When gleaming…how much pressure do you apply when sanding the rails?..
Sam
Light pressure. Same with the burnishing using the steel product. Heavy pressure may cause you to impart even deeper scoring than you need or are hoping to remove if at all possible. Also you run the risk of snagging something hard and uprooting part of your tracks, say a $15 turnout…or worse.
I would say to adopt the attitude that the sand paper should be doing the work, not your elbow. And you want as little of the work that sand paper does as possible, all things considered.
-Crandell
Steady and firm but not heavy. Think about how much pressure you apply to the top of a spewing soda bottle and you’ve got it. With the sanding you just want to take off the gauges left in the rail by the manufacturing process and whatever was put there by Brite-Boys, etc. 600 grit wet/dry paper to start followed by 800 or finer to finish. For the burnishing use either a stainless steel washer or you can do what I do and use the handle of a stainless steel spoon. Again use firm pressure but don’t lean on it. You’ll feel it through the stainless steel when the rails are smooth.
Thanks for your replies…I have completed one layout and it makes a huge difference…
I’m with Jeffrey on this. Firm but not to firm. Running the washer along will find high spots so if its to bad consider stopping and investigating before you try to rub it down with the washer. It may require a track adjustment or a file. When the washer seems to strike something you know its time to stop and look more closely.
I found out the hard way that Atlas switch points are not nickel silver but rather nickel silver plated brass when I rubbed through the plating. This wasn’t on some cheap little $15 switch in a small scale but rather a $75 O scale switch. Be careful when doing that as too much doesn’t only wear the rail but may reveal something that you didn’t realize and can’t fix. What makes it worse is when you learn this after the track is fully laid and ballasted.