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Is IPA really the answer to track cleaning?


NormanQ4

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Depends on how much of it you use. Provided you've drunk enough India Pale Ale eventually you won't careless one way or another 😮. On that note I'll get my hat & coat and stagger off home.... 😉!

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I use Peco abrasive pads for track cleaning and white spirits to clean loco wheels. I find that the n/s track very quickly acquires a yellowish coating, hence the need for frequent cleaning. The layout is in a garage/workshop. Any ideas on what the coating is please? And how to inhibit it?

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...I find that the n/s track very quickly acquires a yellowish coating,...Any ideas on what the coating is please? And how to inhibit it?

The article said it was nickel oxide, i.e. nickel rust, but I thought that was the black gunge.

There must be a benign conductive coating one could apply, like a thinned down version of electric paint or that expensive silver loaded lacquer you can buy to fix your car screen heaters.

Hence probably why the ‘oily’ cleaners seem to work well as they protect the rail after cleaning it.

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I've been using IPA for decades and, frankly, I'm surprised that it'll clean anything. Although it can be a very effective lubricant, especially on a sunny afternoon.

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Anyone from the 'we all assume everyone knows what we're talking about' in-club care to explain to a part-time railway modeller what IPA stands for in this context?

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