When you restore chrome on bikes the old trick is crumpled up kitchen foil and a bit of water,dip it vintage, and polish the chrome,supposevyou could use a hairdryer yo dry it
Thanks for this video. Going to give this a go tomorrow. I took my set off the top of the wardrobe yesterday and was shocked at how filthy the track was.
Excellent! Thanks for this Jack. Bought a second hand set for my youngster and this will help greatly. Found that one or two LEDs had gone in the car lights too. Easy to change but so small!
This Autosol product is very good. I haven't used it on scalextric track as I haven't had one set up for years, but it works a treat on push bike rims and also on magnesium car rims.
Save your fingertip, especially when doing large amounts of track. Use a short piece of wood dowling and wrap it in the microfiber then add your metal polish to it. You can press alittle harder without straining your fingertip.
Thanks for the great tips Jack, I'm going to try it as soon as I can get some solvol. But are scalextric tracks plated steel ?, would a peco track rubber damage the surface?, I'm sure the solvol won't, however the only track panels that are really bad here are some I bought on EBay and it looks as if some sort of plating is worn off. I tried the peco rubber but the groove ripped pieces off until we changed the technique. (I do know that some model rail track such as Hornby is plated and abrasives are not good for it, so its going to get some of your treatment too.).
Hey, thanks for watching! The peco rubber will work... but it will hurt your hands and get dirty VERY quickly. I bought some awful track of ebay, even had rust spots and the Autosol worked perfectly. Was easy on the hands and cleaned them up with ease so I truly believe this is the best solution. Good luck!
I guess I'm hardcore :-) I used a sanding block, or a blade, or the front edge of a file. These are very old tracks which have probably never been cleaned before. The trick is to make sure that the connection points join properly. Clean them, bend them ever so slightly to make sure they have a good connection.
white vinegar first on really blackened rails so much easier then do this. I have tried just this and got nowhere fast. lay kitchen roll or other cloth over track spray bottle of white vinegar soak down rails leave a few HRS and finish with your method. but my track was discussing
Have you ever used copper grease on the ends of the track where the pins are? Some of my track is dirty in the ends and is hard to clean the pins so I’ve thought about putting a dab of copper slip on the pins to get good conductivity between two sections of track
Actualluy this may not be a good idea since copper on iron/nickel causes electrochemical corrosion. Maybe not in a short while but it might become an issue longterm.
water ammonia combination baths .. place track in for 30 min ..ammonia is good for nickel cleaning ..( test one or 2 pieces of track first ) including mix ratio and time in bath ... if you hundreds of pieces of track coming out of storage like me rubbing with the finger or thumb with that amount of track is not the best
There are two types - Rust and Carbon. In this case I did have some actual rust as it was second hand track been stored in a damp shed for years. Thanks for watching!
Hello but, for,one,thing,one,piece of track yeah,easy, why,don't you do your layout, it,wont be easily done, epscaly,if, you have over, and, unders,,on,the,,layout
@ Thanks interesting to hear. I do agree that kids can become bored easier nowadays with smart phone distractions. We are all guilty of it to some extent. Myself included!
Do you have a differently method? I'd love to hear! Tell me below.
If it’s really bad I use 600 grit wet and dry 1st before the polish.
Use a toothbrush instead of a microfibre cloth to avoid get the paste on the plastic track.
Still peco rail cleaner for me ,tried the rest still return to the peco .
I just use graphite powder, it basically eats rust and acts as a electrical conductor plus a lube.
When you restore chrome on bikes the old trick is crumpled up kitchen foil and a bit of water,dip it vintage, and polish the chrome,supposevyou could use a hairdryer yo dry it
Toothpaste is an economical polishing compound, it even makes you smile after you use it. What a bright idea!
Haha! Yeah it could be used... I used to do that to my CD's if anyone is old enough to remember...
Thanks for this video. Going to give this a go tomorrow. I took my set off the top of the wardrobe yesterday and was shocked at how filthy the track was.
It get's dirty super quickly! Hope it went well and thanks for watching. Jack
Really great tips, thanks for sharing this info!!
You're welcome. Thanks for watching! Jack
Just tried this on my sons track, he's over the moon. Much better.
Excellent! That's so good to hear!!! Thanks for watching
Great video, thanls for the tips and help
You're welcome and thanks for watching!
I’ve used Solvol autosol since I was a teenager in the 70’s polishing my bike then polishing the Ali crankcase on my FS1E moped.
It's wonderful stuff. Thanks for watching!
Bought some, tried it. It’s amazing stuff, cheers fella!
Oh amazing to hear that you gave it a go! :)
Excellent! Thanks for this Jack. Bought a second hand set for my youngster and this will help greatly. Found that one or two LEDs had gone in the car lights too. Easy to change but so small!
I hope you got on OK with the light change and thanks for watching!
I found that paint thinner works excellently.
That's a new one. I'll have to give it a try! Any particular brand or type?
Very good I will try it
Hope you got on OK with it!
Thanks for this Jack. I’ll get some autosol and give it a go. My track length is around 100 metres so it will take a while….👍
Yeah... that will take a while! Haha. Thanks for watching and good luck! Jack
Just looked at the metal polish and it says it leaves an invisible coat of wax? Is that not good for the conductivity of the track to car?
I've never had any problems with it. Thanks for watching!
I wonder if i could use on my outdoor railway ?
Interesting... I don't see why not!
