Hi folks
Is WD40 suitable for lubricating/cleaning HO loco parts and mechanisms? I’m more interested in lubricatiing at the moment. I have a couple of Atlas units that are a little squeeky. With 40+ years as an electrical engineer WD40 would seem perfect to me for some of these needs unless I’m missing something.
thanks
Ed
NO… WD-40 is wonderful stuff for around the garage, but not suitable for our electric model trains.
-Kevin
My experience with WD-40 on my trains is for a temporary fix is OK but doesn’t last very long in the Bakersfield heat. A fine machine oil such as Labelle 102 works better.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
DO NOT USE WD-40 on loco parts. It is not really a lubricant, but rather a penetrant.
Rich
I use CRC 2-26. It lubricates and cleans electrical connections.
Mike.
Never WD40. A retired mechanic.
CRC2-26 sometimes but mostly LaBelle products for final lubrication.
Rich
Supposedly it gets sticky rather than lubricating. It can also remove paint, not the side effect I was expecting on a craftsman tool chest. [:'(]
Ditto on the CRC 2-26.
For places where electrical contact are important I use De-Oxit.
I never used WD-40 on models for fear that it would attack certain plastics.
Good Luck, Ed
Hello All,
“Water Dispersment Formula Number 40” (WD-40) was never intended as a lubricant.
As said before it is a form of penetrant and was designed to dry out the contact points in wet ignition systems.
What are you cleaning?
What are you lubricating?
For cleaning my go-to has been 91% isopropyl alcohol. Unfortunately, it has become more difficult to find due to current health concerns.
You can substitute 70% isopropyl alcohol. It works too but might take several passes or soakings, and has also been difficult to find in these times.
Denatured alcohol is another degreaser I use.
If I need an aerosol cleaner I too use CRC “QD Electronic Cleaner”. This is great for flushing out contaminants and is plastic safe.
For track cleaning I have in my arsenal Aero-Car Hobby Lubricant’s “ACT-6006 Track & Rail Cleaner” along with dapol brand “Track Cleaning Fluid” for use in my dapol brand track cleaning car.
Once the items are clean, depending on the component(s), I use White Lithium grease (available at hardware, big-box and auto parts stores) for gears.
Good old “3-In-One” is on hand for light lubrication applications, applied sparingly.
Recently, a technician at Bachmann suggested their proprietary “E-Z Lube”.
This is a plastic compatible, “conductive contact lube”. I was advised to periodically, sparingly, apply to the contact/wiper sides of the wheels on locomotives to promote electrical pickup.
Labelle manufacturers specialty lubricants for hobby applications from greases to oils. I have not had a chance to use their products but they do come highly recommended.
For dry lubrication applications; coupler boxes, I use Graphite Powder.
This can be bought from hobby manufacturers under
I retired back in 2006 and forgot I was using Simple Green a bio degradable citrus based product rather than the usual solvent products for mechanical cleaners. I still use it at home.
Rich
This is great stuff for cleaning locomotive parts. I have not had it ever attack any plastic, but I still test it to be sure.
-Kevin
many thanks to all for the inputs…I guess I’ll stay away
curious that the description, at least on Amazon, includes this line
Ed
Just curious, jj. You already have 91% alcohol in your arsenal. Why not use that to clean your track?
What that means to imply is that a squirt of WD-40 will “free up” rusted parts or severely dried out parts of hinges, pulleys, locks, etc.
Rich
WD-40 is a spray, and gets places you don’t want it. That’s OK on a squeeky door hinge it desk chair wheel, but locomotives need mostly clean, dry surfaces with lubrication only in the right places.
LaBelle oil is much more precise to apply and is made for the materials of which model trains are made. Get their grease, too, because if you’re lubricating engines you’ll need gear grease, too.
Hello All,
Sigh…
Yes, I know- -another track cleaning discussion!!!
In the May, 2019, issue of Model Railroad Hobbyist, under the “Publisher’s Musings” is the topic track of cleaning.
One of the points brought up in this article is the molecular polarity of cleaning solvents and how that relates to the gray residue found on Nickel-silver track.
The article has a chart of non-polar, semi-polar, and polar solvents.
Non-polar solvents apparently being the most effective in inhibiting this build-up.
Isopropyl alcohol (unknown %) is listed on this chart as a polar solvent with a Dielectric Constant of 18.0.
Apparently, the lower the Dielectric Constant of the cleaner the less chance there is of microarcing; which is the cause of this oxidation, or “dirty track”.
Kerosene is listed with the lowest Dielectric Constant at 1.8, while water is listed as the highest at 80.4.
I don’t know the Dielectric Constants of ACT-6006, dapol Track Cleaning Fluid or Bachmann E-Z Lube.
The instructions for the dapol Cleaning Car says to not use “petroleum-based cleaning solutions”.
Kerosene is definitely a petroleum-based product, despite it’s low Dielectric Constant index.
I don’t feel confident using kerosene on my pike- -because of flammability.
That leaves the cleaning solutions with unknown Dielectric Constants.
Hope this helps.
Alcohol is also flammable, as are many of the solutions/fluids tested in the article referenced above. We aren’t talking about leaving pools of the stuff, or even HO/N scale puddles of it, around the layout. We’re talking about an exceedingly thin layer of it spread along the rails. If perchance it did go “POOF” due to, say, arcing, it would last a millisecond and leave the rails somewhat darker than when they had first been powered moments earlier. That’s it.
And the recommendation to avoid petroleum products is because many plastics are reactive with them. Wouldn’t do to fill your new track cleaning car with a solvent only to have the whole thing melt down and spill.
–Randy
I didn’t know anything about the Dapol cleaning car. I just watched (skimmed through) a couple of videos.
So that’s how they work! First pass, a vacum or hoover, as the Brits call it, then the abrasive cleaning wheel, then the rail buffing pad. I was actually somewhat impressed when the author of the video compared hand cleaned rails, next to the Dapol cleaned rails. [:O]
OK, back to topic, sorry. [swg]
I use the CRC 2-26 on switch (turnouts) pivots (where the point rail pivots), if you understand what I’m talking about, and on locomotives with the brass pick up strip that the axles go into, on Kato, Genesis, Atlas, Scale Trains, etc., etc., and on each end of the armature, all applied with the tip of a very fine paint brush.
I use WD-40 and PB Blaster out in the garage.
Mike.