In working with my garden railroad locomotives, especially my Shay with exposed gearing near the ground, I am trying to come up with a good lubrication protocol to help minimize the collection of dust and dirt from the Decomposed Granite (DG) environment that I must run my trains in. Wet grease and oils form an almost magnetic attractant for dust, dirt and even small gravel that the wind, or injudicious nearby foot step can put into the exposed wet lubricants, thus not simply defeating their primary purpose, but actually exacerbating it to the point of damage and failure.
Manufacturers specify regular and significant lubrication of all these moving parts, be they metal or plastic, and specify a host of wet lubes that are anathema to my railroads environment, so I've taken a different path, striving wherever possible to make use of dry lubricants like graphite, Teflon and silicone, but these don't seem to quite answer all the required applications.
I would be very grateful if others would step forward with their own insights as to good plastic compatible gear and shaft lubrication strategies and products.
Visual representations of my situational environment are shown in a thread on the Locomotive Board, as seen here:
https://www.officeofsteamforum.com/live-steam-locomotives/large-scale-outdoor-railroad/
What about an aerosol silicone spray Daniel?
Something like Tri-Flow Superior Dry Lubricant which is made for dry and dusty conditions might work well.
What about an aerosol silicone spray Daniel?
Yes, that is also in my lineup, but one must be careful that they don't use solvent carriers and propellants. There is also the issue of getting it where it needs to be and not all over the sides of the model. I typically spray it into a receptacle first, possibly mix in a little graphite, and hope that it will help wick the graphite into the area needing lubrication, so that it has a silicone/graphite double whammy, as it were! The eye of a good sized needle is sometimes used as an applicator for hard to get at spots that have much detail in the way. Graphite does tend to be a bit messy to work with, but on the model it seems to end up looking like scale grime and worked grease, so adds some sort of weathering realism in my eye. Another thing about graphite is that once you get, say an open gear face, well coated it is then lubed for a very long time to come, as it seems to imbed slightly into the plastic.
Daniel, enjoyed both those videos...very realistic looking, thought the cacophony of natural bird sounds kind of give it away that this is a model setup in THEIR natural environment.
On lubrication...is it possible to use dry lubricants on the moving mechanical parts, but keep the dust down with an oil of some sorts sprayed on the decomposed gravel...perhaps 3 feet to either side of the track? I'm thinking of something lightweight that could be sprayed with a $10 pump garden sprayer kept dedicated for repeat applications as needed. WHICH oil I don't have a clue...
Rog
Something like Tri-Flow Superior Dry Lubricant which is made for dry and dusty conditions might work well.
Indeed it might Larry!
I'll certainly be looking into this product, as I've successfully use Tri-Flow Superior before, but for some reason haven't come across the "Dry" version. Hopefully it is the same, and is plastic compatible, though I've yet to find a spec sheet that says so. For that matter, I've always been a bit nervous about the regular Tri-Flow even though they do claim safe for plastics, but they also say it has petroleum oils and solvents, which does not sound so good.
Question ... does the Tri-Flow Dry formula stay wet long enough to act as a penetrant so it would have the potential of carrying the graphite into tight places?
TRI-FLOW SUPERIOR DRY LUBRICANT
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Tri-Flow® Superior Dry Lubricant is an elite formula created for dry and dusty conditions. The drip bottle application, with a convenient straw, allows for deep penetration in hard to reach moving parts. Featuring paraffin wax and high-grade petroleum oil to allow the lube to go on wet, but then set up in a dry, ‘wax-like’ film so it will not attract or absorb grit and grime. Perfect for dry, dirty, dusty conditions, while still providing adequate wet weather performance. Holds up to extreme pressures and resists water wash-off. Provides incredible efficiency without attracting an excessive amount of contaminants.
Daniel, enjoyed both those videos...very realistic looking, thought the cacophony of natural bird sounds kind of give it away that this is a model setup in THEIR natural environment.
On lubrication...is it possible to use dry lubricants on the moving mechanical parts, but keep the dust down with an oil of some sorts sprayed on the decomposed gravel...perhaps 3 feet to either side of the track? I'm thinking of something lightweight that could be sprayed with a $10 pump garden sprayer kept dedicated for repeat applications as needed. WHICH oil I don't have a clue...
Rog
Rog, I'm certain that your suggestion would HELP with the dust problem, but it most certainly wouldn't totally cure it, and won't be happening here for a number of reasons that include my own predilections, SWAMBO's preferences, general environmental concerns and a host of other potentially negative impacts that may or may not accrue. Even if that method was applied, it would certainly not completely obviate the key issue of dust and dirt, though it would obviously help significantly. But in the end it is still needed to attack the problem at the lubrication level, even if the ground is less yielding of it's abrasive components!
Glad you liked the birds and the videos, and thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas.
Yep Larry ....... I read the spec sheets too. I assume that it is also plastic safe even though they don't specifically mention it for the "Dry" formulation, and again they do make a point of calling out petroleum oil, and one would assume some form of solvent must be in there to keep the paraffin dissolved, which then evaporates to leave the Teflon in a dry state.
Certainly I'll be trying it out, and if it works reasonably well it may become my mainstay, though it could be hard to tell how well it is working what with all the graphite and silicone already in place.
I may also be looking into their Red Grease, as there are some gears enclosed in housing where dust may not be too much of an issue, but Teflon on plastic gears could be a good thing, as graphite near electric motors and connections is not!
Thanks for that link Pete ... I'll look into it, but do have what may be a nearly identical product in my arsenal already.
My mini outdoor table layout was elevated (track ~30" high), but I was still surprised how little dust there was from the track ballast or environment. The ballast was held in place using diluted (~1:1) Tite-Bond waterproof glue. When I dismantled the layout, the ballast was well-adhered to the layout table. Rock-solid. The track actually broke/bent before the glue gave way. I wonder if you glued your ballast matrix between the sleepers as well as an inch or two (or more) from the outer edges of the track, if that would reduce the dust in the immediate vicinity of the track. It would be easy enough to test in a limited area. Tite-bond does change the color of the ballast. In my case, the gray granite acquired a red tint.
There are also some bicycle lubricants that might be worth looking into. Some are called 'dry.' I used one brand (I forget which) on my former commuter bike and the chain stayed cleaner longer. I think it had an alcohol carrier that evaporated shortly after application leaving the lubricant behind.
Thanks for those thoughts Dave. I used the dilute ballast glue technique for years on various HO & HOn3 layouts, but I don't see it being at all effective in my current situation. It is not so much just right at the trackage that the problem originates, but rather throughout the whole yard. Just walking along a couple of feet from the track will cause dust to rise and even "puff" in the direction of the track so unless I took Rogers suggestion to the max and oiled, or glued as you recommend, the entire yard which is over 1/2 acre, then I don't think working from that direction will solve the problem. I believe it need to be solved at the end where the mechanicals are present.
Tri-Flow has long been one of my bike chain and other actuators lubes, though only the "wet" type so far. I will be looking into the "dry" version very soon.
Makes sense. Keep us posted re: what works, lube-wise.