Cleaning various type of track

[YmeBP]

Hello all, i've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to create some powered track cleaner for my tracks!!

So far i've tried emory paper, scotch brite and a whetstone. My last attempt is to put a cloth buffing wheel on my bench grinder and use some emory paste on it. Well that doesn't work at all.

I ordered some track cleaning fluid from Toytrainheaven but it will probably show up in 2008 didn't realize how long they take to ship .

Has anyone come up w/ a little less elbow grease intesive way of cleaning track?!

 

[LongIslandTom]

The problem with all of those things you used is that they are very abrasive. They scuff up the track, and the deep scratches causes them to suck up dirt even quicker.

You should use a non-abrasive cleaning process, such as track cleaning solution on a chamois or soft cloth.

If your track is already badly scuffed-up, you need to polish them up and get rid of as much of the surface scratches as possible. Best way to do that is with a dremel rotary tool-- Put a rubber buffing wheel on it and buff away the deep scratches, then use a chamois cloth wheel with red ("rouge") polishing compound to give the rails a mirror-smooth gloss finish.

Hope this helps.

 

[YmeBP]

Awwwwww crap!! I scuffed all my tracks becuase i thought that was good ! :cry:

hmm o.k. well once i get the layout nailed down i'll have to go over each section w/ the dremel. Thanks for the heads up!!

The problem with all of those things you used is that they are very abrasive. They scuff up the track, and the deep scratches causes them to suck up dirt even quicker.

You should use a non-abrasive cleaning process, such as track cleaning solution on a chamois or soft cloth.

If your track is already badly scuffed-up, you need to polish them up and get rid of as much of the surface scratches as possible. Best way to do that is with a dremel rotary tool-- Put a rubber buffing wheel on it and buff away the deep scratches, then use a chamois cloth wheel with red ("rouge") polishing compound to give the rails a mirror-smooth gloss finish.

Hope this helps.

 

[YmeBP]

wow!! that works great!! it took all the dark oxidation right off the brass. Of course i've already ruined my ns which is what i cleaned first .

iput the soft buffing wheel on the dremel and use that brown pasty stuff on it and it's working like a charm!!

Do i need to clean it after i've run it under the dremel? Will the brown stuff hurt my trains?

 

[MasonJar]

You should get any of the "brown stuff" or any other residue from cleaning products off your track before running trains. Anything that's left only serves to shorten the time between cleanings...

Andrew

 

[Biased turkey]

with red ("rouge") polishing compound

Hope this helps.

LongIslandTom, could you please be more specific and mention some brand name ( s )( if possible available in Canada ).

 

[LongIslandTom]

Basically any jeweler's rouge polishing compound will work.. Stuff like this: http://www.hobbytool.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=66

You should be able to get it at most arts and crafts stores that carries jewelry-making items.

And yes, you need to make sure none of that stuff stays on the rails after you have finished buffing the rails to a high shine.

That concludes my crash course in Metal Finishing 101.

Hope this helps!

 

[YmeBP]

Basically any jeweler's rouge polishing compound will work.. Stuff like this: http://www.hobbytool.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=66

You should be able to get it at most arts and crafts stores that carries jewelry-making items.

And yes, you need to make sure none of that stuff stays on the rails after you have finished buffing the rails to a high shine.

That concludes my crash course in Metal Finishing 101.

Hope this helps!

I actually used little pieces of the pink foam to clean the crud off the tracks. I also ran into a small problem w/ the switches the buffing wheel chews up the little plastic bit between the x in the switch .

I wonder is there such a thing as a rubber wheel for a bench grinder?

 

[LongIslandTom]

Yep.. Gotta be careful of the plastic parts.. What isn't abrasive to metal can be very abrasive to plastic.

There should be rubber wheels for bench grinders... I remember using one in high school metal shop class. Those bench grinders are so powerful (they got something like a 1/2hp motor, right?) you can actually grind into metal even with a rubber wheel, so be careful.

 

[Biased turkey]

OK, I know what to look for now.
I thought you were talking about car polish, or silver flatware.
Thanks