NOOXID a Special vs INOX


dgrafix

dgrafix

Well-Known Member
Bought some of these and used it really VERY liberally (edit: or conservatively lol?? I mean hardly any, a microthin layer!) and both seem to work really well. It gives a bit of slip on extreme inclines but used right 2-3% seems to work great..
Obviously my layout is still in design phase, but i have been "playing" on the floor 😆 Kato unitrack is just awesome for that.
Anyone experienced with these products (because i HATE track cleaning and a lot has changed in 30 years.. i used to use WD40 type stuff). It seems the bits i treated with both seem to be pretty nice despite my greasy paws constantly handling the track and putting it in and out of the box.. The trains still run smooth on both products.
My question is which is best in the long run?
 
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I used it in accordance with the directions once and spent the next few days or so trying to get rid of the stuff off of my track work.

Does it clean track and make keeping it clean easier - perhaps but it also is a "grease" that causes a few things:

1. wheel slippage from engines
2. makes a great magnet for dust and dirt and grime
3. sticks to engine wheels like poo to a blanket meaning you need to clean your engine wheels more often
4. can get into the engine mechanism and mess with them

and my favorite,

5. tends to clog points/turnouts by attracting that dust and dirt and grime I mentioned earlier

Then, when you try to get rid of it from your track work - your back to good old hand cleaning using acetone, mineral spirits or whatever other solution you used to use. And one other thing - it was never made to be used as a cleaning agent on anything, let alone nickel silver model railway track ;)

Bottom line is simple - there are no quick easy ways to keep track clean - track maintenance is all apart and parcel of running a layout, just like checking the oil in your car, it's just a necessity that is part of the hobby.
 
dgrafix said:
Bought some of these and used it really VERY liberally and both seem to work really well. It gives a bit of slip on extreme inclines but used right 2-3% seems to work great..
Obviously my layout is still in design phase, but i have been "playing" on the floor 😆 Kato unitrack is just awesome for that.
Anyone experienced with these products (because i HATE track cleaning and a lot has changed in 30 years.. i used to use WD40 type stuff). It seems the bits i treated with both seem to be pretty nice despite my greasy paws constantly handling the track and putting it in and out of the box.. The trains still run smooth on both products.
My question is which is best in the long run?
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I've got a can of the No Ox, never used it yet, last time I ran a loco, a few days ago, which you can see on my thread, first time anything's done a full circuit on my layout in well over a year, my point, apart from the odd hoovering when I've been working on it, I haven't cleaned my track in all that time, so I'm a bit bemused by all this track cleaning everyone seems to be obsessed with doing.
 
Smudge617 said:
I've got a can of the No Ox, never used it yet, last time I ran a loco, a few days ago, which you can see on my thread, first time anything's done a full circuit on my layout in well over a year, my point, apart from the odd hoovering when I've been working on it, I haven't cleaned my track in all that time, so I'm a bit bemused by all this track cleaning everyone seems to be obsessed with doing.
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If you'll recall, the first little video I posted of my little layout was made after it had been sitting for god knows how long with stuff thrown on it, plaster dust, general dust etc etc etc basically abused - and although the little Amtrak engine I ran hesitated a bit going through the turnouts the first few times - I had no issues either.

Seems like this "gotta keep the track squeaky clean thing" is just a way of getting people to buy stuff they may other wise not need. Bit like these people who claim your track work has to be perfect or you'll have problems and so forth. All a bit of a storm in a t-cup if you ask me ... :confused:
 
wombat457 said:
If you'll recall, the first little video I posted of my little layout was made after it had been sitting for god knows how long with stuff thrown on it, plaster dust, general dust etc etc etc basically abused - and although the little Amtrak engine I ran hesitated a bit going through the turnouts the first few times - I had no issues either.

Seems like this "gotta keep the track squeaky clean thing" is just a way of getting people to buy stuff they may other wise not need. Bit like these people who claim your track work has to be perfect or you'll have problems and so forth. All a bit of a storm in a t-cup if you ask me ... :confused:
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Both our trackwork is less than 100%, and seems that it doesn't need to be, but I understand modeler's who want it that way to avoid any potential issues, same goes for track cleaning, it's more of a preventative measure I think, a bit like getting your car serviced regularly.
 
