Brass and Nickel track- Does damage occur to track ie. ( micro scratching that actually causes increased build-up) if you use 420 sand paper to buff the top of rail?
Gonna use that ole’ stuff one way or another… Dan
Indeed, it does–anything that scratches the surface of the track increases the total surface area and invites faster buildup of trouble-causing goo on the track.
Hi Dan.
I would suggest using crocus cloth and not any type of sanpaper. Crocus (spelling ?) can be purchased at a good auto parts store, either is sheets or a three inch wide rool, 3 or so feet shoul do it. It is used to polish parts using a lathe. Its as smooth as paper and will not scrach the rail. Tack it on a small block of wood works great and doesnt take a lot of elbow grease (pressure) to use.
There are two types of abraisive type of track cleaners. One is like a piece of rubber and the other has a sandy feel to it, I forget the name of the more abrasive one as I trashed it when I noticed how harsh it was, scrached the rails.
Hope this helps…Take care…John
thanks you two- I’m gonna back off the 420… but boy,it sure does make those ole’ rails shine!![8D]
I’ve read that Brasso brass polish cleans track very well without being abrasive.
I use the Centerline Products car with Goo Gone as the cleaning agent. Works well and if you use DCC you can really notice a difference. Also use a brite boy for those stubborn areas. Also using metal wheels on your rolling stock helps.
Is there a problem in filing down* code 100 to match code 83 rail?
- using either dremel or a file.
Hi Clif.
They make a special rail joiner from code 83 to 100. This is the best bet and I have heard of some using a code 100 joiner, crimping one half of the 83 side, dont sound like a way to go, but have never tried it.
When I soder track I file the top side with a fine jewlers file, The inside with a riffler file as it is curved, then use a magnifying glass to make sure of how sanitarty the joint looks. I also drag a penny over the joint of which sounds weird, but magnifys the feel of a rough edge. …Take care…John
I cleaned my BRASS track (hadn’t used it for about 30 years) with Flitz and Maas metal polishes. Before that I had tried just about anything and everything I could think of. The eraser, Goo Gone, sand paper (various grades) and they all were a lot of work. I don’t have to weather the sides of the rail because the whole layout had a black (coroded brass) color. After the metal polishes the tops of the rail are still shiney. By the way the Flitz worked a little bit easier/quicker. I am not sure how the trains run yet because I am still rewiring it.
Sam
warning
DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT use WD-40 as a cleaning agent for rails. It works great for about 2 days, but then starts to attract huge quantities of dust and goo. Also, the overspay can damage scenary.