Several long htreads out there

I would read the No Ox Thread it, and it lists several other threads that are multi pages long on this.

That said, I would clean with a soft cloth and Mineral Spirits and cut out the corroded parts

Steve

Best Way to Clean Large Quantity of Track

I assume we are talking nickel silver not brass. Surely not a dishwasher, Hand clean removing any debris that gets in the way. Clean rail head with a bright boy or similar. Use a fine 3M abrasive pad anywhere you will be connecting for solder and rail joiners. Turnouts are similar but more detail is required. Than leave every thing else alone and assume its weathering.

Thanks

Wayne

Not in the Dishwasher

I don't think the dishwasher will remove corrosion, and it might damage the plastic. You may find it easier to clean it after it has been fastened down on the layout. This way, you won't be fumbling with each section and having piles of track around you. Just a thought.

Washing Track

Yogurt,

To start with, you could put all your track in the bathtub. (Use a slip pad on the bottom to help prevent scratching the tub) If you use a good degreaser / cleaner like TSP let it soak for a while and then lightly scrub the track pieces with a nylon scrub brush. Rinse and it all air dry.

Lay your track and then go over it with your favorite track cleaner to polish the track.  After it is painted and ballasted, check out the NO OX thread for info on it's benefit and application recommendations.

Just my thoughts..

Cheers,

Randy

Or..

You can expand on Allan's idea and throw all your track in the back of your 1/2 ton and drive er through the car wash....

Couldn't help myself..

Abrasive eraser cleaners . . .

. . .just deep scratch the rail head so it tarnishes again quicker and holds on tighter to the next round of gunge.  The binder that is spread along with the scratching, is a major source of the next round of gunge.

I use metal polish to remove initial or long term non-use, heavy tarnish, and so get a smooth, more corrosion resistant shine, and then weekly or so, haul around an alcohol wetted cleaning pad car, for ongoing cleaning. Or just keep one or two of those cars in your normal train running schedule.

BTW. Use all metal wheels and keep those clean too.

The Problem

Keep in mind you have two different cleaning problems on you hands - filth and corrosion.

Filth, crud, dust, dirt, whatever you want to call it needs to be removed first. This contaminant is, for all practical purposes, just physically stuck to the track. The bathtub, car wash, hand cleaning with detergent, shucks even the dishwasher if it's not too hot will probably all work well. Really no different than cleaning anything else around the home. And, the TSP mentioned earlier makes an excellent cleaner.

Corrosion is a different matter. This contaminant is chemically bonded to the track. Not so easy to remove. Detergents and similar cleaning products will have little or no effect on corrosion. It is not practical to use acidic metal cleaners on train track although, if possible, they would be the ideal solution. Instead, everyone relies on abrasion. As stated before, any abrasion to the rail head is bad. Unfortunately, corroded track is worse. Therefore, the least (and finest) abrasive method that removes the corrosion is the best compromise. Masonite sliders seem to be popular as that sweet spot. If your stored track is severely corroded you may have no choice but to use an aggressive abrasive such as a Bright Boy regardless of the long term effects.

Antiques Road Show?

Given the amount of 300 year old family heirloom silver bowls, jugs and candle sticks that regularly appear in great shape at antique auctions, and that seem to have survived  metal polishing, (weekly by the servants presumably), for all that time, I wouldn't put metal polish down as being something that would damage Nickel Silver rail at all.

RE: Andy

I didn't mean to equate metal polishes with strong metal cleaners. Sorry if you took it that way. Metal polishes combine the best of both worlds - ultra fine abrasion and chemical dissolution. I wrote what I did thinking hand polishing all of the OP's track might be a long tedious task especially if the corrosion is heavy. A task that a chemical cleaner would do in minutes. If the OP is willing to invest the labor, polishing certainly would work well.

Alright, there was a ton of

Alright, there was a ton of responses haha. Thank you for the great wealth of information here. I think I might try the bathtub idea, and then go to the mineral spirits plan. I've got a bottle of track cleaner somewhere too, I'll look for that. Luckily for me, only two or three 3 ft sections of flex track are corroded, I likely won't even use those since I have about 10 more.

