Hi guys
i was curious to know how mineral spirits work as a track cleaner? I have used rubbing alcohol forever but find in the winter time dry air it leaves the tracks almost too dry.
i was reading the May 2007 model railroader where Paul dolkos mentions he uses mineral spirits, Is that stuff ok around plastic ties and plastic frogs
Thanks
jeremy
i would have serch but it can be a pain on a iPad
If you have a lot of venting around your railroad room you could use it but it is not something good for breathing in at all. Everything we use like alcohol evap’s quickley but mineral sprits takes time and leaves a smell sometimes for days.
I use denatured alcohol for deep cleaning with out any problems and I live in a dry climate. Works well. Mineral spirits won’t bother plastic ties but it could effect enamal painted track and soften the paint. Just my thoughts. Doug
Cheers Doug
i have some good ventilation and my layout is small so only takes a few minutes to do the whole thing. I don’t think we can get denatured alcohol here in Canada
Many folks reports using acetone in track cleaning cars like the CMX. I use it for spot cleaning, mostly cleaning the grunge off wheels when a build-up is observed. You want to be careful and not get it on track wetted in excess (or on cars, plastic structure, paint etc), but for most track cleaning purposes you’re in and out and evaporation takes care of things.
You do want to have adequate ventilation, but the smell goes away quickly because of its quick evaporation.
In most place denatured alcohol is the only kind you can buy. Anything else you would have to buy in a liquor store after the state has collected all possible taxes.
That is why you cannot buy Ethanol 100. Ethanol 85 is mixed with 15% gasoline thus denaturing it and making it impossible (hic) to drink. (Interesting Details) (More). (And still more)
ROARING
JeremyB,
I use Lacquer thinner in my CMX track cleaning car with great results, but I don’t have plastic frogs and don’t soak the rails with it anyway.
You should be able to get denatured alcohol in Canada, it is a appliance fuel and Marine stove fuel also. I see some restrictions on some chems.:
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-2005-22/FullText.html
I would rather use the denatured alcohol over the Mineral spirits.
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
BTW: I should mention, I stripped the paint from 10 CMW trailers which are plastic, with denatured alcohol and no damage to the plastic at all and works faster than just plain 91% alcohol.
The denatured alcohol that I am talking about You absolutely can not drink. LOL. Skull and crossbones label on container…Danger…Poison.
Take Care!
Frank
That’s sort of the point of the “denaturing” process. Deliberately poisoned so you can’t drink it.
On the club layout with the CMX car, we use acetone. Acetone and laquer thinner will attack plastic, but the key is that you don’t set the car so it pours out and soaks the pad, it just needs to be damp. We are always set up in huge wide open spaces so the odor isn’t an issue. For about a 20x150 foot setup, with double track mains, the cleaning train can get about a half dozen passes on each main on one fill. Behind the CMX car we also have two of the Centerline cars, with Handi-wipe on the rollers, to pick up the loosened gunk and dry off the rails.
–Randy
Denatured alcohol may not be for retail sale in Canada. There are some regs in place regarding alcohol that many in the US may find unusual here, but common there. Some provinces (maybe all?) sell alcohol through state-owned retail (Kansas and Pennsylvania are/were similar.) Some First Nations peoples ban it altogether with mixed success IIRC.
The fact that some people may only read the “alcohol” part and not the warnings may be why it is unavailable at retail in Canada as indicated.
But there is always Everclear -0^0- if you really need a fix for something – at least in the US.
Well, it doesn’t refer to it specifically, but I have a bottle of 99% isopropanol alcohol, and it’s definitely denatured, as there’s a skull and crossbones on the label (along with the flammable sign). This stuff, (and wimpier 90% and 70% versions) are readily available at any drug store in Ontario, and likely anywhere else in Canada, too.
Another “denatured” alcohol readily available is methyl hydrate, at one time, a very effective paint stripper for plastic models - not so much nowadays, though, as paint formulae have changed.
You can find it at any hardware store or Canadian Tire. In addition to being non-drinkable, it’s toxic to breathe and is readily absorbed through the skin and its vapours through the eyes.
Wayne
I am also in Ontario. I use Isopropanol alcohol both for cleaning track and wheels. Diluted to about 50% it also makes a good wetting agent for ballasting and scenry materials.
Dave
Now that gasoline is getting a little cheaper use gasoline.
I definitely wouldn’t use it as such - its odour will linger a lot longer than alcohol or even lacquer thinner, and it can also leave a greasy film on things.
You’ve got me puzzled with that one: the tracks should be naturally dry, and I can’t imagine that condition becoming more severe. [:P]
I don’t clean track, but a good friend swears by automatic transmission fluid - 2 or 3 drops on each rail, then let the trains carry it around the layout. Don’t overdo it - he has a lot of track and finds that little bit does the job. If you want to try it, I can find out how often it needs to be done - I believe he does it as regular maintenance.
Wayne
I use the same stuff. Can you believe the QC laboratory at the plant where I work was going to pay Chemtron to haul away 99% isopropyl that had passed its expiration date! This was reagent-grade from VWR Scientific that they paid $64 a gallon for. Expiration date, mind you!
I saved the day when I volunteered to take the eight gallons off their hands… a win—win scenario if I ever heard one.
I wish they had a nice 12 year old scotch that had passed its expiration date, too.
Ed
Alcohol absorbs water - that’s why there is a date on it for chemical uses. That 99% alcohol past its expiration date probably isn’t 99% any more and will through experimental results off. However, 99%, 98.5% - for our purposes in model railroading, who cares!
Before ethanol gas, in cold climates in winter it was common to add “drygas” to your tank to prevent water in the fuel from freezing up your fuel lines. Guess what the primary ingredient is? Not really needed when there’s already ethanol in your gas, now all you have to worry about is the ethanol eating your fuel lines - not a much a problem in cars as it is in your lawn and garden equipment.
–Randy
In very dry climates, like Colorado and the Southwest, “dry” and dusty/dirty rail tends to spark between the wheels and rails, causing oxidation pits where the spark occurs.
A treatment that leaves a slight film on the rail actually performs better in our climate. Examples of products that work well to reduce sparking are CRC, the cited automatic transmission fluid, No-Ox, and the polish that is used to “gleam” the rails. Again, the emphasis is on a very slight film left behind after treating. Alcohol and most acetone products evaporate readily without leaving said film.
When I lived in Indiana and anywhere on the East or West Coast, there was usually enough humidity (except perhaps on real cold winter days with heat on and no humidifier) to make sparking a non-factor.
just my experiences
Fred W
Thanks for that clarification, Fred. In southern Ontario, we seldom see weather that dry. [:O]
Wayne
Interesting Fred. I too live in Colorado and have used Rail Zip at times in the past, which is, I assume ATF, but I have always worried about gunking up N Scale rail and got away from it many years ago.
I think I spend more time than most cleaning rail because of the dry effect of our climate with dust. Not that I have to because everything is running ok but because I want it to run well all the time. I haven’t looked for No-Ox but have read some on this forum talk about it. Where do you find it in Colorado? Doug
We hardly even see the sun anymore [:'(]
I just found a good write up on No-Ox-ID A-Special on N Scale.Net. It is manufactured by Sanchem, Inc. I think Amazon sells it. Doug