It’s only been 8 years since I bought my CMX cleaning car, so I decided that it is time to try it out for the first time. [(-D]
I see four choices for the cleaning fluid: lacquer thinner, denatured alcohol, 91% rubbing alcohol, or 70% rubbing alcohol.
What is your preference for those who use the CMX car and which is the least toxic while producing the lowest level of odor?
Thanks for you help.
Rich
Well Rich, I don’t have one of “them thar fancy cleanin cars” ( sorry, trying to do my best Doc Wayne, from the spurs thread) [swg], but the cars that I do have, I use the 91% alcohol. I’ve got the familiar little covered hopper cars.
Mike.
Thanks, Mike. How is the odor from the 91% alcohol?
Rich
P.S. Love the docwayne accent.
I use a Centerline Products cleaner car on my layout. I contacted Centerline as to a replacement for Goo Gone. They recommended denatured alcohol.
The only time I noticed an odor was when I had the valve open too far, and as it went by me, everything was soaked. I was afraid all my ballast was going to loosen up ! [D)] No problems since.
Mike.
Rich I use ATC-6006 track cleaning fluid from Aero-Car Hobby. I bought a 4 pack about 8 years ago not knowing how far it would go on my 120’ mainline. It works great with no odor. I only have to run my CMX about every two months and I live in one of the worst dust and grime areas in the States. The 4 pack was overkill, I just reached the ¾ level in the first bottle after 8 years.
As for cleaning the rails it is very good. I push the CMX with a scrubber caboose behind it with a pair of E7s. I have 3½% grades and with the slight bit of cleaner residue left behind the scrubber the wheels slip a bit. The slipping wheels are also cleaned in the process.
The wet residue evaporates quickly and any remaining dry residue acts as electrical contact enchantment for power pickup. About two minutes after the scrubber runs the rails are dry and normal traction returns.
After 8 years I don’t see any damage to the track, roadbed or scenery.
Mel
Rich,
I prefer Acetone…nastier than alcohol but not nearly as obnoxious as lacquer thinner. Does a better job than alcohol and thinner in my experience. I use a fan and leave the trainroom door open to dilute the fumes. My cleaning train is the cmx, follwed by a centerline roller car followed by a dragger car.
Guy
I watched a You Tube video reagng the CMX car. The man in the video used acetone, and it worked well. Since then, I use acetone, and it does well cleaning the rails.
[:-^]
I love my CMX. Most times I use 91% alcohol but from time to time I have used CRC-26 ?? That electrical cleaner / lubricant in the blue spray can that I can get at most big box stores or hardware stores. Both seem to work fine.
The rest of the time I have a couple of slider cars and a Aztec car with a cratex roller that I run occasionally on a frieght. I also have a couple of old Centerlines, but they mostly are mostly Shelf Queens.
Never have to give my track much thought if I do this. The Loco wheels need attention every now and then but it is pretty obvious when they do. But not often.
Johnboy out…till next time
Rich,
I use two CMX cleaning cars, one for each main pushed by two P2K GP7’s, filled with what they recommend, lacquer thinner…Automotive general purpose that contains Acetone. I get it in a 5gal size for 34.00, but I use it for a lot of things. That is the only thing I use to clean My air-brushes and My Pro gun’s. No matter what kind of paint I use in My air-brush, I still use lacquer thinner. As far as the CMX car goes, if You get the drip rate correct, you hardly smell the thinner at all. I was doing the track twice a yr., but now only do it once a yr. Part of the CMX performance I believe is their use of corduroy cotton cloth on the pad. I experimented a couple of times and put it on a drag car and the results were great. I since then cut up an old corduroy blazer I had and use the strips from that, rather than buy any. I have been using the CMX cars for a couple yrs. after they came out. Tried others, Centerline, dual motor scrubber ones and nothing in My opinion beats the CMX. Also most of My rolling stock have Acetal plastic wheels and don’t have a problem with them either…they produce less friction on the rails, compared to metal. To each their own on that point.
Acetal Plastic:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyoxymethylene
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
Lacquer thinner for me. I tried alcohol, but I think the thinner does a better job. I wait for a nice enough day that I can keep the windows open in the train room, but the odor is not a big deal.
I do notice that it’s easier to push the CMX car around with lacquer thinner than it is with alcohol. The thinner seems to lubricate the pad better.
When cleaning my yards, I use the 0-5-0 instead of pushing the car back and forth repeatedly. It’s just quicker.
