I read several threads in the old forum about using metal polish to clean my tracks and what to give it a try. Can I use Mothers MAG & Aluminum Polish? It says that it is for all metals. I couldn’t find MAAS at Wal-Mart. Thanks.
You should be able to use any such polish, not just the two you mention. I have Black Magic. What you should not use are the metal polishes, such as Silvo or Brasso (if they are still around).
If you want a really superior shine, you probably recall the suggestion to use 400 grit sandpaper on the rail tops, followed by 600 grit, and then using very tiny amounts of the metal polish on a piece of cork roadbed.
Thanks for the reply. I had forgotten about the sandpaper step but did remember about applying with cork roadbed. This is less about shine for me and more about good electrical connectivity.
Okay, good luck. It would be great if you could give us a report in the weeks ahead of how well you think the method keeps your electrical continuity problems to a minimum. The more anecdotal evidence we get here of how well it works, the more it may become the preferred way to clean track.
I get best results using Blue Magic metal polish. I polished my track in June and haven’t had to touch them since.
Here’s the original post if anyone needs to refer back to it.
http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/1/681475/ShowPost.aspx#681475
Tom
Yall help me with this one. I know clean is good, but doesn’t polishing actually make the metal smoother? Seems to me that would reduce traction.
I wonder if the sandpapering is supposed to compensate for that a bit as it will roughen the surface a bit but not sure [?]
That’s what I’ve been using and it takes off stuff that nothing else will. So far it has been great.
Hi Guys,
Well, I’ve become a convert. I had been using a track-cleaning tank car filled with laquer thinner and thought I’d finally try the “silver polish” method. I first rubbed real dirty spots of track with a bright boy eraser and then polished the rail with MAAS silver polish. I cut little pieces of cork roadbed (about an inch long) and applied a very, very small amount of polish to the cork and then slid it along the top of each rail, going back and forth and polishing the rail with the cork. The cork gets pretty black quickly so I had to use a couple of dozen pieces to do my whole track. I did go back and wipe down the rail top with a cotton cloth wrapped over the end of my index finger, just to be sure the rail was polished properly.
Well, after hours of running trains, the electrical contact is still fantastic, as evidenced by the headlights NOT flickering one bit. Like I said, I’m a convert. I will always look to MAAS silver polish to keep the rails clean. By the way guys, I keep hearing that this store and that store doesn’t have what you’re looking for. With gas over $3.00 per gallon, do a google search, find what you want, and pay the $7.95 shipping like I did with the MAAS polish. Just the gas savings is worth the shipping cost, let alone the wear and tear on your car and the RISK of using your car to run all over town
Hope this helps.
Mondo
I uses the Blue Magic polish and a $3.00 a bottle is just as good as the MAAS.
In fact I have now passed the 3 YEAR mark in that I have NOT had to clean the rails since July 2003.
You don’t have to believe that if your don’t want to but it is true.
And I plan to continue running the layout until it won’t run any more and will report back here when I finally had to reclean all of the track. And this will be quite a job as I now have over 28oo feet donw with more slowly being put down.
As for cleaning the rails I use the HO cork pieces and then just use a clean piece of cork to buff the rails. Sometimes the cloth will leave lint stuck in the ends of the rails!
And as for needing to use the sandpaper system I haven’t as I never used the brightboy to clean the rails only the Blue Magic Polish.
BOB H
First, the grit of sandpaper mentioned is too coarse for a polish to be used over. In comparison, a bright boy is about a 600 grit scratch on the rail tops. I would strongly recommend starting with 1000, and following up with 2000 grit before applying any metal polish, as the compound of the polish will reside within the sand scratches. You want metal to metal contact, and not metal to “compound” contact.
I’d also like to include with this post, that the yellow, rubber track cleaning blocks are a waste of $1.29, as they tend to smear any grime on the rails, rather than removing it. I have found that the grey Peco track cleaning blocks are less abrasive, yet just as effective of a bright boy when it comes to removing “dirt” from the rails.
You may be right, but I was reporting what was stated in another post by someone who has used the stated grade of sandpaper (if I recall), and who then used a piece of metal to shine the rails. It was in a thread titled “To gleam or not to gleam…” I don’t see why either would not work.
ANY scratches in your rails, no matter how minute will create a place for dirt to accumulate. If you need to remove scratches in your track, I wouldn’t use anything coarser than 1000/1200 grit, followed by one of the polishes mentioned in the forum. I make tools from a couple of short pieces of 1x2 (about 3 inches long) and drill a hole slightly smaller than 3/8" through it lengthwise. Then, I insert a length of 3/8" dowel, about a foot long. If you want, you can glue it, but interference fit will usually suffice. I glue a piece of cork roadbed to each tool. Mark the top of one “Clean” and the other with “Polish”. Use the one marked “Polish” to apply your cleaner with, and the one marked “Clean” to final buff the rails. I use these in hard to reach places, like tunnels, bridges, etc.
When they get grimy, a quick pass over some 200 grit sandpaper will give you clean surfaces to start again.
I’m sure you meant 2000 grit, and not 200 right?
I’ll be happy to keep you posted but my layout has low traffic volume so far. It is modular and half the time I have one or more sections pulled out working on things. I have to remind myself to put it together and run trains every now and then.
Thanks. I’m finishing the last of my wiring today. Next weekend’s project is to polish the track.
when using a track-cleaning car with a pad , push the car , don’t pull it behind the loco.
Flip
I’ve been running an experiment for several weeks now on my American Flyer layout about using metal polish compaired to traditional track cleaning with track cleaning fluid. I polished sections and cleaned other sections. The track is original American Flyer 2 rail, and had a fair amount of “patina” to start with. What I’m seeing is the polished track stays cleaner much longer than the track cleaned with track cleaner.
As a point, if I clean the track, then polish it, I am amazed how much more dirt is removed. I am only doing the rail tops.
Jim