Exeter Railway Company
Esquesing & Chinguacousy Radial Railway
In model railroading, there are between six and two hundred ways of performing a given task.
Most modellers can get two of them to work.
Reply
#6
BR60103 Wrote:Don, I don't quite trust acetone on plastics and rubber.

I think the matte medium/scenic cement coating has worked for some of it. Didn't get time as we had an energy audit of the house today.

Yes, you have to be careful around plastic with acetone, but it evaporates quickly and if you're careful, it doesn't have time to do damage. So if alcohol works, that's a much better option. My only concern is if there's any flux residue it might bleed through the matte medium after a while.

I can envision your pain, it sounds so much like something that would happen to me, and that's scary...
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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