I have used WD40 on several electrical repair projects ( not MRR ) , and it worked just fine. WD 40, as the name code WD, stands for Water Displacement. The 40 stands for the 40th experiment that finally worked for the scientists who were creating a lubricant and water displacement product for NASA for the Space program.
It does not seem to cause any adverse effects to electrical conductivity, and it also has lubricating properties.
I think it should work just fine on tracks.
[#ditto] There are many things that will do a good job of cleaning track, but the long term consequences might not be what is expected. WD-40 leaves a gooey substance (what is left of the carrier fluid) that eventually attracts dust like mad. Just spray a little on a bolt and leave it sitting out for a month or so. Yuck… Alcohol has the opposite problem. It cleans well, evaporates away and leaves NOTHING. With nothing on the rails the electricity flowing from the track to the metal wheels of the locomotives (and other power drawing equpment) will arc. This makes microscopic pits in the rail and wheels producing some of that black stuff one can rub off the rails.
The best solution is some fluid that cleans, doesn’t evaporate totally away, is not slippery, does not get sticky, and conducts electricity. In the old days people used and swore by Wahl Clipper oil. In the 1980s we used LPS-1 electrical contact cleaning fluid.
Recently if I can’t polish the rail, 've been cleaning with alcohol and then wiping with a very repeat very light coat of the Atlas brand electrically conductive oil.
If one likes the WD-40 solution, they should consider an AMSOIL product called MP. MP stands for metal protector and displaces water just like WD-40, the difference is that it is electrically conductive. MP also eventually evaporates and attracts dust.
I use WD40 in the garage all the time to degrease car parts and also as a bug remover on the front of my truck. Its a great tar remover as well.
Cleaning wheels with WD40 has been a staple recommendation for years. WD40 on a paper towel cleans gunk from wheels really well, so it stands to reason it ought to clean rails really well. With caveats already mentioned, of course.
That must be the problem I’m having. I get my rails REALLY clean.(Goo Gone) Then go over it with alcohol. Clean my loco wheels real good. Run the loco by itself around the track 10-20 times and I can wipe my fingers down the rail heads and pick up black crap again.[banghead]
Anybody have any luck using that CRC 2-26 electrical contact cleaner/lubricant instead of WD-40?
I am surprised that no one has mentioned ACT 6006 track cleaner.
It is made by Aerocar hobby car lubricants out of Western Springs IL.
The first time I used it on a freinds layout, you could definitley see the gunk come off the wheels sets on the locos. He also has a Aztec Eliminator track cleaning car. We put some 6006 in there and a couple of laps , trains ran flawlessly.
No headlight dimming or flickering, which happens in DCC when you have dirty wheels and or dirty track. The web site says it is DCC friendly and will improve on the sound quality in sound equipped locos.
I use it on my current N scale switching layout, works great!!!. And no I don’t eat frosted flakes,lol
Adios Wyatt
A while back, I spent some time trying to figure out just what exactly in WD40.
Once sprayed out of the can into a container, over a few days(or a few minutes, when spun in a centrifuge) it will separate into two distinct layers. The top layer is an amber-colored oil, and the bottom layer is a white waxy substance.
The oil layer, which is the primary component, consists of hydrocarbons. I’m pretty sure that they were all in the C12-C16 molecular weight range(as indicated by GC-MS), although I would have to double check to make sure. With this being the case, it would be roughly equivalent to kerosene. I’m not sure where the comment on it being fish oil came from-the analysis I did showed no indication that it was derived from a biological source-there weren’t any nitrogens, oxygens, or double bonds. The data I have strongly indicates that it’s a petroleum product.
I was never quite able to figure out just what exactly the white waxy residue was. It was not soluble in any solvent I tried, including water, acetone, hexane, toluene, dichloromethane, or carbon tetrachloride. Since I couldn’t find a solvent, I wasn’t able to perform any additional tests.
My N-scale locos have some sort of traction material on the wheels of the loco’s. I do not know what the material is but I know from experience that some type of seals will swell and stretch with WD-40. I think it has to do with the penetrating ability of WD-40. I just had one of those traction wheels come off yesterday.
loathar,
The CRC 2-26 works well. I clean my track with 91% isopropyl alcohol (in CMX track cleaning machine). I then apply some 2-26 to a cotton cloth and rub portions of the track with it. The next train spreads the 2-26. I run DCC and this seems to provide very good electrical contact for extended periods. By that I mean months and I usually clean it again for general purposes rather than running problems. The use of the CMX makes cleaning so much easier and quicker, you don’t mind doing it.
Tilden
Tilden- Thanks! I just went out and did my main with it. I’ll go out and run it for a while tonight and see. I was surprised how much it cut down on the noise. It says it’s supposed to cut down on corrosion and arcing. (we’ll see[:)])
Well, I just went and dug out all of my data, and it seems as though I was not entirely correct.
The molecular weight range I found was C8 through C14. The C8 would, of course, be relatively volatile and evaporate relatively quickly, while the C14 would stick around for quite a while.
I’ve heard that Transmission Fluid works good. Just a light coat on top of rail keeps track clean. Also Flitiz metal polish works great, but can not use on grades, track to slick, but track stays clean for months.
I don’t know where you got that from but it’s incorrect. Transmission fluid (depending on the type. Dexron Mercon is good for plastic gears, ATF is not.) can attack plastic therefore degrading the ties. It’s (this goes for all types) a dust collector par excellon. Your track will get dirty again even faster. If you don’t believe me, give your track the cleaning you usually give it, mark the date and when it comes time to clean it again do it with the tranny fluid and mark the date and see how much faster the next cleaning date comes along.
I would rather use CRC 2-26, but I can’t find in in my area. That’s why I went to WD-40.
I get the CRC 2-26 at the local Lowe’s store. There’s nothing like it for cleaning the commutators in Athearn motors.
You can read more about “…where you got that…” in the April, 2008 edition of Scale Rails, p.55.
WD40 contain Stoddard Solvent which MIGHT dissolve railroad componets
Just an update. I used that 2-26 on my rails about a week ago and it works like a charm![:)]
Zero build up on my wheels and my trains are MUCH more quite now. I had a little traction problem at first, but I went back over the rails with a dry paper towel and that problem went away.
I use a bright boy. Also tissue, alcohol, alcohol wipes will work