Yup. When I first saw Joe's article I quit using IPA to clean track. About every 6 months now I wipe the track down with a rag and WD40. I notice there is very little 'crud' on the rag. The trains run better and the wheels stay cleaner a lot longer. .
How about the slippery rails? That chart just addresses the dielectric properties, not necessary the cleaning abilities. The best example was Mineral Spirits, low on one scale, but not the best cleaner. It didn't work for me but 91% IPA. That chart didn't state the IPA %; was it 99, 91, 70 or 40%.
JMHO... Not sure on the IPA% tested. I just know the dielectric properties of IPA @ 18.0 is way to high to stop micro arcing...that causes crud build up. WD40 does NOT make the tracks slippery...quite the contrary. With a dielectric property of 2.4 it works pretty good at keeping micro arching way down and thus the crud down. You don't soak the track...just wipe a small amount on with a rag. Everyone has their own preference for track cleaners. I have tried many and found the WD40 works best for me. If WD40 will clean road grim and tar off fenders on a car without damaging the paint...it will surely clean track. Besides...everyone has a can of WD40 around the house or in the garage...LOL.
Oooo. Great idea! Should be warm again today, so.... I know I have WD40, and IPA in 70 and 91 handy. But now must check the 'fridge...
