Hi, has anyone used Deluxe Materials 'Track Magic' for cleaning the track on their layout. If so does it work?, how far does 50mn go, does it prevent oxidisation (as it claims to do). Any other comments will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I might not have found the best way to use it or made some mistake, but I bought some from a trader at an exhibition, applied it on my layout and left it over night. Setting up the following morning I ended up trying to clean whatever residue was left and I've not used it since.
As far as I can see it is mostly naptha (i.e. something between petrol and paraffin I understand) and something else. I suspect some other petroleum product such as a light oil as I got the impression that is was a magnet for dust.
Maybe I needed to persevere and find the optimum application rate and method, but I came away feeling it was a very expensive way of buying readily available solvents that you could possibly buy by the 10 litre container full for the same price.
There was a long involved article online or in some railway magazine in the USA about 'polar and non-polar solvents' by someone who apparently had a friend of a friend who "was a chemist" who "proved" one was good and the other was bad that may have played into this. My lack of knowledge about the subject means I cannot say what possible effect this could have after it has evaporated. I suspect that if you need to use a solvent to clean the track the key attributes are that it does not ruin the track and you are happy using it.
I have found that any liquid or fluid cleaning of the track reduces adeasion on grades. So it is ok for flat layouts but not so good if you have grades. This can also effect locos if they are later used on another layout!
I use a fine contact cleaning rubber, it may take some time and has to be done often, or each day at an exhibition, but it is effective and does apear to help with adesion on the grades!
I use Garryflex blocks for track cleaning. They come in a variety of grades from ones that are coarser than typical track rubbers to extra fine 600 grit that will bring up a good polish on metal surfaces. They can be cut and shaped if desired.
They are excellent for preparing brass kits for soldering too. They are used commonly by sheet metal workers and jewellers. Readily available and I've seen them on Squires stands at exhibitions.
When it comes to cleaning the rails in many respects it depends how mucky they are, but generally this is what I do:
Very heavy deposits are first cleaned with fine emery paper. The usual ones are OK, but I have a selection of grades from 1000 down to 3000 grit that I use for the initial polish of the silver jewellery I make (as another hobby). Small bits of these papers are also useful folded over (rough side out) and slipped between the point blade and stock rail to clean the contact that gets current along the blade and to the frog (though I also use polarity switching too).
I've also used glass fibre bundle brushes, but wouldn't recommend them as they leave fine glass fibres behind that are very painful embedded in one's skin, especially the propelling pencil type.
I've also used 'track rubbers', but follow this up with a small vacuum cleaner to remove the rubber particles left behind.
I also use a solvent - either after the abrasive to remove residues or on its own to clear light deposits - applied with a cotton bud (for fine track work) or lint free cloth. The solvent is often ethanol, bought as Industrial Methylated Spirit (IMS) which is a colourless version of the purple Methylated Spirit (MMS), though I have seen 'colourless Meths' sold in places like B&Q as fuel for stoves and the like. I tend to avoid MMS as I'm not convinced that the purple dye (crystal violet) will not dye the ballast and surrounding scenery, but others have used it without any ill effects.
I also use isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to do the same job and it seems to be a bit better at shifting heavier deposits than IMS and very useful for cleaning electrical contacts - like the one between the point blade & stock rail, but also be useful for switches in general - but is a bit more expensive and difficult to get hold of, so I tend to limit it's use to critical areas (point blades) on the layout, with the IMS used on the rest of the layout.
I did try 'Rail Zip' once, and I found it made running much worse! I've not used 'Track Magic' myself, but having read the ingredients list have concerns as to what it might do to the plastic sleepers (and some anecdotal evidence suggests that my concerns are valid).
Much of the above is based on my own experience of exhibiting my own layouts and helping others (especially Peter Cullen), but comes with a small amount of chemical knowledge.
Julien
(B.Sc. (hons) Industrial Chemistry, M.Sc. Instrumental Chemical Analysis)
Thanks to one and all.
I've been taking a closer look at Track Magic and it is, as Graeme mentioned, a petroleum distillate. Interestingly I came across someone who had tested it on their layout and had found that if the temperature was little on the cool side (maybe the layout is in a garage or in an attic) then Track Magic slightly solidified and became a bit waxy (this is on track!). So may be Track Magic is a no-no.
I've also been taking a look at the CMX track cleaner, a very pricey brass tanker type system which has been around for years and years and all the reviews are very complimentary, but it's heavy so maybe tricky to pull or push around a layout - but maybe?
Julien, I use the same method of using emery paper (I think 3000 gauge) on point blades and that does work really well, would recommend that method. I also dislike fibre pencils/brushes.
