Has any one used STP fuel injection cleaner as suggested in the recent article in MR "Tuning up your layout " for cleaning your track?
I was using Goo Gone but the article said unless Goo Gone is wiped clean it could leave a film that would end up insulating the track
I also wonder if electrical tuner cleaner would work ?
And yes I know about polishing with silver polish
TIA
According to information on the STP web site, their fuel injector cleaner is made from jet fuel. It would probably be extremely explosive. I’ve never heard of using it for track cleaning.
We use lacquer thinner in a CMX Clean Machine or Nevr-Dull Magic Wadding Polish to clean the track at our club layout. Lacquer thinner is also explosive, but in the small amount dispensed by the track cleaning car it’s hardly noticeable.
We tried Goo Gone on a Centerline track cleaning car and it left a sticky film on the rail that just attracted more dirt, so now we run the Centerline car dry behind the CMX to mop up any residue.
Has anybody actually smelled STP Fuel Injection Cleaner? The stuff stinks and is very flammable. Clean your track with that and your layout room will stink for a week. Personally I think that article had a few flaws in it. I didn’t agree with the “Clipper” oil either. Oil attracts dirt, it doesn’t matter if its a small amount or not, it attracts dirt. Putting that on your track will give you a dirty track and wheels in no time. I think MR was scrapping the bottom of the barrel on that one.
STP Fuel Inj. Cleaner has a Flashpoint of 130-152 Deg. F
See page 5
C&O Fan - Even though I’m a big fan of The King 43, I tend not to use his sponsor’s products on the model railroad…[(-D].
I use GOO GONE, and all I’ve ever encountered was—>clean track.[;)]
I work on Fighter Jets, have now for over 18 years. Jet fuel is actually less explosive than regular gasoline. Jets fuel is also a great cleaning agent, if you can stand the smell. It’s a fairly common practice to take a rag that is damp with jet fuel and use it to wipe down greasy and dirty area’s of the jet. I never thought about using it in the hobby though. I think I’ll pass. I already spend enough of my time smelling like JP-8.
My dad was a career Air Force officer and flew most of his career. I recall him saying the jet fuel is similar to kerosene, which is is cruder and less refined than gasoline, and less volatile.
Clipper oil works for me…I am not sure how or why but I have used it on a large HO layout and am now using it on a small N scale…I can put a little on both rails then run a engine thru it and you can see the engine smooth out…Cox 47
Just a follow on note to fan the flames (so to speak). Being a Fuels Chief in the USAF, there is a misconception on how “explosive” jet fuel is. Meyblc is right on the money. In fact, its very hard to to ignite JP-8 (jet fuel) with a match, usually we used a bit of gasoline to get it started. Don’t ask how I know this other than it was one of the more distasteful (and smelly) tasks we had in Iraq.
I would be worried about using STP in the enclosed space just because of the smell.
Rick
This comment might be a bit aside of the topic, but I feel that it is worth keeping in mind. No matter what you elect to use or to try from time to time, the best way to clean track is still, and always will be, running trains often and using metal wheels. At least, it is a really good form of prevention.
My preference is using very fine grit sandpaper and then keeping the rails clean by the method above. I don’t use solvents, and I never have to clean my track…ever…not with EZ-Track before this, and not with nearly a full year of running trains on this current layout.
I will admit to having to touch up places where the powered wheels spark at longer gaps or at frogs where the arcing and near-shorts take place in Peco and in W/S turnouts. Carbon builds up in short streaks at those places, but mostly where I used lacquer instead of merely cutting gaps further out. With the re-gapped frogs, no more carbon.
Well Fife The article did say you could use Goo Gone as long as you wipe it clean
[:)]
I share my layout space with a gas-fired hot water heater. Since the stated flash point of injector cleaner is well below the temperature of the heater’s open-flame pilot light, I’ll pass. There’s enough junk in Low Earth Orbit now; adding my garage roof to the collection would not improve the situation!
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Petroleum based products for track cleaning makes me wonder about the solvent effect it might have on the plastic ties.
I saw some ties get turned into goo when a small cup of laquer thinner got spilled on them. Seems like fuel injector cleaner might do the same thing.
Using metal polish on the rails cleans the track as well as protecting it from attracting dirt!
And NO it does not cause any loss of traction.
This using cleaners on the rails does just what they are supposed to do CLEAN.
But then you have to keep doing it over and over again!
DO YOU LIKE to CLEAN track?
Since I used the metal polish (way back in July 2003) I have not cleaned nor polished my rails since. It is coming up on 4 years now!
And all of my sound engines run great! I clean the engine wheels OH! maybe once every other month or so. I really do not keep track of the wheel cleanings as they are so few and far between them.
And for the record I do run both metal and PLASTIC wheels on the layout, so the story of metal wheels keeping the track clean is not the total answer (but I have to admit it helps a lot - and I am slowly changing my 800 car fleet over as time permits).
Everyone keeps harping on these toxic chemicals and their use in enclosed areas YET modelers are using a lot more toxic items on their layouts than most people are exposed to! Maybe we don’t understand how little these things effect us in enclosed areas (all warnings state use in well ventilated areas) most basements are not well ventilated!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
I don’t clean my track, my CMX Clean Machine does it for me. I only clean mine every 6 months or so and its more for preventative maintenance then for poor running. I like your idea but for the amount of time involved polishing the track I would much rather get my MOW train coupled together and run it for awhile.
If one spends time running a cleaning car do you get into each industrial track and passing siding and staging track?
What do you do with all of the cars that are on the layout while you are running the cleaning cartrain?
With over 2900 feet of track and 800 plus cars and all of the staged trains running a dumb cleaning car into every piece of track I would be spending weeks trying to do a good job.
And how do I know this as I tried doing it before using the metal polish. If I had a 4 x 8 then a cleaning car would work but the dirt is getting on the industrial tracks (which I have over 100) and the staging tracks to move all of the trains out of the sequential staging would have me fill up all of my lower level tracks and have no room to run the CLEANING train.
While a small layout works fine for a cleaning train a large layout gets rather complicated unless you only clean the main and skip the rest of the track.
Might as well not waste the time as the first train into a non cleaned section just picks up the dirt and spreads it onto the nice clean main line!!
And if I am going to run a train it is going to be doing switching not running in circles. That’s for Christmas at the Club shows!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
Bob, the CMX Clean Machine is not just a dumb cleaning car. Its a very well thought out piece of equipment that works very well. You would not spend weeks cleaning your track with it. I bet you spent months polishing your layouts track though. Polishing works great for you, so be it but don’t bad mouth a track cleaning car just because it doesn’t work in your application. I bet if you tried it you might actually appreciate it for what it is. You could probably save yourself a ton of time just by using it on your main lines and polishing your sidings. To each his own. It cleans my sidings very well and I’m very happy that I spent the money on it. I can have a 2 hour operating session just by pulling cars out of sidings, cleaning the siding and then putting the cars back in place. I always clean the sidings first, after they are clean then I can sit back, grab a beer and pretend its Christmas as I watch my MOW train run circles on my main lines. [:o)]
Well you guys are right STP fails the smell test and is a deal breaker
I tried some rubbing alcohol it seems to clean ok
I going to check Radio Shack I’m sure the have a cleaner that won’t leave a residue
Selector
Doesn’t the sand paper scratch the rails ?
Where did you buy your CMX Clean Machine ?
and how much was it ?