Cleaning Tarnished Rail Ends. Cola, Vinegar or other lotions or potions?

Unpleasant joke of the day:

Q: why did the baker have brown hands?
A: because he kneaded a poo......

Jon.
 
No one has suggested a small wire brush.. Either manual, or in a Dremel-type tool??

Using 'acid' is a bit like watching paint dry..
 
Greg Elmassian said:
You picked the exact opposite of an acid... acid does work in oxidation...
Click to expand...

Ah, but the toothpaste (abrasive cleaner), combined with the 'old tooth-brush' from a previous post will give you a fresh,minty joint that smells and looks clean!
:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
PhilP said:
No one has suggested a small wire brush.. Either manual, or in a Dremel-type tool??

Using 'acid' is a bit like watching paint dry..
Click to expand...

I mentioned a brass wire brush after soaking in some vinegar for stubborn oxidization and grime. A going over with a green Scotchbrite pad works well for the rail tops but hard to get into the nooks and crannies.
A small Dremel wire brush would be good for the ends and joiners.
It's best to avoid anything aggressive that will scratch the surface because it will tend to hold dirt and oxidization more. Smooth rails are better for keeping them clean.
 
Greg Elmassian said:
Hmm... I find that the acid cleans it almost immediately... perhaps you are using too weak of a solution..

Watch at 1 minute, takes literally one second. Have you actually tried it?

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Well I had heard somewhere else that Vinegar needed some salt, now I know why Chemistry to create Hydracolic Acid! Next experiment but still need to try the real thing.
 
Paradise said:
I mentioned a brass wire brush after soaking in some vinegar for stubborn oxidization and grime. A going over with a green Scotchbrite pad works well for the rail tops but hard to get into the nooks and crannies.
A small Dremel wire brush would be good for the ends and joiners.
It's best to avoid anything aggressive that will scratch the surface because it will tend to hold dirt and oxidization more. Smooth rails are better for keeping them clean.
Click to expand...
A former member of this site had a lovely operating US layout that I visited for an operating session (indoors layout). He used scotchbright for track cleaning totally uselesss and the evening was only spoilt by the poor running on dirty rails. Perhaps had he soaked in vinegar there may have been an improvement but not sure what SMWBO in his house would have thought and also not sure about the effects of that on plated wheels.

My experiments are just to get Rail Ends back to good condition with track that has been unused in a Garden for many years, for good old Rail Head Cleaning the LGB Track Block is my top favourite, nothing else cuts the mustard for me.
 
PhilP said:
No one has suggested a small wire brush.. Either manual, or in a Dremel-type tool??

Using 'acid' is a bit like watching paint dry..
Click to expand...
Phil please see my earlier post about Kilroc, very quick.
 
Jimmy, thanks to your info yesterday I've ordered myself a bottle of the gel version of the Kilrock stuff (as opposed to the liquid version you used - I figured that the gel was worth trying as I can brush it on to the exact areas I want cleaned - which is basically the rail foot ends to ensure a good connection with the track clamps).... it should arrive in a couple of days, will report back on its effectiveness once I've had a chance to try it out.....

Jon.
 
Zerogee said:
Jimmy, thanks to your info yesterday I've ordered myself a bottle of the gel version of the Kilrock stuff (as opposed to the liquid version you used - I figured that the gel was worth trying as I can brush it on to the exact areas I want cleaned - which is basically the rail foot ends to ensure a good connection with the track clamps).... it should arrive in a couple of days, will report back on its effectiveness once I've had a chance to try it out.....
Jon.
Click to expand...
I would hope its even better, I was just trying what was to hand.
 
I'd suggest using a fibreglass burnishing brush on the rail ends. It does not take long and the abrasion is quite fine compared with a wire brush It will not deal with the inside of a rail joiner though. These, if desired, could be cleaned chemically. These tools are also useful for preparing surfaces for solder as well as for general cleaning up.

Personally, I wouldn't want the rails looking any brighter than necessary. The burnishing can be confined to the lower half of the rail, which result (short of masking fluid) can't be achieved by the chemical methods.
 
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