# How to clean corrosion from wheels & track?



## fireball 440

What do you use to clean the metal wheels and track for better performance? I would imagine using some liquid chemical and a q-tip or similar applicator to clean the surfaces up?


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## tjcruiser

Lots of opinions / options here. My 2-cents ...

I really like how GooGone works to clean all types of greasy gunk. I usually follow the GooGone cleaning with a light alcohol wipedown.

If your track (or wheels) are old and oxidized, throw a mild ScotchBrite pad into the mix. Do NOT use sandpaper or steel wool on track, wheels, etc.

Regards,

TJ


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## fireball 440

All things I have in the house already perfect! Thanks for the quick reply TJ.


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## MattyVoodoo

Isopropyl alcohol and a q-tip work very well too. Great job removing dirt, and won't harm plastic at all.


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## tkruger

I use a brite boy. Looks like an eraser.


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## Reckers

I recommend a light, crisp, chilled chardonnay with some brie and Bremner Wafer crackers: they have a mild flavor and don't detract from the interaction of the wine and the cheese on the palate. Oh, and all that Googone, isopropyl, Scotchbrite and Briteboy stuff, too!


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## fireball 440

I'm more of a cheap beer man myself but last night I took some hydrogen peroxide out of the cabinet and used a q-tip to scrub all the oxidation off my engine (which hasn't been used in 20 years. It works great now awesome! Any cheap tricks to get even more performance? I recently acquired my old HO set from my parents basement and can't wait to get back into railroading!


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## Reckers

fireball 440 said:


> I'm more of a cheap beer man myself but last night I took some hydrogen peroxide out of the cabinet and used a q-tip to scrub all the oxidation off my engine (which hasn't been used in 20 years. It works great now awesome! Any cheap tricks to get even more performance? I recently acquired my old HO set from my parents basement and can't wait to get back into railroading!


Fireball, consider this: you clean track primarily to remove two contaminants, carbon and 'gunk'. Carbon is laid down electrically on your track and wheels; gunk is dirt, grease, oil, etc. that you inadvertantly apply to your tracks and wheels. The idea is to remove both as described and then minimize their reappearance.

If you touch your two transformer leads together, you get a spark, right? Well, you also create a little smidge of carbon where the spark occurred, and carbon tends to block your power flow. If your tracks or wheels are dirty or uneven, you make a zillion lil sparks as you make and break electrical connection while rolling. Each lays down it's own carbon dot, and in passing, bakes any oil or grease in the spark's path into gunk that clings to both wheels and rails, insulating them. To minimize your cleaning hours, therefore, you want to first clean the rails and wheels, then polish them into shiny, smooth surfaces that never break contact with one another. No breaks means no sparks. Timboy offered the word "burnish", and I think that best describes what you want to do with both rails and wheels. Sandpaper makes thousands of micro-scratches that will guarantee a lifetime of rail scrubbing, so sandpaper is out.

Finally, while it's important to clean and polish your power contact wheels and rollers, it's just as important to clean the rest: they are the paintbrushes that smear grease and oil over the canvas that is your layout, unless you clean them and keep them clean. Once they've been lubed and allowed to sit and drain, clean the wheels and then give thought to where you next place them: any dust, dirt, etc. that you put them in will next be applied to your rails and start the cycle all over, again.

Best wishes, and remember that God created beer to give us the patience to share the world with women.


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## fireball 440

Great post, thanks alot.


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## Reckers

Any time---glad to have you with us. I just read a post by another member who had a mouse sander with a hook-and-loop (Aka velcro) pad. he said a Scotchbrite will stick to it and makes doing the tracks a breeze. Skyarcher says he cuts small squares of Scotchbrite from the pad and attaches them to his dremel like a buffing pad to do the wheels.


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## mr_x_ite_ment

I use Goo Gone to clean locomotive wheels as well. I touch one set of wheels to the track (power applied) and the other set to a paper towel soaked with Goo Gone. Seems to take the build-up right off with the wheels spinning. For the track, I use a piece of masonite that drags underneath an old gondola car. It works quite well. It cleans inside the tunnels and hard-to-reach areas. I simply sand off the gunk from the piece of masonite and it is ready to go again! Instructions for a homemade track-cleaning car can be found on the internet! Very cheap to build, and works VERY well! Great post, Reckers! Always enjoy your comments!

Chad


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## Reckers

Thank you, Chad. Credit for anything I post here goes to the guys on this site that taught me, though---I'm just paying forward. I liked your suggestion about powering the wheels to clean them---I'd not considered that, and it's a very good idea. I think I'm going to modify your process by inverting the locomotive on an improvised cradle and using transformer leads tipped with alligator clips. I'm pretty lazy, and the idea of letting it spin the wheels upside down while I apply the Googone with one hand and sip wine with the other has an elegant sound to it. I may even exend the pinky on the wine hand!


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## tjcruiser

Reckers said:


> ... and sip wine with the other has an elegant sound to it. I may even exend the pinky on the wine hand!


... while wearing an ascot, right? Gotta go for the full-on sophistication look there, Reck! 

Cheers,

TJ


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## mr_x_ite_ment

Recks...I actually lay the paper towel out on top of my manual turntable...makes it easy to touch the wheels to the towel. It also cleans the turntable too.

Are you saying I now might have to install a wet bar next to my layout so one can sip wine while cleaning loco wheels? Would an extended pinky be the same with a rum and coke?


