I’ve been hesitant to post this, but it’s way past time to get some feedback on addressing the problem. Before I get too much flak, it has been a rough few years. My wife and life partner of almost 29 years was diagnosed with lymphoma, fought like crazy for 2 years, knocked it into remission twice, then passed after receiving a stem cell transplant that was supposed to “cure” it. That was 3 years ago. I have been in depression since, and have turned to my outdoor hobbies (hiking, canoeing, gardening) to cope. I’m not looking for pity, but explaining what led up to this situation. Earlier this year, I started to get back into my HO trains. No permanent layout, just a 8 x 16 test loop with sidings that’s been up for way too long. We had a large box of 3 cases of brand new Peco code 83 flex track, and around 50 new turnouts. We had one cat in the basement for mice, then she had kittens and they multiplied. I was unable to catch around 4 of them. Needless to say, they had found their way into my track box and peed. This created a bluish green corrosion on the track. Only around 6 of the turnouts were affected, but half of the flex track was. My question is what is the most effective method of removing this corrosion? My initial thought was a Bright Boy, but I want to avoid scratching the track up if I can help it. I read in an earlier thread that white vinegar might work, but the search function on this forum does not seem to be what it used to. Google also turned up little.
This could have been much worse. My DCC equipment, locos, and rolling stock are all fine. The cats are gone, except for the momma, who has always used the litter box.
Hi there. I would say it depends a lot on the condition of the track. I would start by rubbing it with alcohol and see if that works. It’s the most gentle treatment, so that’s why I would start there. If the corrosion is deeper, you might have to use something like Bright Boy or an extra fine sandpaper. You might have to go through a couple of grades to achieve that shiny look.
Go to Walgreens and buy about 10 containers of hydrogen peroxide. It’s cheap.
Soak the Flex track overnight and wipe the rails with a terry-cloth the next day.
That stuff was the only thing that took nicotine stains off my fingers when I smoked. I don’t have any experience or proof that this will work for your track but if it was my situation that is what I would try first.
Nickel silver is an alloy mostly of copper. The black/green is mostly copper oxide which is a salt. Ordinary vinegar will remove it. That’s a very mild and safe acid to use. Cat urine is no different chemically to mammalian urine in general and is mostly salts in solution. It’s the salty bit that corrodes the metal. To reverse salt corrosion use an acid.
Hydrogen peroxide will not work as it is not an acid. As the name suggests H2O2 is a pretty strong oxidizer. That’s how it disinfects, if you’re a bit crazy. You can also brush your teeth with it although I wouldn’t, personally. Point is you generally can’t clean oxidation by using an oxidizer (reducing agent)
Technically only the top of the rail needs to be clean and ordinary track cleaning methods will clean those. You won’t have to weather the rails… [:)]
I got that same greenish patina on my nickle silver track from using MicroEngineering’s liquid blackener or darkener - which I was hoping would match the deep brown of their pre-weathered flex track. it does not. There is no evidence that MicroEngineering is peddling kitten pee in a plastic bottle but there may be some similarities.
The chemical means suggested by others for addressing the patina should be tried of course. However since my track is laid and ballasted I am reluctant to introduce more liquid onto the roadbed. I have a set of scratchbrushes – almost like retractable pencils but with strands of brass, steel and fibreglass. The brass is a softer metal than the nickle silver and thus I’d try that (a brass wire brush in a Dremel turns too fast and would likely melt whatever plastic nubbins hold the rail to the tie).
I think I would try the old baking-soda-and-toothpaste method after soaking the lengths in one of the recommended chemicals. You can pick a more or less abrasive kind of paste, a soft or firm brush, and see if blasting soda (a coarser grit) has any advantage.
Rinse the track very carefully afterward; I’d dry it with a hair dryer on low heat, high air velocity.
And wrap it in ‘packs’ using something impervious to pee when you put it away again [;)]
I set up an elaborate HO layout around the tree each holiday season.
During the season, every morning when I get up, I judiciously check the track for downed trees or telegraph poles resulting from any overnight kitty mishap.
