Dielectric lube on rail joiners, possabley a better contact?

Anonymous · August 4, 2005, 4:57pm

You’ve never seen Kato Unitrack, have you?

QUOTE: Originally posted by mark_in_utah

This is how I do it for flex track. Your track should be similar.

Easy track soldering 101:

Fill the rail joiners with paste flux before you put the track together. It takes very little flux to get it done.

Use a 100 watt soldering gun. Yep, one of those big ugly monsters. Keep the tip nice and clean by wiping it with a wet sponge when hot.

Use some of that skinny rosin-core solder you buy at Radio shack.

Melt a little blob of it on the tip of your iron. Get it really hot. It’ll probably even smoke a bit.

With the gun “on” and HOT, press it against the inside of one of the joiners. You’ll seeee the paste flux ooze, boils, hiss, etc.

Immediately apply some solder to the joiner/rail interface on the outside of the rail. 2-3 seconds after it starts to melt take the soldering iron off the joiner, and stop applying solder.

IMMEDIATELY wipe the rail down with a damp cotton rag. This will smooth down the solder, clean off the rail, and leave a nice shiny product.

This goes so fast that the plastic rails will not melt. From applying heat to wiping the rail should be 7 seconds tops.

The secret to limiting the heat effects of soldering track is to get it done FAST. The weaker and cooler the iron, the more time it takes to heat up the rail to apply solder, and the further down the rail the heat has traveled. By doing it this hot and fast you’ll be done before the track has time to even realize that it’s been soldered.

Mark in Utah

grayfox1119 · August 4, 2005, 7:17pm

Dielectric is a NON conductor of electricity guys…trust me, I worked in the field of electronics for 53 years.

grayfox1119 · August 4, 2005, 7:22pm

Go to the internet guys, do a search under " conductive grease". You will find all you need and then some. You will all be experts after reading all the topics.

Anonymous · August 4, 2005, 7:44pm

I ain’t arguing with you. In fact, I gave examples of what I’ve used for years that DOES conduct electricty.

grayfox1119 · August 4, 2005, 9:54pm

Go to the internet guys, do a search under " conductive grease". You will find all you need and then some. You will all be experts after reading all the topics.

Anonymous · August 5, 2005, 6:42am

You said that already.

grayfox1119 · August 6, 2005, 7:45pm

RLM, the silicone base greese is used to keep water out of the connectors, and is used extensively in the automotive world. In oder to be conductive, greases need to have additives like carbon, etc.

Anonymous · August 6, 2005, 7:49pm

I’m well aware of that, as I said in my earlier extensive post. Go read it and look at the links I provided. You will see where I was also talking about the grease that DOES have copper in it and the other I believe was nickle. I wasn’t arguing the point as I also said earlier. I was agreeing.