[Slotspeed]

I’ve found it improved the connection on many things including microphone level audio signals down to say 20mV or less. Resolved poor connections in a pinch in liquid damaged computer equipment involving tiny flex cable connections, it works better, is more readily available and the effect lasts longer than expensive contact cleaner products. Not saying it’s a permanent fix for those kind of problems but it’s an amazing product when used for these applications. It’s non conductive and I’m not going to pretend to know why but similar effect can be achieved from cleaning contacts with isopropyl alchohol but the inox just seems to be more robust and lasts longer. Pehaps the explanation about the sparks/dielectric, perhaps oxides have something to do with it but it’s something happening at an atomic or microscopic level for sure.

 

[Steve-E-D]

It is working well for me on H0 as well. A portion of my cars run with braids. Track stays bright and shiny for a good long time.

 

[Expidia]

As Greg said but also as I understand it the black tarnish that builds up on the rails is oxidation caused by the braids sparking. Any time there is a small gap between the contact surfaces the electricity will jump that gap, the higher the voltage that big the gap that can be jumped, just look how far a static charge can jump. The very fine fluid insulating layer formed by Inox is moved by the lower braid strands and they make good contact with the rails but the strands just missing the rails are now insulated by a fluid layer and there is no air gap to jump and cause oxidation. The low surface tension of the Inox allows it to flow back in to the gaps made by the braid strands. The same is also true for your braids. The oxidation layer reduces conductivity and also tends to increase any arcing, most of which is invisible to the good old Mk1 eyeball. At the worst level the electrical arcing can damage the rails and cause pits in the surface with will hold dirt and if deep enough will cause the steel underneath to start rusting. One advantage of stainless steel rails is that even if they pit you shouldn't get any rusting.

If you keep your rails and braids clean then you may not see any performance boost from using Inox but it should still reduce the amount of cleaning required.

Makes sense Keith. I sure do get a lot of black on the braid part that touches the track and black when I wipe down the rails periodically. And it's just me running laps on my home track. Hopefully the use Inox can cut down on this. For the braids I use a small toothbrush moistened with lighter fluid.
The small bottle of Inox I ordered today will make it easier to put a drop on the braids after cleaning with lighter fluid.
As it is now, I have to spray a touch of Inox onto a microfiber or a piece of paper towel and dab it onto the braid.

 

[beardy56]

When I use Inox I have the spray bottle but I've never sprayed it, the tube inside the bottle makes a good applicator for braids.

 

[MrFlippant]

I'll reiterate that less is more. It's easy to overdo it. I would suggest that, after applying it to the rails and then removing excess with a dry paper towel that you do NOT do anything else until symptoms reappear. Hopefully no more clips are floating around below your track to make it seem like there's a problem again. Do NOT apply a drop to each braid on every car as a matter of course, and certainly don't do that with any kind of regularity. Only re-do the rails if they get cleaned off with a solvent. Only add drops to braids when the car is having problems that are not corrected by proper braid formation and confirming that all other possible problems are addressed.

 

[Steve-E-D]

I agree with Greg. I don't think there is a need to slather every car's braids with Inox.
I keep a few cars dedicated as track maintenance vehicles that make routine laps with treated braid pickups. They are part of my track cleaning and maintenance routine. I think of it as more of a rail treatment than a braid treatment.

 

[LMP]

I was always under the impression that Inox was for the track, not the car. Two drops on the car, run it around a little and forget until it’s needed again.

On rail based digital protocols (Carrera, SSD), it does make a difference.

 

[dvd3500]

Just take your track to a sheep herder and rub it on their wool... (the sheeps', no the herder's!)

 

[Kevan]

As with most oils, I've found Inox makes a good tyre treatment.

 

[HO RacePro]

A long time ago I made a circle of plastic track, hooked it up to a power supply, set a car on it and turned out the lights.

You can learn a lot about how well your contacts are working by watching the sparks in the dark. Short version: Sparks mean you have intermittent contact -- bad. It is possible to get such good contact you don't see sparks. Work on that.

 

[Expidia]

I agree with Greg. I don't think there is a need to slather every car's braids with Inox.
I keep a few cars dedicated as track maintenance vehicles that make routine laps with treated braid pickups. They are part of my track cleaning and maintenance routine. I think of it as more of a rail treatment than a braid treatment.

This was my thought too. If I put a drop of Inox on each braid of every car I own and since it's an oil wouldn't the braids just be tracking a build up of excess Inox onto the rails?

Greg's post in #25 makes sense as to the better way to use Inox.