One morning, a few Christmases ago, I had overdone it a little the night before, and didn’t bother to check the track. I started up the train and sat down. Then I heard the sounds of a derailment.
Of all mornings not to check the track, one of the cats decided to throw up on the track. The locomotive ploughed through it and derailed.
Nothing like cleaning cat vomit off of your locomotive, with a hangover.
So to your point, I would say that “humans” and “model railroading” should not be used in the same sentence. Cats are just being cats. It’s the humans who don’t always know how to balance the two. [:D]
Yup, you really can’t win. It’s either acid or basic out there. 0-14, choose your poison, har har. And forget about using “neutral” distilled water, that stuff will dissolve anything.
Seriously, for model railroading milder is safer. That’s why I suggest vinegar. You could also use lemon juice if vinegar seems too strong.
You use the vinegar to react with the copper oxide by enough to dissolve just the oxide. You’ll need a mild abrasive to get the black stuff off. Then you rinse off the vinegar with tap water which is usually a ph basic, although not always. You lost the rail to corrosion from the cat pee in the first place and that copper ain’t coming back unless you replate the rails using copper sulfate and a battery (don’t connect the electrodes directly to your DCC or you will blow it up).
Then you’ll have copper coloured nickel silver which will look more like rusty steel than the standard colour but you’ll also then have to abrade the copper off the tops of the rails to get that big steel rail look back again.
You speak wisely Tatans, …Now you may run my Village!
Poor Gary my model railroad club host got talked into adopting this FARM CAT!!!
Do I have to say anymore. I don’t think I do but I will anyway.
40 Years of a love of passion Dreamland World got destroyed in less than a week
Since the covid I haven’t been to my Railroad Club for a long time.
There’s a lot of work to do over there when I return I’ll tell you.
Making stuff new is a lot funner than repairing things.
And thinking about things. I don’t ever recall any one of my six dogs I owned throughout my life jumping up on the kitchen table let alone the train layout
When I was at Boeing, we would have to manufacture replacement structural parts that went under the lavatories for many airliners that were over 10-15 years old. Sometimes people “miss” the toilet and some urine gets on the floor. It would seep down through the cracks between the wall and floor and get onto the structural aluminum. While the airlines would do a good job of cleaning the lavs, the urine would remain on the structure underneath.
Over years of time, the constantly-replenished urine would eat through the (usually) zinc chromate primer and begin to erode away the aluminum itself. In extreme cases, floor supports would wind up looking like those older steel-bodied cars that had been on salted roads for years - you could see right through the thinner sections!
So - cat urine is somewhat acidic (Ph 6.3-6.6 usually). To stop the corrosion, soak it in a baking soda / water solution (Ph of about 8) for a day or two (Do NOT use vinegar, as it, like the cat urine, is acidic, though much more so - Ph about 2.5. Do not expect to neutralize one acid with another acid). Then remove the track, rinse thoroughly with water and allow to dry. Use the brass brushes Dave Nelson suggested to clean the loose corrosion away. The brass bristles will also polish the rails, and you can enhance this using Comet or other abrasive cleaner. Final polish the railhead using a brite boy or fine grit sandpaper.
Thanks for the responses. I’m getting some helpful tips, as well as some much needed humor!
Observations: the corrosion is worse on some pieces than others, and there appears to be some mouse pee splattered in as well, but the track looks salvageable. I did experiment with vinegar rubbed in with a cloth on one of the worst pieces of flex track, and on one of the turnouts. It seems to be working. The hardest place to get to is where the lower sides of the rails meet the ties. I have worked on those areas with an old toothbrush. I used 91% alcohol on one area, and the vinegar seems to be working better on the cat urine. I wiped the ties and rails with cloth after application, but did not think about rinsing. The mouse pee is a little more tarry, and neither method is removing it well. Cats and mice - two of the pleasures of living on a farm.
I may try the baking soda soak next, but need to find a pan long enough. Thanks for the responses and keep them coming, I really appreciate them!
You can make a long pan from PVC pipe with pipe caps on both ends. Glue the cap on one end and keep the other end removable. You can cut the pipe in half length wise if you want an open pan with the caps glued on both ends.