track cleaning car

[SteamGene]

My wife gave me two track cleaning cars for Father's Day/Anniversary - the brass tanker with cleaning fluid and a new four pad car to wipe up the cleaner.  The instructions for the brass car recomends PAINT THINNER for the solvent.  Anybody try that?
Gene

[Tim]

Gene

I have used Floquil's Diosol with good results.

As long as the pad is only damp with solution it presents no problem.

Diosol is safer around plastics than lacqer thinner, or acetone.

From your discription you have the CMX Clean Machine.

Tim Anders
Souderton, PA

[SteamGene]

Yes - it's the CMX Clean Machine in HO.  I'm wondering if anybody has ever painted the body.  Treat it like brass and letter it for a MOW car.  
Gene

[Jim Banner]

I have used paint thinner a.k.a. Varsol a.k.a. Stoddard's solvent both indoors and out.  Mostly with good results.  The exception was from a barrel that some idiot had cleaned his paint brushes in, thereby contaminating the whole barrel.  That batch of solvent left a varnish-like deposit on the rails which was non-conductive and difficult to remove.

Adding a few drops of conductive oil to the solvent, or applying it after the solvent has dried will prolong the time between cleanings.

The only down side to paint thinner is that it can attack traction tires, particularly ones made of rubber. 

[Tim]

Gene

RE: Painting as MOW equipment.

I have seen several of the CMX cars painted as MOW and run in a train of MOW equipment.

Some have even added handrails and brake wheels.

If you use Diosol as a cleaning fluid, use floquil solvent based paint, it is unaffected by Diosol
after it dries.

Tim Anders
Souderton, PA

[Guilford Guy]

How about a model Rail Grinder? Get a few CMX cars, and scratchbuild a body around them. Put in a Rapido smoke unit, with rapido's track cleaning smoke fluid, and use parts from Bachmann's MOW units to scratchbuild power units on some Athearn frames. Sure it will cost hundreds, but it will look pretty freaky!

[SteamGene]

Called power to pull.  I'm going to have to MU some locos to pull the two cleaning cars.  Of course I can try some more locos, too.  Both a C&O J-2 (USRA heavy Mountain) or an H-5 (USRA light Mallet) might work.  
Gene

[Hunt]

Gene, unless you are running plastic wheel sets or have your HO scale layout in a dirty environment then perhaps the use of Paint Thinner is overkill. Use Isopropyl Alcohol until you can determine it is not doing the job.



For all;
Floquil Dio-Sol is no longer produced.

Use Testors "Universal Enamel Thinner" item 8824
or
Floquil 110001 – Thinner & Cleaner.
I am told they are the same solvent.

[grumpy]

Use contact cleaner available from Radio Shack or Alcohol . Just moisten the pad with whatever medium you choose and two or three times around the layout and presto - clean. There are also some brake cleaning fluids that will do the job without harming plastics.My personal preference is contact cleaner from Radio Shack. I have a track cleaning caboose with a brass tank .
Don

[glennk28]

"Goo Gone" works well.  I like the "Centerline Products" cast bronze car with the brass roller covered with fabric. 

A good constant-action cleaner is the "John Allen" cleaner--a piece of Masonite rough side down under several cars.