# Dirty Track: A Testimonial to GooGone!



## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Because I moved recently, my layout has been boxed up for about 8 months: time for a lot of metal to oxidize, both on the track and the wheels. Today, I finished the intial assembly and sat a locomotive on the tracks: a hesitant, fitful lurch, some modest sparking from the wheels and then nothing. I flipped the steamer onto her back and clipped the transformer leads to the wheels: this elicited a reluctant, low-speed rotation of the drive wheels.

A trip to the workbench: dremel tool with cotton buffer and some very fine metal polish on the pickup wheels. They now gleamed like new, bronze coins. Back onto the track and now the engine would do a reluctant, low-speed lap around the entire track.

I dug out the GooGone and a fresh, pink nylon scrubbing pad, the kind you use for your dishes. Sprayed the coarse side with GooGone and, as soon as the locomotive lurched past me, began scrubbing the track behind it. I did roughly 1/3 of the loop before the steamer finished dragging itself around the oval: then it hit the cleaned area. Ever seen a train try to pop a wheelie? *LOL* That locomotive took off so fast, I had to run for the transformer to slow it down! It screamed down the track like Casey Jones on steroids till it hit the still-uncleaned area on the other side of the loop and slowed down, again. By the time I had the whole loop scrubbed, that locomotive was shrieking around the track. Basic track cleaning procedure: 

1. NEVER USE SANDPAPER unless your track is already ruined. Track is originally polished metal, often plated with nickel-silver or similar conductive surface. When you sand it, you're introducing thousands of micro-scratches into the surface and removing any plating. Scratches = sparking due to a now-uneven surface. Sparking deposits carbon on your track and wheels: carbon is non-conductive. That means using sandpaper = scratching = sparking = carbon deposits = more and frequent track cleaning. Same goes for train pickup wheels.

2. Using a nylon scrubbing pad (no metal pads!) spray generously with GooGone: you'll find it at Walmart in the Automotive section. Simply wipe down your track with it: it doesn't take a lot of scrubbing. This will remove most carbon, oil and grease residue, and normal oxidation.

3. That GooGone disolved your grease and oil because it's a solvent. That means the dirt and oils are now in suspension in the GooGone, and now the dirty GooGone is a residue on your track surface. You remove it with....

4. Isopropyl alcohol: Isopropanol, rubbing alcohol...you could use ethanol, but that is normally applied internally. Wet a paper towel or cloth with it, wipe down your track and it will remove the residue, leaving you with clean, conductive track....which takes you to the wheels.

Wheels: you just cleaned your track, but your wheels are filty. It's like walking on newly-steamed carpet with muddy shoes. Line up your cars and get ready to do some light work. 

1. Find a clean parking lot. You're about to clean your wheels; you don't want to clean them and sit them back down in dirt, do you? steal a towel, get a newspaper... you need a landing zone for the clean ones.

2. Cleaning is relatively simple: you have metal wheels and you have plastic wheels. You have journal boxes and lubrication points. A journal box is that place the end of each car axle tucks into: it's often molded to look like a sort of square at the end of the axle that holds it. Good place for a very teeny spray of powdered graphite. You find that in the same place you go at Walmart or Lowes to get your keys made. I prefer graphite over oil for basic cars, as it never drips onto the tracks. I don't argue that locomotives have to have oil or grease, as do some operating cars: use them where it's appropriate. Also, a teeny spray of graphite into your couplers makes them more cooperative. Once that's done, it's time to clean. Googone and alcohol for plastic wheels, just like on the track. Some of the guys cut out small squares of the scrubbing pad and mount them on a dremel to make a spinning scrubber, and it works great. Just keep in mind wheels have to stay round to work, so don't overdo it by scrubbing flat surfaces into the plastic.

Metal wheels are more durable, but again, no grinding or sanding. "Burnishing" is what you're striving for. Clean first with GooGone and alcohol; if that won't do it, then a dremel cotton or wool wheel with a fine metal polish works wonders. Dremel markets some buffing compounds like rouge: save them for the really hard cases, as they're harder to remove if you use them. I favor a high-quality silver polish that comes in a tube.

On the locomotives, lube first, clean second, if you're trying to work efficiently. Before working on those wheels, you want the oil and grease to have time to drain out onto a clean cloth, paper towel, etc., before cleaning your wheels. As you finish each piece of equipment, air-lift that puppy to your clean zone and pour yourself a well-earned cold one.


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## tyconator (May 5, 2011)

A train mag. once suggested Carb Cleaner! Like yikes!I know from the past it'll chew up plastic! Heck, they even mentioned brake cleaner. SUPER YIKES!!!!If it strips paint, I imagine it'll do worse! ATF, never used it, but, wanna try it! Sometimes if my track gets super nasty, I'll use WD40 followed up by rubbing alcohol to remove any residue.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Tyconator, I'm no mental heavyweight, but I'm dubious about using any heavy-duty solvents around plastic wheels or railroad ties. That car stuff stays out in the driveway for a reason. Yike is right!

I'm not a big fan of WD-40 except for water displacement; several members have complained it tends to become sticky over time. Since it's primary ingredients are mineral spirits and mineral oil, you might want to explore the cheaper path and try a mineral spirits wipedown. It seems to evaporate pretty readily, leaving you with clean track and no oily residue.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

tyconator said:


> A train mag. once suggested Carb Cleaner! Like yikes!I know from the past it'll chew up plastic! Heck, they even mentioned brake cleaner. SUPER YIKES!!!!If it strips paint, I imagine it'll do worse! ATF, never used it, but, wanna try it! Sometimes if my track gets super nasty, I'll use WD40 followed up by rubbing alcohol to remove any residue.


PS: about those train mags: my personal opinion is that, for the most part, writers know about writing. That's not a criticism---just a fact of life. If I'm going to ask for advice on fixing my car, I'd talk to a car mechanic, not a writer for a car magazine. JMHO, of course.


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Page 18 of the August 2011 issue of Model Railroader talks of the product "Rail Zip" which they say has been around for "decades".

It's ingredient? Automatic transmission fluid.

Now there's a variety of ATF, no more just LFM or Dextron. Put the wrong fluid in a Honda, Chyrsler and others and you'll find out the hard way. 

Articles didn't state which type to use or not use.

Jack


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

There are some folks that swear by ATF for cleaning the rails.

As far as WD-40, I can tell you from personal experience that it turns to glue after a few years! I've bought a number of antique pistols that were "preserved" using WD-40, it looked like someone glued them together!  I had to soak several of them in solvent for a couple of days to disassemble them.

WD-40 is for displacing water, NOT for lubrication/cleaning. Anything you lube with WD-40 will enjoy a short life.


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## jzrouterman (Nov 27, 2010)

Hmmmm, that's interesting.

Routerman


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