I recently cleaned some very dirty track with a brillo pad and rubbing alcohol. The middle rail now appears to have a little rust in some spots and engines are not running very well with lots of sparking. My guess is the scrubbing affected the black coating on the rail. Obviously I do not want to buy new track and lay new track. Any ideas on what to do to clean and keep clean and avoid surface rust?

Ouch,man NEVER use a Brillo pad or anything metalic. It can get into the running gear or magnetic axles. The track still may not be clean, if its real bad use some lite grit sand paper and then clean with the alcohol. If the black comes off that is ok it will actually give you better contact.

I use GooGone with great results.

...keep the rails polished... [no pun intended]

David,
Just did the same but used a scotch bright pad. To make matters worse I ballasted the track and cause the center rail in spots to rust as well. Once the black coating is gone on GG track rust will soon start to set in.
I would clean the center rail with some goo gone or rubbing alcohol, then treat the rail with some WD-40 or gun cleaner sold at ACE or ACO Hardware(I posted this issue earlier). This will minimize the rust or oxidation that will try to return. This is GG's weakness.
Oh and allot of forum members suggested to install a de-humidifier and run it daily during these humid months. Saves the track and preserves your collection.

My HO gauge friends got me to try automatic transmission fluid in order to keep track from tarnishing. In turn, this greatly improves conductivity. It also works on three rail layouts.

I use it on my 0 gauge layout, but it possibly got to some traction tires - not sure. But it sure breaks loose dirt. I have seen better TMCC operation since it was applied. Rails and pickup rollers stay bright, almost eliminating flickering lights and loss-of-signal "jumps". I continue to use it, but on the center rail only. Use it sparingly - one application lasts months.

I do use it on all three rails of my standard gauge layout, on which run only traditionally powered engines and no traction tires.

Last time I looked, a Brillo Pad is made out of steel wool. Never, never, use steel wool on your track or around your trains. Little slivers of steel will fall off of it and cause big time troubles with your trains. You should also not use sand paper because some of it also has metalic grit on it. Use synthetic scrubbers like Scotch Brite pads. I seldom use liquids on my tracks and only on those I can do by hand and wipe them totally dry. I occasonally use some alcohol. Before laying track I clean it with WD-40 and wipe it dry. In my homemade track cleaning car I only use a dry Scotch Brite pad.
.....
Dennis

David

1st thing I would recommend that you get a magnet and pass it over all the track to pick up any leftover steel wool around the track. All it will take is, as those above have said,for some of them to get into the gears of your loco. These peaces of steel could cause a short if they touch the center rail to a outter rail and could damage the electronics in an engine.
I use only a Scotch pad and then wipe with a clean rag.

Sorry I was wrong. I did not use a brillo pad. I used scotch brite which says it is non scratching and is not metallic. got the idea to use it from Denis here so I was surprised to see the issues it caused. I will look into the transmission fluid.

Is denatured alcohol a good track cleaner?

quote:

My guess is the scrubbing affected the black coating on the rail.

The very first thing I do when buying track with blackened center rail (Atlas or MTH, for example), even before I install it on the layout, is remove the blackening from the top surface of that center rail. I remove the blackening with a track cleaning eraser, followed-up with a wipe-down with a track cleaning fluid (I use LGB Smoke and Cleaning Fluid--expensive stuff, but it does the job very well).

Some have mentioned using Wahl Clipper oil also.

There is a product called Conducta lube. As the name implies it is an oil with conductive properties. Can probably be found at most LHS.

Andy - (PRRfan). Yes. Denatured alcohol is a good track cleaner. It is flamable so keep the windows open and fans going and use only a small amount at a time. Only use it on a rag yourself i.e. not in a track cleaning car.
.....
Dennis

I use the cheap rubbing alcohol sold in Walgreens on a cloth. It works fine on my Ross track and takes the grime off with one pass.

Thanks, Dennis. I just thought I would check because I tried it on my new Atlas track and it seemed to work well.

wd40 and transmission fluid solved it for now. We'll see how it holds up over time. Thanks for the input. Trains were running nice and slow again without stalling.

quote:

Originally posted by win86:
My HO gauge friends got me to try automatic transmission fluid in order to keep track from tarnishing. In turn, this greatly improves conductivity. It also works on three rail layouts.

I use it on my 0 gauge layout, but it possibly got to some traction tires - not sure. But it sure breaks loose dirt. I have seen better TMCC operation since it was applied. Rails and pickup rollers stay bright, almost eliminating flickering lights and loss-of-signal "jumps". I continue to use it, but on the center rail only. Use it sparingly - one application lasts months.

I do use it on all three rails of my standard gauge layout, on which run only
traditionally powered engines and no traction tires.

I agree with this post. Many rubber formulations will absorb most oils, causing the rubber to both soften & swell. To be safe, I do not use any oil-containing track cleaners, but if I did (because I have traction tire equipped engines), I would limit it to the center rail.

Andy (PRR) -

I have used denatured alcohol for many cleaning chores, because it's an excellent oil and grease cutter and overall cleaner. I use q-tips dipped in it to clean the crud off the engine and rolling stock wheels. It is also okay to use on the traction tires.

One additional warning besides the flammability issue - handle it with caution due to its poisonous nature. The can reads: "Contains Ethanol denatured with Methanol. Reports have associated repeated and prolonged over-exposure to solvents with neurological and other physiological damage. Can not be made non-poisonous."

It can be absorbed into your body through open cuts or open areas around your fingernails, but again it does make the "repeated and prolonged" statement, which I don't think applies in the track cleaning task. I have started slipping on a rubber glove when I saturate a cloth and scrub the rails with it. When I use it barehanded, I make sure I wash my hands thoroughly when done. I have been using it for years, and it hasn't affected uh hasn't affected uh hasn't affected me at all.

Mike

Mike

Transmission fluid is also a good and safe paint remover. Unlike acid. I have a container large enough to have complete emersion of the toy I am restoring. I pour enough transmission fluid to cover the item and usually in a week the entire toy is paint free. However, over time the transmission fluid looses the stuff that makes it a good paint remover. So there is a shelf life.

Conductive grease might also be a center rail coating that will reduce the oxidation we call rust.

Guns are "blued" to defeat oxidation. One can purchase gun bluing. Might be something to check as the bluing will maske the bare metal shine which is the point of having a blackened center rail in the first place. Perhaps bluing is more electrical conductive than the anodized coating a manufacturer uses to coat the center rail. I think gun bluing is a liquid that is painted on cleaned steel. Bluing is not very thick. If you have used guns much, you know that it does wear off. That would be a good point for a center rail as the wear would be a thin line on the very top of the rail.