Smudge617 said:
a bit like getting your car serviced regularly.
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You do that as WELL ????? o_O :oops:

Smudge617 said:
but I understand modeler's who want it that way to avoid any potential issues, same goes for track cleaning, it's more of a preventative measure I think
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I'm not opposed to it and I am sure it has it's benefits, as you suggested. I just don't understand why some people get so worked up about it as if everything will come to a grinding halt if they don't do it.

Personally, the best way to keep your track clean is to run trains regularly ... has worked for me for quite a few years :)
 
Damn it, now I feel real bad ... I kinda have well two cars, one for the summer and good weather, and an AWD SUV for the winter and the snow ... :( :(
 
wombat457 said:
Damn it, now I feel real bad ... I kinda have well two cars, one for the summer and good weather, and an AWD SUV for the winter and the snow ... :( :(
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What on earth for, I don't need two cars, our weather is not that bad I need a AWD and a normal car, and I've enough experience driving 18 wheelers over the Alps to keep a normal car on the road anyway, and I couldn't afford to run two cars, I don't ride a bike anymore, and if I did, I've nowhere to keep it.
 
Thanks for the replies. I will experiment with both, and none on my 3 lines. I am using some little colored dots on the underside so i can see which is which.

wvg_ca said:
i run no ox id a special on my layout, and if you applied it liberally, it was put n way too heavy, lol
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I have just thought about my words and by "very liberally" it could be implied i used a lot... Not what i meant, I litterally meant "hardly any" basically a microscopic film that i wipe repeatedly and only did once. So far i the parts i have not treated I keep having to clean with isopropl.
Perhaps sparsely would be a better term :confused:
 
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Boy, don't know if having only one vehicle here would work. As you know, we are 90 miles from anywhere with major facilities. Being a two person family having that 2nd vehicle for convenience and/or if something breaks. Nothing worse than needing some part or tool right in the middle of fixing or construction and the wife has the car or vis-a-vis. Case in point: I posted about having to go to HD for our new refer and flooring a few days back. Since the mechanic was checking out the truck and fixing stuff, we tried to get somebody here to let us borrow a truck, or at least get us to Kalispell. Nobody trusted their vehicle enough to do that 180 mile round trip! If I don't trust a vehicle, it gets looked at/fixed.

Finding a good mechanic that is available here is a PITA. Most of the time I can do most of the simple stuff but there are times where a rack is needed or some kind of big air tool, or both just to get to the part that is kaput. Dave, mechanic I go to for the most part is very knowledgeable about the older stuff, is really thorough, and has good attention to detail; although it takes him time to get it all done. I get a list of stuff that needs looked at in XXX miles, fixes what needs fixed for the immediate stuff.

Does it cost to have a 2nd? Sure, the insurance quarterly is not bad and since we do not buy new and pay cash for any vehicle, the cost of them just sitting is pretty well moot. Now days we are lucky if we drive 10K a year split between both vehicles, so oil changes, fluid top off's and such are no big deal. We probably spend more money going through the car wash vs oil/fluids. Tires probably deteriorate more sitting in the weather than what our driving would cause.

All our vehicles are AWD/4x4 and I would not have it any other way.

Later
 
I dont have a car at the moment. My EX drove my Nissan primera P12 500Km with no oil in and cracked the block (said she did not realise what the light meant!!! 😠). Sadly it went to the scrappy. I commute to work by train and being a small town i mostly use my bike. I do miss the car rarely to be honest (mostly when i want to buy something large or when it is peeing down with rain). However quantifying the cost of owning one, tax, parking charges (even where i live has a monthly charge), maintenence and the price of petrol here (+-2 USD a Liter or +-7 USD a gallon kinda puts me off at the moment).
The busses here are pretty good though. But right now for my needs it is cheaper to rent a car if i need one for the weekend.
 