My prior readings on this led me to conclude that many regard lacquer thinner as the best cleaner, but I settle for denatured alcohol with my CMX as it does the job well enough for me and I believe it to be considerably less toxic regarding the vapors. (If using lacquer thinner I would open the windows).
The solvent is only one component of the system or process. I also run masonite pad John Allen cars routinely, have “gleamed” my track and have metal wheels on most rolling stock.
I looked again at a July 2014 Model Road Hobbyist article “My Experiments WIth Track Cleaning” by Brent Ciccone. Using just a cloth with multiple wipes, he ranked the items he tried from least to most effective; i.e., water, Windex, windshield washer fluid, rubbing alcohol, paint thinner / mineral spirits, acetone, lacquer thinner, Goo Gone and Varsol. He comments that the Goo Gone leaves a residue that should be cleaned off, and that Varsol is not readily found in retail.
91% Isopryopyl (Rubbing) Alchohol
Thanks, guys, for the replies so far.
If I counted correctly, I get two votes each for laquer thinner, acetone, denatured alcohol, and 91% rubbing alcohol. One vote each for ACT-6006 and CRC-26. No votes for 70% rubbing alcohol.
I am leaning toward denatured alcohol because the warnings on the laquer thinner can scare the heck out of me. I have a basement layout and there are open flames on the furnace and water heaters. There are also warnings on the denatured alcohol can, but the warnings seem less severe.
Your comments raise two other issues in my mind.
First, the instructions say to either push or pull the CMX car, but your comments seem to indicate that pushing the CMX car from behind is preferred. Do you add a car behind the CMX car with a dry pad to aid removal of the liquid?
Second, do you remove and clean the pad on the CMX car after each use?
Rich
Rich,
I think you would have to get pretty sloppy with the laquer thinner before you would reach enough saturation in the air for your furnace to cause an explosion. Certainly if you were to knock an open container of it over and have a large spill you would have cause for concern, but the amounts that you are putting into the CMX car aren’t nearly large enough to explode.
I just wish I had bought a CMX car a few years ago when they were less expensive than Vancouver real estate. What I have scored are a couple of old Ribbon Rail track cleaning cars. One has a tank for cleaning fluid. The other came with some really knarly looking hard abrasive ‘pads’. Pad is hardly the right word. They are the same material as your average grindstone. I replaced the abrasive pads with felt wipers, so if I can get the liquid dispensing car to work properly I will put it in front of the felt wiper car and push them with whatever motive power is required.
Dave
Rich,
The idea for pushing the car around rather than pull it, is really quite simple…the cleaning car hits the dirty/dusty track before any rolling stock or engines do. If You pulled it like many do, your rolling stock and engines are just spreading the dirt/dust around, including what You just dragged the car through. I found no need to have any car after the CMX, it’s clean and dry before the engine wheels hit it, with lacquer thinner anyway. I replace the pad when it shows two black lines. If it is not damaged in any way, I will wash it and reuse it. Like I said above, if You have the drip rate set correctly…You hardly smell the lacquer thinner and the cloth is Not supposed to be fully saturated with it to work properly…#1 problem with people using it and saying it smells bad or damages things…they have too much dripping out!
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
Thanks, Frank. Great info.
Rich
Push vs. pull = Six of One & Half-a-Dozen o’ t’Other.
Pull: The loco leaves untreated rails behind and no further crud on its treads because the car is TRAILING it, and thus cleaning the rails after it. It means the rails are left to dry as-is, but much cleaner than when the towing locomotive passed over them. You don’t need to clean the loco’s drivers until after the cleaning operation…probably necessary anyway.
Push: The loco may pick up sticky guck left over from the scrubbing CMX/other cleaner car that precedes it down the rails which will possibly stick to its tire treads or be deposited back onto the rails further along when it dislodges. Or, if the loco’s treads are not spiffy-clean at start-out, the still-wet rails might encourage the tires to leave crud behind. But the tires will be cleaner if that happens.
Selector,
That old cliche, is worn out [swg]…When You vacuum or mop a floor…do You push it or pull it…just curious! [bow]
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
Rich, I use 91% alcohol. Anything less than 90% often has lanolin (sheep oil basically) added to keep skin from drying out too much. There are other additives used also in various brands. I had some mysterious loco stalling, slowing when I used 70% last time because it was what I had on hand.
I have a windowless room and am chemically sensitive anyway, so no nasty solvents for me. The alcohol does a fine job for me and it’s not scary/toxic like acetone, brake fluid, etc. Not exactly a single malt scotch, but you can get a bit drunk with alcolhol in a windowless room (I use a box fan to blow it out into a hallway and up the bathroom ceiling fan.)
Jim