I recently completed laying track for the mainline on my layout, and I was eager to run some trains. I didn’t have any commercial track cleaner fluid or tools, so I just applied some rubbing alcohol with Q-tips. It seemed to work well–the Q-tip came up with dirt on it, and the trains ran fairly smoothly afterwards.
So I’m just wondering if this is a good idea or not. Is rubbing alcohol bad for nickel silver track in any way (corrosive etc.)? Have others tried it and had good results?
Thanks!
FP:
Works fine for me, and it’s great for cleaning wheels. Apparently some brands have fragrances and glycerine, but these cost more anyway than the cheapo stuff that’s just alcohol and water. I do like to dry-wipe the track and wheels after wet-wiping. I have a theory / voodoo superstition that the solvent might soften some of the oily track scunge and leave it on the railhead where it can be picked up by wheels.
Automatic Transmission Fluid does the job as well.
There were a couple of mentions about it in Scale Rails a few months back.
Come to think of it, I have a bottle of “track cleaner” that I always thought looked like ATF…
Hmmmmmn.
Lots of people I know use Rubbing alchol as tracak cleaner. we use it at my club on centerline cars, run a pair, the first one with alchol and the second one dry. works great.
I would stay away from anything labeled as “Rubbing Alcohol”, as it would probably contain glycerine (a rubefactant - to keep skin from drying out). The glycerine can remain on the rails, and attract more dirt. The Isopropyl Alcohol (91% or 70%) is the way to go, and it’s usually cheaper, as well.
I’ve never used this but you raise a good point; one needs to make sure that they are not, in essence, just spreading dirt around! I would say that cutting some lint-free cloth into small squares and then impregnating these with rubbing alcohol might be the best way to insure that dirt is not being left behind.
I use 70% Iso-Alky with one of my Life-Like track cleaning cars. I don’t fill the tank, I just wet the wiper pad.
Works for me!
Rotor
Niot to worry. Organic solvents like alcohol won’t harm metal at all. Alcohol won’t eat plastic. Shellac thinner from the hardware store is pure alcohol, and likely cheaper than alcohol packaged and sold in a drug store. I have had good luck with alcohol for cleaning tracks, although I have switched over to GooGone 'cause I think it works a little bit better.
Personally, I use DENATURED alcohol – basically ethanol (grain alcohol) with a little benzene or gasoline in it to make it undrinkable – rather than isopropyl alcohol.
However, any organic solvent should work just fine.
At a quart for 89 cents at Wally World’s pharmacy department, 70% isppropyl alcohol is about as cost-competitive as they come. I use a Q-Tip or a small piece of disposable shop-rag and you can see the dirt come off. When a fresh swab stays clean, the job is done. For loco wheels, I flip the hog on its back on a foam mat, spin the wheels with a DC power pack, and press a Q-Tip to the running surface. 70% isopropyl alcohol won’t harm most plastics, either. I doubt that it will lift the oxide layer from nickel silver, but I understand that the oxide is conductive.
I use GooGone for lots of purposes, but GooGone is never gone! I’ve always worried that the residue it leaves behind will collect gunk, and like most organic solvents, won’t conduct electricity. So I never tried it for track cleaning. Has anyone used it successfully?
BTW, I’d worry about ANY organic solvent - even the alcohols - chewing up traction tires. Anyone have any experience, good or bad?
Stay AWAY from using Goo-Gone. We used it on our club’s layout and it did clean the track but left a film that attracted even more crud. We switched to mineral spirits and that works OK. Alcohol should be OK too and it should leave minimal residue. The Mt. Hood club in Portland uses Naptha for track and wheel cleaning. Some years ago I was a member of the Columbia Gorge Club in Portland and we used Dexron ATF for cleaning track. The Dexron was applied to the rails and was spread by the trains. Wheels picked up the dirt which led to a lot of wheel cleaning.
I have been using CRC 2-26 electronic cleaner for several years now, I only have to clean track twice a year compared to other methods that all had to be done once a month. It’s available at HD & Lowes. I can’t remember the last lost DCC signal and the passenger car lights hardly flicker.
…and definitely DO NOT use GooGone for the aforementioned reasons! The same goes for WD-40 for other reasons.
Hi guys
I have asked track cleaning questions a million times but I just happen to be walking through walmart today with the wife and found they sell 99% isopropyl alcohol ( I have never seen anything higher then 75% here in Canada ) I assume this would clean better with a light coating of wahl clipper oil after?
Jeremy,
With a lower water content than 91%, 75%, or 70% Isopropyl alcohol, it should work just fine.
Personally, I would omit any oil application (Walh, ATF, etc.) but that 's me. I understand why folks do it. However, oil is oil and oil attracts dirt and dust. I clean my track once…maybe twice a year with either 91% Isopropyl or lacquer thinner.
My [2c]
Tom
I find it excellent for cleaning wheels, but not so successful cleaning track. However, my MR is in a 1/2 insulated garage here in California (the infamous “California Basement”, LOL!), and smack dab in the middle of the Central Valley Pollen Belt, so ‘wet’ cleaning the track isn’t a very successful solution at all. I generally ‘dry’ clean the track with two of the Atlas track-cleaning cars, the first with a miniature vacuum attachement, the second with a light rotary attachment. It works quite well, though during the summer, I usually have to run the ‘cleaning’ train before each operating session.
Just one of the little joys about garage model railroading, LOL! But as a wheel-cleaner,the 91% alcohol is terrific!
Tom
I sold chemicals years ago.
IPA is the common industrial cleaner in that family. NOT rubbing alcohol.
Good wheel cleaner for locos too.
Hey, make sure to use in a well ventilated room.
I switched to using denatured alcohol also because it can serve double duty as a paint stripper. I usually use it with an Aztec track cleaning car.
But the 99% alcohol cant hurt the track in any way right?
Isopropyl alcohol is a fantastic track and wheel cleaner as well as a very good paint stripper. I’ve used the 91% for years. Just don’t leave the rails wet. As anyone who has used the stuff for stripping paint can tell you it leaves a whitish haze on the objects if allowed to simply evaporate. A quick wipe with a dry cloth after applying the alcohol will take care of much of that. After stripping models I generally wash them under warm water and that takes care of the haze of them.
I don’t know. I’ve never used the 99%. I’ve been using 91% for years and I’ve never seen any damage from it. Just a light haze that can easily be cleaned off.