there has some helpfull tips thanks
with regard to CMX machine what would be the best liqud to use
also does anyone know why the CMX machine would leak
continued - with Blackening on rail and metal wheels more help on cleaning products
NO-OX- sound like the stuff to use ,here in NZ it may be hard to source unless someone can suggest who may supply here
or is there something similar to NO-OX or would there be samples available to have send over to NZ
just waiting on some feedback to this subject
thanks
I assume the CSX machine is a track cleaning car, pulled around the layout by a locomotive. In which case I would fill the cleaner tank with alcohol (shellac thinner) or mineral spirits (paint thinner or charcoal lighter fluid).
As to why it leaks, could be anything. Does it have any hoses feeding fluid to the track? How can you tell the difference between a leak, and normal operation which is to spread cleaner fluid on the track ?
NO-OX sounds like a trade name. They don’t sell it here in the states. Without knowing anything about the stuff, I would expect a product with a trade name of NO-OX to be some kind of brass polish. Stateside we have brass polishing products like Brasso and Noxon, neither of which I would want to put in a track cleaning car.
RE CMX machine: I have used both alcohol and Acetone successfully. I use the alcohol for regular cleaning and acetone for stubborn dirt (sounds like a Tide commercial). Be sure to use good ventilation with the acetone.
The machine may have a worn gasket causing it to leak even when the needle valve is closed. Tony’s can advise you about that.
NO OX is in fact sold as a track conductivity cleaner/helper much like the crc product. These products are some what controversial in the modeling world as to their effectiveness (it seems every one has a dog in this fight).
I have used my CMX and Wahl clipper oil very effectively. The idea with the oil is to provide a thin conductive film on the rails that cuts down on arcing and the resultant black carbon For years I resisted as my friends extolled the virtues of the oil. Now I am a reluctant convert. Just two swipes with a cotton swap on each rail, the trains spread the material around the track as they run.
Another low tech but effective method is to use the “dragger” cars ala John Allen and others. Basically a box car with a masonite pad on the bottom that scrubs the rails as you pull it around the layout. Search the forum for threads on these cars.
I am sure you will get other opinions on this subject. Try some products and see what you like.
Guy
Me too, I couldn’t believe just how good Wahl’s Clipper Oil works.
HI: Am Centerline track cleaner car user. Some modelers use other brand cleaner cars to put cleaner on rails and follow with Centerline with dry roller cloth to pick up crud/ oxidation from rail tops. My two cents. TTFN…Old Tom aka papasmurf in NH
Two track cleaning HO scale cars our club uses.
The missing couplers have been replaced.
Rich
We use the CMX Clean Machine on our large HO scale club layout filled with lacquer thinner followed by a Centerline car running dry to mop up any residue. The CMX should not be leaking – it sounds to me like you have the drip control opened too wide.
We have tried about every brand of track cleaning car that has ever been made, and the CMX is the only one that really cleans the track.
We have two bottles of NO-OX that someone bought many years ago – it is some very foul smelling stuff that is definitely a petroleum derivative. Like the old Brylcream commercial said, “A little dab’ll do ya.”
NO-OX is not a substitute for cleaning your track using some other method – it is used to leave a coating on the rail after cleaning to prevent oxidation. Wahl hair clipper oil supposedly does the same thing but doesn’t smell anywhere near as toxic as NO-OX.
I think NO-OX originated in the days when most people used brass rail instead of nickel silver.
Hi All
thanks for all the information ,no doubt will be more to come
excellent stuff
tony