40 replies to this topic

[Phil Smith]

I didn't realize you had a max trak.  WD-40 is mostly solvent, so it could be that using it would be an issue.  Maybe you could use a block with a very low-nap cloth, so it only goes on the rails.  A little will go a long way to prevent the oxidization.  But rail cleaning is a maintenance chore with HO tracks that you'll never get away from, so you just need to figure out the quickest and easiest way to deal with it.  

The other option is put a car on the track and keep pushing it around until it can make full laps under it's own power....

 

John, I'm going to take my chances with WD-40. I'm tired of cleaning the rails and WD-40 makes it a lot easier. Cleans the track surface really good as well.

 

And it seems it's not all that uncommon for people to clean routed tracks with WD-40. Jeff Strause mentioned it.

[Phil Smith]

Please check this out: http://slotblog.net/...shoes-question/

 

 

Cleaning Ho track rails can be done by using a heavy magnet car with small tires. Wipe track down with low tack rag then run car around track you will have to push car a couple of times but once car makes a lap run ten more do this on each lane. Track will be ready to use after completing this process.When we hosted the HO Nationals in 1997 we did this every morning to the tracks works like a charm. In fact Mark at Marks Model World in Canton Ohio does this every day to his shop HO track.

 

That's exactly what I did, as I talked about in the link above. And it works great!

 

But I stumbled into it by accident. I yanked the front axle off of a Tomy car, just to see if it would get any better contact. My T-Jet would barely go 6 inches at a time. The Tomy car only stopped a couple of times a lap, and after 2 or 3 laps it would make all the way around. And after 2 or 3 more laps there was no stutter. It ran perfectly. I didn't expect that! So I gave a T-jet a try. It also made perfect laps!

 

That couldn't have been easier! I'm very thankful to have stumbled upon that solution.

 

Darrell, you could have posted about that 5 or 6 weeks ago and saved me a lot of work and frustration.

[Ace]

John we Hosted the HOPRA Nat's IN 97 in Massillon Ohio. I was HOPRA National President for two years 97 thru 98. Raced HO cars until I cut off half my left thumb and it made working on cars hard due to the small size. Now I race flexi cars and womps gave up on retro.

[KevinJoseph]

[glueside]

Thank you so much for posting.  I seen this yesterday.

[NSwanberg]

The above is about what we do to our tracks in the H O Club With No Name. One of the younger guys in the club is training to be an airplane mechanic. He came up with some anti-static wipes, that as I understand it are used on the interiors of planes. When used on the track surfaces they help the track stay cleaner for a lot longer during a long day of racing. Unfortunately, they come in bags that are completely devoid of any identifying marks so I cannot say exactly what they are.

[A. J. Hoyt]

With the static wipes, do you get better control of the dust accumulation during the race? Perhaps get rid of those pieces of double stick tape on the track to clean dust off the tires?

[NSwanberg]

We don't use double stick  tape - yet.

[Phil Smith]

Never heard of using double stick tape. I assume it's applied to the track. That's a pretty good idea.

[MSwiss]

One of my 1/24 racers, who raced HO seriously, and stays in contact with that crowd, mentioned it to me, awhile back.

The car rolls over it every lap, in the middle of a straightaway.

I neglected to ask him how often "they" change it.

[SoCal Bill]

I use a Tombow 512A Typewriter and Ink eraser, vacuum, then very lightly coat with transmission fluid. Never had a plastic problem.

[glueside]

Never heard of using double stick tape. I assume it's applied to the track. That's a pretty good idea.

Never used double stick tape - but used duct tape turned over for cleaning tires.

[Revtor]

Maybe try something like this out as a final wipe?

https://www.uline.co...ti-Static-Spray

[Phil Smith]

To update this, I've been wiping the track down with WD-40. Wipe it down and then wipe it back up. About 6 foot at a time to keep it from sitting on the track for very long. I do this before I go to bed, to give the track time to dry off a little. The next day I run each lane in with a magnet car. 10-20 laps and it's good to go. And it stays good for 3-4 days. When I start having problems I run a few laps with a magnet car and it's good again. Nothing else required. No abrasives. And I only need to clean it once every 3-4 weeks.

 

It went from extremely frustrating to a complete non-issue. Tires stay clean. I clean them between heats but they really don't need it. Once before the race would probably be enough.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions!

[Slotkev123]

I been using a natural citrus based ( not chemical based) degreaser/cleaner for yrs, it won't ruin a track like the harsh wd-40 will. I seen many guys ruin track with wd-40 over time, it ruins the plastic watch this very Informative video

[Slotkev123]

As far as tire cleaning I simply roll my cars on masking tape, u can see all the dirt that pulls off