# Lessons learned - Vinegar vs Evapo-Rust



## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

I am a natural born cheap-skate. Originally I purchased a bottle of Evapo-Rust and was quite happy with using it. Although I thought that it was pricey. Recently I purchased a selection of AF track that was quite rusty. I decided that a vinegar bath would work just as well. Fifteen dollars versus two dollars. Sounded good to me! 
So I soaked the track in vinegar overnight and I was really impressed as to how well it made the rusty tracks look. I then rinsed the track in clear water and set them out to dry. SHOCK! when I came back in a couple of hours they were all covered in a light coat of brownish rust! :thumbsdown: I didn't want to re soak them so I ran them through the dishwasher but to no avail. So, I spent about one hour with a wire brush but then gave up because of the time consumption and my lack of patience. About this time, I am ready to throw the whole bunch in the trash. Ain't this fun?
I had a small amount of Evapo-Rust that was quite dirty left so I thought I would try that. The results were amazing! The rust disappeared and without any wire brushing.:thumbsup:
Lesson: Don't be a cheap skate. Buy the best and in the end, you will save both time and money.:hah::hah::hah:


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Try a can of Coke.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Coke won't do any better than vinegar, but Evapo-Rust is the "BOMB", it works like magic!


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## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Coke won't do any better than vinegar, but Evapo-Rust is the "BOMB", it works like magic!


That is right John! Coke is just another acid. But whatever is in Evapo-Rust really works!


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Broke, doesn't getting the tie insulators wet going to ruin them?
WD40 will take the rust off track.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

As I've said before on this forum, evaporust is great!!!.. When I re-did my brakes on my 39 chevy, I soaked all the brake hardware in it over-night. All the parts, springs, washers, and pins came out as new, as I knew they would.. The only draw-back with evaporust is that it will remove bluing, such as on trucks and ties. After-all, bluing is a rusting process...And one last word of wisdom...."the cheap becomes expensive."


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## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

mopac said:


> Broke, doesn't getting the tie insulators wet going to ruin them?
> WD40 will take the rust off track.


They seem to dry out OK and are just fine. The worst part is as FlyerNut says, it takes the blueing off. I will not buy used track again without knowing the condition first. The last bunch that I bought were quite rusty and the eBay photos and description was misleading


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## cramden (Oct 13, 2015)

BrokeCurmudgeon said:


> They seem to dry out OK and are just fine. The worst part is as FlyerNut says, it takes the blueing off. I will not buy used track again without knowing the condition first. The last bunch that I bought were quite rusty and the eBay photos and description was misleading


BC, when I soaked some track overnight they came out great but( and there's always a but it seems), the ties in a matter of a month developed a coating of surface rust. I would suggest getting a can of flat black or satin Rust-Oleum and spraying the track. Then you can wipe the tops of the rails and clean the pins and it will avoid the rust. Besides, all Flyer track in 1946 was black anyway so it won't look out of place. Just something you might think about.


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## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

cramden said:


> BC, when I soaked some track overnight they came out great but( and there's always a but it seems), the ties in a matter of a month developed a coating of surface rust. I would suggest getting a can of flat black or satin Rust-Oleum and spraying the track. Then you can wipe the tops of the rails and clean the pins and it will avoid the rust. Besides, all Flyer track in 1946 was black anyway so it won't look out of place. Just something you might think about.


I had wondered about the Black Track. If it weren't so much trouble, I would pull it all of and paint the track on my ping pong Table Layout. Thanks Cramden!


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I don't worry too much with some rust on sides of the rails. As long as the top of rail
is clean and no rust it will work fine. You ever seen real track? Sides are rusty and top is nice and shiny. One of those green scotch brite pads really cleans the top of rails. That
AF track is going to rust unless you paint the whole thing and clean the top of rails. Too
much work for me. Some rust won't hurt a thing. Call it weathered.


I have never seen the black track.


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## cramden (Oct 13, 2015)

I only mentioned about painting as the ties look crappy rather quickly with the rust. I haven't noticed any rust on the rails after about six months. Rattle can paint would cover the ties easily and if you wanted and you could stop there instead of painting the rails while spraying the ties. It's all a matter of what you like in the look of the track.


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## dooper (Nov 9, 2015)

I have started taking the rails off and soaking them in evapo-rust only. I then clean the rust off the ties, put them in a rubber roadbed and then reattaching the ties and insulators. That way the bluing stays.


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