 

[beardy56]

I've never applied Inox directly to my track and I've never used it on my Policar track in three years of use, but the stainless steel rails don't seem to get dirty and running cars keeps the clean. I did use it on some earlier tracks and found it of most use on my Airfix track and my Winter Layout. The Airfix track had brass rails and the Winter Layouts Artin track was copper taped, both of which build up surface oxidation over time if not used for a while. If and only if I found a car running poorly I would put a little on the braids, applied at the front end and allowed to wick down to the running end, and then run the car until I saw an improvement at which point I would run a few other cars to pick up and remove any excess Inox. Although I did find that the copper tape would still oxidise if not used for a while and that the Track Magic was way better on the copper tape. The Winter Layout was covered by some plywood sheeting for about 18 months with my Airfix track on top and a small area I had cleaned with the Track Magic was still bright when I removed the boards but the rest was dull and dark. Track magic is a totally different product and I'm not trying to compare it directly as I'm not sure it acts as an insulator, more as a cleaner and conductive layer, so probably wouldn't help with braid sparking

 

[42redcat]

I've never applied Inox directly to my track and I've never used it on my Policar track in three years of use, but the stainless steel rails don't seem to get dirty and running cars keeps the clean.

My Policar track rails have seemed to stay pretty clean and certainly haven’t corroded like Scalextric track. However, since I’ve been running some of my cars on a wooden club track, I’ve noticed a black, sticky residue on the Policar track rails, which I think probably comes from the tyres as the club doesn’t control tyre treatments at all. This gets on the braids, too, but they’re more visible and easier to clean. The effect is to cause stuttering in my less robust cars. After a few laps with ‘clean’ cars, the rails seem to clean up and the problem is much reduced.
Would Inox help with this?

 

[42redcat]

As with most oils, I've found Inox makes a good tyre treatment.

Has anyone else tried this?
Mike

 

[MrFlippant]

My Policar track rails have seemed to stay pretty clean and certainly haven’t corroded like Scalextric track. However, since I’ve been running some of my cars on a wooden club track, I’ve noticed a black, sticky residue on the Policar track rails, which I think probably comes from the tyres as the club doesn’t control tyre treatments at all. This gets on the braids, too, but they’re more visible and easier to clean. The effect is to cause stuttering in my less robust cars. After a few laps with ‘clean’ cars, the rails seem to clean up and the problem is much reduced.
Would Inox help with this?

My club uses a variety of tire treatments and the rails seem to stay fairly clean. It's possible that INOX is playing a role in that. Certainly worth a try, IMHO.

Has anyone else tried this?
Mike

I have, and did not see a benefit. I might not have tried on the same tires as Kevan, though.

 

[Kevan]

As with most oils, I've found Inox makes a good tyre treatment.

Has anyone else tried this?
Mike

I'm not saying it's better than anything else, it worked on the NSR I tried it on but prefer my normal treatment which is a 50/50 mix of NSR tyre oil and a green RC tyre treatment called 'Spidergrip'.

 

[manleyclifton]

Tell me again, why are we using it on the metal rails on our Scalextric Sport Track? And the braids too?
Sure it's a lubricant, but why put anything non conductive on the rails or braids?

I was on the Inox.com site looking to see if it also comes in a small plastic non spray bottle after I saw this mention of one on another site (see pic) anyone know where this sized bottle can be purchased?

• Displaces, penetrates, lubricates and protects.
• INOX-mx3 contains no silicon, acid, kerosene or dieselene.
• INOX-mx3 will not harm metal points or surfaces, hard plastics, paints, enamels, fibreglass, formica or neoprene seals
• INOX-mx3 doesn’t dry out, gum up, become gooey or sticky or wash off with water.
• INOX-mx3 is non-conductive, non-static, non-toxic, non-corrosive and non-staining

View attachment 408505

It doesn’t matter that it’s non conducive. Just keep it away from optics…

 

[beardy56]

Would Inox help with this?

There's nothing to lose in giving it a try.

 

[McCrash]

I've been decanting the inox from its pump spray bottle into a small, needle ended squeezey bottle and doing the occasional drops on the braids and also using it to lube bearings and guides. It's been fine so far on my cars I run at home. Not used it on club cars as I use 3 in one oil on tyres and bearings.

 

[Expidia]

Just arrived. Thanks for all the tips and discussion on Inox being non conductive but still great when used sparingly for the rails and braids in this thread.

And thanks for Mr Flippant for recommending not to use a drop on "all" my cars braids . . which of course is the first thing I would have done 🤣 and to be sure to only use it very sparingly.

Now I can take that heavy can down into my basement and use it on my bikes. I also dislike spray cans as it's always waste of product trying to get a drop or two out of them. This 60ml/2 oz bottle should go a long way.

Tip: if you have or buy this style bottle . . . I was wondering why my tip kept clogging after only a day or two. I had to heat it with a lighter. Another time I had to run a thin wire down the needle to clear it. I did notice the the tip had red on it. It is the soft rubber cap. If you press it back onto the needle too hard the red rubber cap clogs the tip!