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dgrafix said:
I dont have a car at the moment. My EX drove my Nissan primera P12 500Km with no oil in and cracked the block (said she did not realise what the light meant!!! 😠). Sadly it went to the scrappy. I commute to work by train and being a small town i mostly use my bike. I do miss the car rarely to be honest (mostly when i want to buy something large or when it is peeing down with rain). However quantifying the cost of owning one, tax, parking charges (even where i live has a monthly charge), maintenence and the price of petrol here (+-2 USD a Liter or +-7 USD a gallon kinda puts me off at the moment).
The busses here are pretty good though. But right now for my needs it is cheaper to rent a car if i need one for the weekend.
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That makes sense, renting a car I mean, as for your ex, you get a red warning symbol on the dash with a picture of an oil can, and she didn't know what it meant, and couldn't phone or ask someone, definitely a lucky, if expensive, escape.

I had an ex ask me while I was checking fluid levels on my car one day (I do all mine monthly) what Lio meant, I couldn't work out what she was talking about till she pointed at the filler cap which had OIL written on it, and was upside down. :D
 
Smudge617 said:
What on earth for, I don't need two cars, our weather is not that bad I need a AWD and a normal car, and I've enough experience driving 18 wheelers over the Alps to keep a normal car on the road anyway, and I couldn't afford to run two cars, I don't ride a bike anymore, and if I did, I've nowhere to keep it.
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For track cleaning, I just use IPA on a rag every few months, or each morning if exhibiting at a show
 
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if you have all the problems listed in wombats post, you are applying was too much no ox, it's not meant to be a cleaner, the rails have to be clean first, whether alcohol, gleaming, or other method...
all it is a protectant, thats it , it reduces future oxidation to virtually nil... it HAS to be CLEAN first, no exceptions .. on a 15 foot by 16 foot layout i used maybe and inch and a half of a toothpaste sized squeeze on there ..
if you can see it, it's way to much ..
for reference, i have gotten eight years out of one application of no ox, with a vacumn of the tracks twice a year, no alcohol, sandpaper, no manual cleaning of the rail tops in EIGHT YEARS
 
wvg_ca said:
if you have all the problems listed in wombats post, you are applying was too much no ox, it's not meant to be a cleaner, the rails have to be clean first, whether alcohol, gleaming, or other method...
all it is a protectant, thats it , it reduces future oxidation to virtually nil... it HAS to be CLEAN first, no exceptions .. on a 15 foot by 16 foot layout i used maybe and inch and a half of a toothpaste sized squeeze on there ..
if you can see it, it's way to much ..
for reference, i have gotten eight years out of one application of no ox, with a vacumn of the tracks twice a year, no alcohol, sandpaper, no manual cleaning of the rail tops in EIGHT YEARS
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Yes that is what I have done 🙂 I have no problems, quite the opposite. I cleaned them with IPA and then gave a very light treatment and rubbed it off leaving only a thin film like they did in the videos.
The part I cleaned with IPA only, no treatment, is not as smooth/slow running as the others and it seems I need to clean it a lot after putting it all away and taking it out again (fingerprints & box dust maybe). But this has not been the case with the treated ones. Also because this is N scale it tends to be more sensitive to any thing on the track (much smaller contact area I suppose)
My original post was about which is better in the long term. I have a mix of brand new and a bunch of second hand stuff I bought from eBay, so am experimenting. The new track obviously runs very well anyway, but even better on the parts I have treated.
 
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My experience….

1) Clean the rails…I used a rag soaked in IPA pulled tight over a piece of scrap pine..

2) Stick your 2 fingertips in the No Ox and pull up a minimal amount of the product…

3) Drag fingertips along rail tops leaving an almost invisible coating of No Ox…

4) Run locomotives…

The un-Ox’ed locos run a bit wonky for a few seconds until the wheels are coated… then everything is tickety-boo

My single application of No Ox was 15 months ago and the trains run fine…no stoppages or stuttering

Compared to monthly track cleaning…Well, I am not going down that road again…
 
Smudge617 said:
That makes sense, renting a car I mean, as for your ex, you get a red warning symbol on the dash with a picture of an oil can, and she didn't know what it meant, and couldn't phone or ask someone, definitely a lucky, if expensive, escape.

I had an ex ask me while I was checking fluid levels on my car one day (I do all mine monthly) what Lio meant, I couldn't work out what she was talking about till she pointed at the filler cap which had OIL written on it, and was upside down. :D
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Let's just say it wasn't the reason we split up, but it was one argument of many as I had the exact same thought WHY AND HOW?? 🤣
I mean they teach you all this at driving school don't they?!?
 
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