Whats The Best Way to Clean Postwar Lionel Track

A small amount of rubbing alcohol on a paper towel does good, run it over the rails and try not to get any on the crossties or insulators.

Stay away from WD-40 as it leaves an oily film behind.

Look underneath the track to see if it is rusted or not, you may need to open the underside a little to see if it is rusty. If rust is on both sides of the track it would be best to get rid of it.

Sand paper will get rid of light rust but heavy rust will usually return after a couple of months.

Lee Fritz

Khayden93,

Over the years I've tried many things. The one thing that worked best above all others was my wife's dishwasher. Place all of your track in neatly. Wash with detergent on hot wash and hot rinse twice. Be sure to use heated dry on the second cycle. Allow to dry without opening the door. You'll be amazed at the results.

"Pappy"

hmm interesting idea might have to try it

 NO NO NEVER NEVER use steel wool !!!!!

   Toy train engines could have magnetraction, and magnetic fields around the motors.  This pulls the tiny fibers left over from the steel wool, and will certainly stop your motor for good.

Scotch brite the tops of the rails and the pins.  Rust on the side of the rail is an advantage that the detailers love, so leave it alone.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO steel wool.

Next time try searching the forum first.  There is a large number of threads that have already been through this exercise.  You may find better (and safer) information there.

Naphtha is safe to use on any trains and track to remove dirt and grease. Use a Scotchbrite pad for light rust on the track, and a Dremel moto tool with a wire brush wheel for heavier rust. Do not use sandpaper on track, as it will remove the tin plating on the steel rails.

Larry

Check this Clean the Track Video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObcKEQ6_Em0

DO NOT EVER USE STEEL WOOL TO CLEAN YOUR TRACK!!

Small pieces of it will be left on the track. Those pieces of STEEL will them be sucked into the motors of your locomotives via the magnets in the motor. You will NOT enjoy fixing that.  

VERY BAD IDEA...

If you run often enough the rust wont creep back to those surfaces. The pin connections can be a pain sometimes if rusty, so the next batch of used & rusty I clean will have pulled pins, and soak in my new "go to product" suggested by some tinplate guys here, Evaporust liquid rust remover. It worked great on some rusty tinplate for me. Didn't harm the old litho paint a bit. I used a plastic brush on the bad rust. I have no real idea how it will react to the plating, but assume it will be fine as long as it is rinsed well, and dried fast. Insulators could be an issue too, as wetness alone could change them a bit. I think it is citrus based.  

I would check resistance with a meter to see if the track is worth cleaning and dont use steel wool,use scotch brite and wipe with white cloth.

I use these Scotch Brite pads on my Dremel tool...

I use a regular Scotchbrite pad and some elbow grease. After that I wipe the rails down with a rag soaked in alcohol to pick up the Scotchbrite dust. If you use any kind of fluid to clean tubular track, make sure the track is dry before turning the transformer back on. I had quite a few gremlins after cleaning my track once, and it was just that the rail insulators were damp, allowing some current to pass through them.

In my opinion, if the track is so dirty that a Scotchbrite pad won't clean it, you are probably better off just tossing it and getting some different track. The stuff is dirt cheap (very punny!) and some of the things people use to clean their track cost more than tubular track does.

Hope this helps,

J White

The best and easiest way to remove rust from track, including inside the ends, is to use electrolysis. This is the method that museums and other restoration facilities use. It is almost cost-free and produces the best results, getting into every nook and cranny of the item. See below for a before view and an after view of an otherwise rusted out vise. Very little elbow grease is needed, as the electrolysis does all the work. I have used this on rusted track and tools successfully.

Larry

I noticed that the treatise on electrolysis warned against immersing any object containing wood, leather or plastic.  So I wonder about the tie insulators on our track.  I'm not sure what material they are, but could they be more rugged than wood, to survive the chemical soaking?

Here is one more method for your consideration.  A method the latest issue of the Train Collectors Association's "Train Collectors Quarterly" suggested uses a full Scotch Bright pad in conjunction with a palm sander.  Simply place the pad on the track and lower the sander on to it.  The author warns that care is needed at the ends of the track, to avoid damaging the pad.  He says to have cleaned up 500 feet of used rusty track this way. 

The tie insulators are a paper product and were not affected in the tracks I used this process on. Once dry, the track was ready to use. This method will effectively remove the rust inside the track ends where the track pins go, a place that is difficult to clean, and many people may ignore.

Larry

Electrolysis does sound like the way to go then, especially if one has a lot of old track to refurbish.

I heard that a cleaning solution containing some kind of CITRUS product is good for cleaning PW tinplate track.  I was going to try a soft cloth that has ZEP citrus cleaner applied to it and see how it works !

KRK

Evaporust is citrus based. Zep may get the outside clean but I don't think it will remove rust well. More of a wipe the counter product. Rinsing citrus acid is a good idea too. Don't leave it on.

(New folk, keep strange cleaners away from your plastic tracks/cars till tested. Simple Green melts some for instance.) 

Ive cleaned many a friends train of steel wool, because they "cleaned" their track with it.

you cant believe the little particles attached to the magna traction. Its almost impossible to get out. The best way Ive found is using my air compressor and blowing it OUT.

So NEVER use steel wool to clean track!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!