I'm thinking of using low odour/odourless mineral spirit (white spirit to us here in the UK), readily available. Maybe with the CMX tanker or the manual method with the pads that come with the Woodland Scenics track cleaner (which I already have). Low odour doesn't have the nasties in it that make it smell so much but it does take a little longer to evaporate. Certain contact cleaners are meant to be good but not all. There is one - CRC Contact Cleaner and Protectorant - which gets mentioned in despatches.
I don't have massive issues with dirty track as I run a de-humidifier in the layout room and that is a god-send, believe me.
But I do have a lot of track to keep clean, one layout measures about 18.5 feet m x 10.5 feet in an almost closed rectangle (about 65 ft in overall length but that actual track length increases significantly because of sidings, loops etc etc - note to self, one day must work out how much track there is), the other is L-shaped at about 8 ft by 8ft (L-shaped). So a lot of track! and quick but effective ways to clean is what it's all about for me.
I use Isopropyl alcohol to clean the tracks on my layout. I have a "Track Mop" - which is just a fancy device for holding a piece of J-cloth flat against the rails - put the IPA on that and push/drag it along the rails. Do it once at the start of the day's running. If there's an issue during the day I have a small piece of hardboard which I rub along the rail tops.
I DO NOT use anything abrasive on the track.
Here is the article about track cleaning.
You can then make up your own minds. This is a very contentious subject.
There is a YouTube video showing the scratches track rubbers etc do to the rail.
https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/mrh2024-08/online
Quote from: Andy on March 15, 2026, 18:20I'm thinking of using low odour/odourless mineral spirit (white spirit to us here in the UK), readily available. Maybe with the CMX tanker or the manual method with the pads that come with the Woodland Scenics track cleaner (which I already have). Low odour doesn't have the nasties in it that make it smell so much but it does take a little longer to evaporate. Certain contact cleaners are meant to be good but not all. There is one - CRC Contact Cleaner and Protectorant - which gets mentioned in despatches.
I would avoid white spirit as it's another petroleum distillate (hence 'mineral spirit'), and being less volatile than meths/IMS/IPA may end up leaving a residue. It may also strip any weathering paint from the track (though IPA may also do this) and being much like the Track Magic in composition may also affect the plastic components of the track over time.
That's not to say that things like the CMX tanker or Woodland Scenics track cleaner are no good - it's just that I would use IPA or IMS on them to clean the track.
Quote from: Andy on March 16, 2026, 11:33Thanks Julien, good comment on the White Spirit and IMS, duly noted. I'm not sure on using the industrial Meths (IMS) as when I looked it up it was described as a highly flammable, poisonous blend of ethanol and methanol (am I missing something here?).
So IMS and Methylated Sprit are both mostly Ethanol (CH
3CH
2OH) in a higher concentration (around 70%) than Vodka or Gin and the like (around 40%). What stops people* drinking them is the addition of anout 10% Methanol (CH
3OH) that is toxic, sometimes a bitering agent and in the case of Meths a purple dye (usually Crystal Violet).
Not that it stops the very desperate, or those who end up being served it in counterfeit / bootleg bottles bought cheap from a man at the pub/car boot sale/etc., from drinking it with unfortunate (blindness) and sometimes fatal effects.
The idea is that by making it undrinkable it avoids the various duties needing to be paid on things that you
can drink, like vodka, gin, whisk(e)y etc., and the stuff generally available to the public (Meths) has the purple dye added whereas IMS doesn't (the dye may get in the way).
However, as long as you are not drinking the stuff, or taking a bath in it, you should be OK for using IMS or Meths to clean the track.
If you do want a tipple as you clean the track then use vodka instead, but if you drink enough of that it will kill you too...
They key thing with risks (chemical or otherwise) is to be aware of them and take precautions by treating such things with respect. In my experience a lot of the time there seems to be a lot ignorance of risk, or a total aversion to risk bordering on panic, and neither is helpful.
QuoteThe WS tool (which I already have and I may buy another so as the wife doesn't feel left out on the cleaning front!) and the WD-40 specialist contact cleaner is a relatively inexpensive option and the latter is readily available at less than £8 a can on Amazon.
I suspect that the contact cleaner may be Isopropyl alcohol - certainly the aerosol can of contact & switch cleaner I had from Maplins was - but I'd check out the Safety Data Sheet to be sure as standard WD-40 may not be so good for plastic...
Quote from: Andy on March 16, 2026, 11:33The WS tool (which I already have and I may buy another so as the wife doesn't feel left out on the cleaning front!) and the WD-40 specialist contact cleaner is a relatively inexpensive option and the latter is readily available at less than £8 a can on Amazon.