Use those badly tarnished for industrial sidings!

I use old fiber tie brass track and sectional brass track that is almost black with corrosion for little used sidings that probably will see only 1 car every 3 or 4 operating sessions. After paint and ballast is applied, it looks quite good.  As far as power is concerned, the section is powered but the locomotive most likely will never end up on a dirty section by it's self as switching it will involve several cars. 

Sorry

That misunderstanding was due to my confusion between metal polish and acidic metal cleaner.

Simple, effective track cleaning

A few years back I pulled out some of my old track from a previous layout to add to my new layout.  Of course it was dirty, a little oxidized, but not corroded.  The weathering I done to the sides of the rails and ties still looks fine.

I layed out the track on my work bench and vacuumed it with my shop-vac while using a small bristle brush to further loosen any "hard to get dust or debris" from the track and ties.  I went to a local Stationary Supply store and purchased some "DIXON Pink-N-Ink, #127, erasers.  Both ends of the eraser are nicely tapered allowing you to clean the sides of the rails. The flat, tapered surface permits running the eraser along the top of the rails to remove dirt and light oxidation.

One final note:  If, while soldering, you get soldering paste on the tops of the rails, in particular if it has hardened on account of the soldering iron heat, it will clean off nicely with a Q-tip dipped in methyl-hydrate.  Then clean that area with the eraser. (bought my 12 erasers for 5 cents each on clearance)

Define Large

Your original post says large quantity of track. 2-3 pieces that you may not use???? Lot of effort put forth to help you for a lousy $20 worth of track.

All of the tracks need

All of the tracks need cleaning, there are just a few pieces that are bad enough that I'm not going to try to clean them because I won't need them. Every other piece does need a good scrubdown though.

Dishwasher

The Dishwasher might not be such a bad idea. Give it a try with 1 or 2 of the corroded pieces and see what happens. If you weren't going to use them anyways, there is no loss if it destroys them.

Dishwasher soap tends to be alkali, it might remove the corrosion nicely, and the dishwasher does a rinse cycle so it should rinse most of it off. Probably best not to let it go through the drying cycle though. I don't think the wash would affect the plastic, we have plastic dishes and containers that go through the dishwasher all the time with no ill effect, but the plastic ties could melt in the heat of the drying cycle, most dishwashers have a way to shut off the drying cycle, or simply stop it before it get that far along.

Brent

I clean mine this way

Before I started my current layout, about a year and a half ago, (after I finished the room) I went with new track for the main line and some yard approaches.  However, I did resurrect my old track and cleaned it first with my shop vac and a medium bristle brush to remove loose debris. I had weathered the old track 20 plus years ago and saw no reason to change the appearance.

To clean the top of the rail I hauled out one of my trusty "Pink-N-Ink" #127 DIXON erasers. I have used them for many years and had no problems.  I use the blue end for cleaning the tops of the rails.  I vacuum the rails & ties after cleaning the tops to get any eraser crumbs left behind.  Also, when I lay the flex-track and solder the joints, I wipe the soldered joints with methyl hydrate (on a Q-tip) to clean off the now hardened soldering paste and then pass the blue end of the eraser over the joint. It always comes out shiny and clean.

If during a session I detect a bit of debris or dirt on the rails I simply quick clean it with the eraser.

Many years ago I tried other methods that involved WD-40, Mineral Oil and other cleaners.  None of them worked.  They all left behind some traces which only caused dust or debris to stick more, dissolve and become gummy with time.

NOTE: Methyl-hydrate will soften or dissolve "acrylic paint".  Be careful.

Two step cleaning

I would use some foaming bathroom cleaner and a toothbrush to scrub off the dirt and dust.

Then if the corrosion is pretty heavy, try a wire brush and some WD40. It breaks up corrosion and seems to work good on rusted bolts to clean them.

Then a rinse in water should have it all ready after some drying.

If its brass then dont even bother......