EFFORTLESS CLEANING TRACK!

[daleks04]

hi, new way of cleaning ur track! AND EASILY!

WD40!!

SIMPLY SPRAY ONT KITCHEN TOWEL, AND RUB ON TRACK! PAIN FREE, AND EFFORTLESS!!

[Sprintex]

And being oil-based will leave a nice greasy residue that will lessen traction and attract more dirt

Better using Isopropyl Alcohol.


Paul

[Roger (RJ)]

And then you are forever trying to clean it off because your track and wheels get muckier quicker than they ever did before. DO NOT USE WD40 ON MODEL RAILWAYS. It leaves a greasy film behind which attracts dirt. It should be kept in the garage or workshop, not in the railway room.
The best thing for cleaning track and wheels is IPA (Iso Propyl Alcohol), a pure cleaning solvent. The second best thing is (IMHO) methylated spirits which I have used without problems for years.

[sishades]

YOU MUST NEVER USE WD40 ON MODEL RAILWAYS.

This is the absolute number 1 golden rule. Now read the above rule again and obey without question.

[son of triangman]

I agree WD40 is a no, no. Don't use it on motors and in particular Hornby ringfield gears either. It has a tendancy to soften the plastic over prolonged use and make the gears so soft that you can bend them into fantastic shades, not good. It can also make some plastics brittle. For model railway use it's pretty useless.

[TerryB]

WD40 is what it's title implies ................Water Dispersant.
IPA is available from most good motoring accessory shops ....just look for "Electrical Switchcleaner" ....[and beware using it on loco's ....it can sometimes leave a white deposit] ....although if you've used WD40 on your loco,a good dose of IPA is what I'd recommend ....ASAP.

T.

[Flashbang]

hi, new way of cleaning ur track! AND EASILY!

WD40!!

SIMPLY SPRAY ONT KITCHEN TOWEL, AND RUB ON TRACK! PAIN FREE, AND EFFORTLESS!!

Absolutely one of the worse tips ever! Sorry, but WD40 is the model railways No1 enemy!!
Of course if you really want loads of oily muck spread everywhere or you like your traction tyres rotting and falling off or breaking into pieces, then by all means go ahead and use it.
But for those who want to maintain their locos and rolling stock and not ruin them, use only lubricants sold by model shops made especially for the job.

For rail cleaning, use a track rubber, or a piece of Hardboard cut a little wider than the track gauge and used rough side down and follow up with a little IPA applied via a lint free cloth or via a special track cleaning wagon - Dapol or CMX etc.

[Peterm]

So, waddaya think then fella's ? not such a good idea ? I'd never have guessed

Just so's there's no mistake....... keep that stuff away from your railway.

[sishades]

Just so's there's no mistake....... keep that stuff away from your railway.

Do this in the same way as not putting sand into your cars petrol tank!!

[boxbrownie]

It has its place.......in smoke units, try it, you'll like it........but before you do I'll mention I would only ever use it outdoors in my LGB locos, I wouldn't want to breath the stuff in a confined room, so I guess its a no no as well then but makes bkloody great smoke fluid!

[son of triangman]

3 in 1 and WD40 cause damage to smoke units, I wouldn't recommend them as a smoke oil either. You get deposits of gunk and both have a habit of eating into the insulation of smoke unit elements, WD40 isn't an oil for a start, it's a synthetic man made lubricant and water dispersant. Baby oil also eats into the insulation of elements as well due to the impurities in the oil. My advice is leave 3 in 1 and WD40 in the tool box where it belongs, they have little or no use for model railways.

[boxbrownie]

3 in 1 and WD40 cause damage to smoke units, I wouldn't recommend them as a smoke oil either. You get deposits of gunk and both have a habit of eating into the insulation of smoke unit elements, WD40 isn't an oil for a start, it's a synthetic man made lubricant and water dispersant. Baby oil also eats into the insulation of elements as well due to the impurities in the oil. My advice is leave 3 in 1 and WD40 in the tool box where it belongs, they have little or no use for model railways.

I have been using WD40 in my LGB smoke units for over 12 years with no ill effect....they still smoke great, better than if using the LGB smoke oil. I have only ever had to replace one unit due to overheating when it was new.....using LGB smoke fluid , but I do not beleive for one moment it was anything to do with the LGB oil, just a faulty unit failing in early days of operation.

Also WD40 works very well to keep my LGB points free after the same amount of time in the garden, no effects on the plastic sleepers so far. I have about a 130 foot run of track using standard LGB fishplates and joiners, just injected a dollop of copperslip into the fishplate when first layed and never so far had any electrical problems.

But I agree not to use 3in1.....way too thick and impure for models, better leave that for garden gate hinges, here I use a synthetic watch oil on all my locos and mechanisms, works a treat.

[son of triangman]

Sounds like you may have been lucky David, perhaps in larger scale the smoke unit elements are less fussy. Certainly in smaller scales such as OO WD40 is a killer of smoke units and just about anything else.

Ringfield gears seem to come off worse with WD40 it makes them either very pliable(like putty) over time or brittle depending on what mix of plastic is used in the factory at the time of manufacturer.

I had a secondhand late 1970's Hornby ringfield King in stock recently, the loco had been lubricated with WD40 all it's life by it's previous owner, the valve gear and rods were badly stained and gunked up with the stuff, and the ringfield motor gears were like putty, traction tyres were like dust, the motor was a complete mess fully of carbon dust and gunk, it was a shame as the loco still had a perfect inner tray and box complete with it's instructions, it looked like the owner had put the box away in storage after purchase. It took a major strip down to the components overhaul and some new motor brushes and springs, tyres and gears to sort the beast. Runs lovely now after two days work getting the gunk and grime off the loco!

About the worst I have seen with smokers is the use of car oil, had a Tri-ang Brit come in that had been used with car engine oil, the body was bady stained with the oil, the smoke unit element needless to say was kaput, the felt wadding was fit only for the bin and took a week of soaking in IPA and fairy liquid to release the oil, and then another week to rinse and then another week to dry out, and the whole loco had even been lubricated with the stuff so was totally gunked up, took a month of free afternoons to sort that one out but it made a nice loco, eventually. The staining on the body was the worst but a little tlc with a beeswax polish slowly getting rid of the dirt did the job.

[poliss]

What cleaning fluid does the largest model railway exhibition in the world (Miniatur Wunderland) use? Answer: none. They use only Roco track rubbers and vacuum cleaners on their 12 kilometers of track.

Here's what they say.
"The reason why we dry-clean is also quite simple: Any fluid leaves some residue on the tracks and the chance to completely dry the track is minimal. Damp track, however, is a magnet for dirt and dust which in turn is picked up by the engines and that results in higher maintenance of rolling stock. We tried it and had to state that some wagons picked up that much dirt that the wheels didn't turn anymore. Some engines just barely were able to pick up current due to dirty wheel boxes (especially the American ones)."

Here's a video of them cleaning the track. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGbx4ceLnSA

[hobby boy]

why don't you get a hornby track cleaner coach or the dapol one that has motorised brushes. That way it will clean itself. Anyway i thought wd-40 melted the sleapers?

Andrew