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## fireball 440

Ahh I was thinking of putting a scotch brite on my die grinder should shine the track right up in a couple minutes.


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## Reckers

tjcruiser said:


> ... while wearing an ascot, right? Gotta go for the full-on sophistication look there, Reck!
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> TJ


Absolutely, along with a quilted velvet smoking jacket and a fez!:laugh:



mr_x_ite_ment said:


> Recks...I actually lay the paper towel out on top of my manual turntable...makes it easy to touch the wheels to the towel. It also cleans the turntable too.
> 
> Are you saying I now might have to install a wet bar next to my layout so one can sip wine while cleaning loco wheels? Would an extended pinky be the same with a rum and coke?


NO WAY!!!! Rum is the drink of pirates and buccaneers, manly men who buckle their swashes and swive their wives! For rum, only the full-handed grip is appropriate! And to stay in character, your grog should be a mix of rum, water and lime juice if you're a privateer, while spices such as clove and cinnamon replace the lime juice if you're a pirate. Nuances are everything!



fireball 440 said:


> Ahh I was thinking of putting a scotch brite on my die grinder should shine the track right up in a couple minutes.


Excellent idea. If a wheel is badly indented, replacing it or taking it down to smooth level might be a good idea, too. :thumbsup:


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## mr_x_ite_ment

Geesh, Recks, I thought I was on my way to becoming a good pirate, a manly man with my swashes buckled. I now realize I have a lot to learn! I won't be sailing with the Black Pearl anytime soon!


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## Reckers

Since sharing pointless knowledge can be fun, let me add one more detail. When Columbus (and eventually, the pirates) arrived, the Carib indians were already on site. They eventually taught the new kids how to roast meat over a fire when you have no iron to work with. The Caribs would weave a gridwork of green wood branches and grill the meat on top of it. Their word for it was "barabicu", from which we derived our barbecue. Another tribe, the Arawaks, used a wooden frame for smoking meat (preferably manatee): a buccan. Both methods of cooking tasted mighty good to the half-starved European sailors. Those who took up cooking in this manner were termed the buccan-eers. In turn, the Spanish termed any of these wild, unkempt predators as buccaneers, because anyone who attacked the spanish treasure ships deserved an exotic name.


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## TONOFFUN80

reckers where do you store all this info. if i remembered all that info the new stuff would never get in


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## mr_x_ite_ment

Wow, that is great information, Recks! I thought maybe the Caribs were selling corn to the European sailors at one dollar per cob...you know..."buck an ear!"


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## Reckers

TONOFFUN80 said:


> reckers where do you store all this info. if i remembered all that info the new stuff would never get in


I don't try to store it---things just get stuck in my head. For example, Mexican General Santa Ana lost a leg in battle. He had the leg formally interred at his ranch. At a later date, though, he had it dug up and carried in an elaborate religious procession to the capital, where it was again interred in a new grave with a large monument above it. At a later date, he was deposed and fled. The crowd rioted, tore up the capital, and then went for the leg. They dug it up and scattered it to the four corners of the city.

That's not the end of the story, though. 

At a later date, he fought in the Mexican-American war and had the bad judgement to stop for lunch. While eating, he was attacked by what would eventually be the Illinois National Guard. They not only ate his lunch as he fled, but they managed to capture his artificial leg----it's on display in Illinois. The Mexican government periodically asks for it's return.

That's not the end of the story, though.

At a later date, he went to New York on a business venture. He was convinced that a rubbery sap product could be used for automobile tires and brought a 1-ton mass of it to sell. An interested party, Thomas Adams, bought it and tried---no good. However, he did find that the stuff could be sweetened, rolled into little balls and sold like hotcakes. Kids loved it. Santa Ana's rubber tires became Chiclets.

Now----having heard that story, you're stuck with it, too. See what I mean?


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## Reckers

mr_x_ite_ment said:


> Wow, that is great information, Recks! I thought maybe the Caribs were selling corn to the European sailors at one dollar per cob...you know..."buck an ear!"


There may well be kernel of truth in that.


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## jzrouterman

I've never had too much luck with liquid cleaners. Instead, my approach to this is in a few other ways. I will occassionally pull a Bachmann track cleaning car around my layout. This does well in areas I can't reach. I also use a round track erasor mounted on a 3 ft. steel rod to clean the track inside straight tunnels and on truss bridges. I bought it especially for this from Micro Mart. On the rest of my layout, I use a track erasor. For the engine wheels, I use a Kadee electrical wheel cleaner. It cleans the wheels of an engine instantly.


Routerman


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## 66chawger

Reckers said:


> I recommend a light, crisp, chilled chardonnay with some brie and Bremner Wafer crackers: they have a mild flavor and don't detract from the interaction of the wine and the cheese on the palate. Oh, and all that Googone, isopropyl, Scotchbrite and Briteboy stuff, too!


LOL!!!! You are too funny!!!!!


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## Kwikster

fireball 440 said:


> Ahh I was thinking of putting a scotch brite on my die grinder should shine the track right up in a couple minutes.


Only issue with that is even a fine grit pad will quickly create an uneven surface without an extreme amount of care. I use the same pads intended for a die grinder, but use them by hand.

I myself prefer Jack neat, and only in moderation. Lost many arguments to him when I was young


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