Thanks Rich, that is what I thought but had to ask just to be sure.

Nelson B and Rich, thanks for the links to that threads. Trying to read though all these old ones about track cleaning topics. Tons of great information already without starting a whole new discussion on it.

Ok, I was confused by Joe F's statement as well.  Since I've switched from Isopropyl alcohol to mineral spirits, I think my track stays cleaner longer and things perform better.

John

Hi Joe and all,

I'd also recommend a re-read of http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/mrh-2014-07-jul/track-cleaning-experiments Both the MRH article and the comments,

A confirmed graphite user for many years - It just works...

I really liked Joe's list of polar/non-polar solvents he posted in another thread somewhere (Rich_S' post here made a convenient summary). I have a can of mineral spirits left over from some remodeling I never opened. But are polar solvents by definition, not plastics-safe? Will the mineral spirits dissolve the paint in Kato Unitrack roadbed?

Meanwhile, I've been using CVS' 91% alcohol pads, which are conveniently packaged and about the right size for N-scale track. I also bought a large bottle of 91% alcohol from Rite-Aid (Target only carries 70% isopropyl). I use this to refill my CVS alcohol spray-bottle to wet my TidyTrack RotoWheel (which works great on locos!). but a quick wipe of the layout with the pads (need to buy the TidyTrack arm), then running some metal-wheeled trains for a while seems to work great! Once in a while I'll run a graphite carpenter's pencil along the rails.