Mineral spirits as track cleaning fluid?

[Doug G.]

Acetone is still readily available, just like lacquer thinner.

And, the amount used to clean the tops of rails isn't going to affect plastic ties to any real degree. You would have to pour the acetone onto the ties to do anything to them.

Doug

[mmagliaro]

But is nail polish remover still Acetone? Thought they changed it a few years back when Acetone started getting harder to find.

Some are, some aren't.  The bottle will tell you.  An easy place to get it is at a beauty supply store like "Sally's Beauty".  People who clean and paint nails for a living need the "real thing".  You can get a bottle there.

[nkalanaga]

I have an old Testors liquid plastic cement bottle full of acetone (yes, it's labeled as such) that I liberated from work.  I had heard that acetone would dissolve styrene, and wondered if it could be used as glue.  It not only didn't dissolve the old MT boxcar I tried it on, it didn't hurt the plastic at all.  It also didn't do a very good job of removing the paint, which is what we use it for at work.  It evaporated too fast to do much of anything.

Based on that, I'd be willing to try it as track cleaner, except for the smell, which I don't like.  Since styrene cement won't affect most plastic ties, I doubt that the acetone will.  If you have painted your ties, it could damage the paint.

[Chris333]

I have an old Testors liquid plastic cement bottle full of acetone (yes, it's labeled as such) that I liberated from work.  I had heard that acetone would dissolve styrene, and wondered if it could be used as glue.  It not only didn't dissolve the old MT boxcar I tried it on, it didn't hurt the plastic at all.  It also didn't do a very good job of removing the paint, which is what we use it for at work.  It evaporated too fast to do much of anything.

Based on that, I'd be willing to try it as track cleaner, except for the smell, which I don't like.  Since styrene cement won't affect most plastic ties, I doubt that the acetone will.  If you have painted your ties, it could damage the paint.

You need to put MEK in that Testors bottle 

[peteski]

I have an old Testors liquid plastic cement bottle full of acetone (yes, it's labeled as such) that I liberated from work.  I had heard that acetone would dissolve styrene, and wondered if it could be used as glue.  It not only didn't dissolve the old MT boxcar I tried it on, it didn't hurt the plastic at all.  It also didn't do a very good job of removing the paint, which is what we use it for at work.  It evaporated too fast to do much of anything.

Based on that, I'd be willing to try it as track cleaner, except for the smell, which I don't like.  Since styrene cement won't affect most plastic ties, I doubt that the acetone will.  If you have painted your ties, it could damage the paint.

That's odd.  The acetone I use will dissolve polystyrene and ABS (which are the plastics used for model train shells).   Actually acetone is one of the main ingredients in Tamiya liquid cement for polystyrene.  I wonder if the stuff you got from work was mislabeled?  Acetone has a sweet smell, somewhat similar to overripe bananas.

Lots of interesting info about acetone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone

[Maletrain]

I think the main concern with using something as strong as acetone to clean rails is the potential to get a significant sized spill on the track, where it could soften the plastic "spike heads" that hold the rails in place (and in gauge).  Besides the potential for spilling the stuff while wetting a rag or track mop, there is also the problem of stopping a cleaning car on the track for too long while it is doing a continuous drip.

Mineral spirits seems safer, in that regard.

[nkalanaga]

Peteski:  It's acetone, all right, straight from the original container.  I think the problem is that it evaporates before it can do any damage.  We use it at work for removing "paint marker" paint from plastic auto parts.  I have no idea what kind of plastic, but it's NOT styrene.  If I soaked styrene in it, it would probably dissolve it, but just putting a little on the surface didn't do much of anything.

Chris333:  No, I'll stick with the real Testors cement.  The only reason I put the acetone in the Testors bottle was that it was available, and I thought that the bottle and seal could handle it.  I save all of the empty bottles.

[Doug G.]

Lacquer thinner works a lot better to use as a glue for styrene than acetone. Besides, to me, acetone has an obnoxious smell to it whereas lacquer thinner smells good.



Doug

[nkalanaga]

For glue, I think I'll stick with Testors, as I know it works, and it isn't that expensive.  A bottle lasts me a long time.

And, I agree, acetone stinks.  I've spent most of a shift cleaning paint off stuff, and the fumes were not pleasant.  Of course, so does the Testors, but I keep the lid on it as much as possible.

[Doug G.]

I used to use Testors all the time when it was readily available here and thought it worked well. Of course, I think Tenax was the best, an almost immediate bond, until it became banned or whatever.

Doug

[cjp53]

I used nail polish remover to clean up some glue that got on the track.It worked well

I used only a very small portion on old rag to clean the top of the rail and avoided the plastic ties.I followed up with a clean rag.I have use it to dissolve super glue on a brass kit so I could adjust the parts.On my HO layout I have used Goo gone(I think that's what it's called) on my track cleaner but it left a residue and made the engines  slip on the rails.I had to much on the pad.