Great video. Keep up the good work 👍🏾
Thanks for watching!
I have some autosol krome Glans can i use that or only metal polish?
Can't say I've tried it. Let me know how you got on! Thanks for watching!
Eh up mate, just bought and tried the AUTOSOL method for cleaning my very old scalextric track, Excellent results, thanks mate.
Amazing to hear! Thanks for watching
This Autosol product is very good. I haven't used it on scalextric track as I haven't had one set up for years, but it works a treat on push bike rims and also on magnesium car rims.
It's brilliant stuff! Thanks for watching! I'll be back soon!
Save your fingertip, especially when doing large amounts of track. Use a short piece of wood dowling and wrap it in the microfiber then add your metal polish to it. You can press alittle harder without straining your fingertip.
GREAT tip!
Awesome, thank you. Guess what I am doing this week-end?
How did you get on? Thanks for watching!
Unfortunately I have not had the time to do so yet. Still on the 'to-do' list!
Hi can hi use wd 40 thanks trevor
I wouldn't. It makes the track surface crazy slipperly. Thanks for watching!
Great video Jack, I’m going to give Autosol a try!!
It has it's pros and cons like anything. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the great tips Jack, I'm going to try it as soon as I can get some solvol. But are scalextric tracks plated steel ?, would a peco track rubber damage the surface?, I'm sure the solvol won't, however the only track panels that are really bad here are some I bought on EBay and it looks as if some sort of plating is worn off. I tried the peco rubber but the groove ripped pieces off until we changed the technique.
(I do know that some model rail track such as Hornby is plated and abrasives are not good for it, so its going to get some of your treatment too.).
Hey, thanks for watching! The peco rubber will work... but it will hurt your hands and get dirty VERY quickly. I bought some awful track of ebay, even had rust spots and the Autosol worked perfectly. Was easy on the hands and cleaned them up with ease so I truly believe this is the best solution. Good luck!
Will this method work on classic track too?
Absolutely!
I guess I'm hardcore :-) I used a sanding block, or a blade, or the front edge of a file. These are very old tracks which have probably never been cleaned before. The trick is to make sure that the connection points join properly. Clean them, bend them ever so slightly to make sure they have a good connection.
Some good tips here! Thanks for watching!
Is it a good idea to clean the black part of the track too? If so what do you recommend?
I used a yellow dust cloth - depends how grubby it is?
nice video helpful
Awesome to hear. Thanks for watching!
Thk You Jack 💨🥇🤟
Glad you enjoyed and thanks for watching!
There is another brand called ‘peak’
Same stuff.
But autosol is my go to anyway.
But peak works too
I will look into Peak, thank you!
white vinegar first on really blackened rails so much easier then do this. I have tried just this and got nowhere fast. lay kitchen roll or other cloth over track spray bottle of white vinegar soak down rails leave a few HRS and finish with your method. but my track was discussing
It does take a while. But if the track is bad then it needs some elbow grease. Thanks for watching!
Fanny juice is good for cleaning
Another Top Tip!
Have you ever used copper grease on the ends of the track where the pins are?
Some of my track is dirty in the ends and is hard to clean the pins so I’ve thought about putting a dab of copper slip on the pins to get good conductivity between two sections of track
Actualluy this may not be a good idea since copper on iron/nickel causes electrochemical corrosion. Maybe not in a short while but it might become an issue longterm.
Might be worth some testing. Cheers!
Good tip, I thought I had auto sol metal polish, turns out it's auto glym. Still gonna give it a go though.
How did you get on? Any different?
Interesting
Thanks for watching! I'll be back soon!
Cool
Thanks for watching!
water ammonia combination baths .. place track in for 30 min ..ammonia is good for nickel cleaning ..( test one or 2 pieces of track first ) including mix ratio and time in bath ... if you hundreds of pieces of track coming out of storage like me rubbing with the finger or thumb with that amount of track is not the best
This is interesting. Worth some testing. Cheers!
One thing you got wrong. 9/1” it’s not rust. It’s a build up of carbon left behind from the electricity arcing
There are two types - Rust and Carbon. In this case I did have some actual rust as it was second hand track been stored in a damp shed for years. Thanks for watching!
Jeez, it took you 10 minutes on 1 small section!
I'm sure the process can be sped up, ha!
I find it easier to just unclip and remove the rail, no damage or marks to the track that way.....takes a couple of minutes maximum.
Great idea. Ill give it a go!
I had 50 meters of track to clean so I used a small 80 grit flapper wheel in a cheap dremel clone off eBay perfect results with no arm ache
this removes the protective plating.
Might remove the plating as stated. How did you get on? Was it ok after some time? Thanks for watching!
Hello but, for,one,thing,one,piece of track yeah,easy, why,don't you do your layout, it,wont be easily done, epscaly,if, you have over, and, unders,,on,the,,layout
Yes, tricky for larger layouts. There is no quick fix - it needs elbow grease
Sounds simple to do BUT not when there’s so much scenery to be removed !!!!
Yes, I can imagine it taking some time. But nothing in life is easy or free, ha. Thanks for watching!
Probably the most frustrating type of toy to buy for a child.
What makes you say that? Would be interesting to hear some of the frustrations parents encounter with it. Thanks for watching!
@ Thanks interesting to hear. I do agree that kids can become bored easier nowadays with smart phone distractions. We are all guilty of it to some extent. Myself included!