With the various track cleaners available, which one is the best? Anybody have experience with any of them?
GOO GOO
I think that melnia meant Goo Gone. It does okay but is expensive. I use rubbing alcohol on cotton swabs or cotton pads and then go back over them with a Bright Boy bar. I’ve had good results with this. Additionally, cleaning your locos wheels every so often helps greatly.
Thanks for the replies. I currently use the scotch brite pads and denatured alcohol with good results. My layout is such that I have to climb on the layout to access some areas to clean the track. I also have two tunnels that the track is hard to get to. I have noticed alot of different rail mounted track cleaners advertised lately and was hoping someone with experience with one of them could give their take on them. I didn’t want to waste what little money I have on a track cleaner that doesn’t give decent results.
I’ve had reasonalbly good results with the Centerline Products car with Goo Gone as the solvent, sometimes followed up with a denatured alcohol pass. From the dirt on the roller it is suprising that that much can be generated without constant running of steam engines (smoke oil deposits).
A mechanically powered scrubber would be the most ideal IMO. I’ve read of those that use a string of different cars with different solvents.
A word of warning, Goo Gone and alcohol are flammable. I’ve had an occasion on my old layout with non-derailing switches where a spark set the cleaning roll ablaze. Luckily it was where I could blow it out.