I just did - mostly Heptane and other hydrocarbon / petroleum distillates. Not something I'd use for track cleaning myself...
Peco don't recommend Track Magic for their products.
IPA or contact cleaner probably best.
I also have a lot of track.
In regard to track cleaning vehicles I use the Fleischmann N-gauge track cleaning loco chassis with scratch built 009/H0e bodies with as much lead weight in than as possiable. (I have three of these, but usually only have one in use at a time.) These have two revolving disks with fine grade emery paper. I have found that using one of these on the layouts does keep the track clean, but obviously the loco needs to go on every section of track. These chassis also run very well and are still going strong after over 40 years of use! (I understand that the axle gears can split, but so far I have not had this problem myself.
However, this only works when the layouts are in use, it is not any good if the layouts have been out of use for a while. In that case as mentioned I use a fine grade contact cleaning rubber. Even on Westdorf this takes under 10 mins to clean all the track, both narrow and standard gauge. (I also have a standard gauge Fleischmann track cleaning loco.)
At exhibitions I clean the track each morning with the rubber, and always have one of the track cleaning locos in use.
WD-40 can leave an oily residue that attracts dust and it can also dammage rubber like traction tyres and/or some plastics, like sleepers for example!!
So perhaps it is best to keep WD40 away from 009 track?
But I am no chemist, so I may be wrong!
I've seen many types of track cleaner. As a child had an OO Triang one which was a wagon with a felt pad soaked with methyated spirit. There is fancy one (Fleishmann?) with a motorised rotating pad I think. Another was someone convertig wagon to carry a small block to hardboard (textured side down) and a variation which was a block of hardboard on a stick.
If the track has been prepared and cleaned and just needs a refresh then plain coarse paper (not coated) or thin card lifts light dirt. I guess the cellulose fibres are just abrasive enough. For a quick buff-up I fold a sheet of paper into a block an use that. When it gets dirty I refold to expose a clean piece of paper.
My usual practice now is to give the rails a good 'bedding in' after laying using a fairly coarse track rubber or fine emery and then work my way down through finer grades until it gets to the stage of polishing at which point barring accidents or long term or poor storage very little needs to be done other than a re-buffing. I learned that having bought a kit that was sold for model making but was actually manufactured as one for removing scratches from perspex sailplane canopies. It is quite daunting the first time. You start with a coarse grit to match the depth of the scratch and completely ruin the finish around the scratch. Then you go to the next grit remove those scratches. And then to next finest and so on. I used it to good effect on a battered second hand fibreglass model boat hull. Starting off doing it the wrong way gave a beautiful glossy surface that highlighted the deeper scratches even more.
I think there is some justification as I understand that in prototype practice rail heads in areas of heavy wear are re-ground periodically to reinstate the rail head profile for correct wheel 'coning' (as are the wheel tyres for the same reason).
Quote from: Andy on March 18, 2026, 11:05Point blades will be either a super fine emery (3000) or a tiny brush with contact cleaner on it.
Experience many years ago has shown me that no mater how often or how well you clean the 009 point blades the electrical switching will always fail at the worst possible moment...and then it will do it again just after you clean it!
This is why I always fit frog polarity switches to every point, not just 009 but all my standard gauge 00 points as well.
To maximise electrical contact, should we clean the inside shoulder of the rail head as well, or just the top?
David.
I suspect it will have minimal effect. If you take a short length of straight track, place a loco on it and look at it head on you should be able to see just how much side to side play there is. I think the chance that the flanges will make contact could be slim.
If anything I try to clean just over the edge by holding the cleaning pad at a slight angle to each rail after giving the tops a good clean.
Quote from: clayliner on March 25, 2026, 16:31To maximise electrical contact, should we clean the inside shoulder of the rail head as well, or just the top?
David.
As Graeme suggests the effects of cleaning the inside shoulder of the rails as well as the rail head may be minimal, but it
will allow a bit more area for pick up if / when the flanges touch, and such additional pick up is not doing to be detrimental to the loco's performance
My thinking - and apologies for getting 'techie' about it - was that wheels generally have flanges and presumably there's a reason for that: they help to keep vehicles on the rails and that is by exerting lateral forces on the rails (or, to put it another way, the rails exert forces on the wheel flanges).
This may not matter too much on straight track, but presumably there's a significant amount of contact on curves, if the flanges are doing their job?
David.
I have tried all sorts of potions to improve the running of a layout. Track Magic has not achieved this and I avoid using it.
My suggestions are:
Clean rails and wheels using track rubber and IPA.
Use long wheelbase locomotives and stay alives fitted to decoders