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You’d think if it were as bad as CFC’s they’d ban them. They still sell it in up to 55 gallon barrels :)Edward

If I recall correctly, Brakleen is a halogenated solvent and as such is a major source of ozone destruction in the stratosphere and upper altitudes. They do not break down for hundreds of years. Awesome for cleaning guns too.Warren

Have you ever tried Brakleen? The chlorinated stuff works *way* better. I’ve fired a motor, let it sit in the sun for 2 months, then cleaned it with that and it is as shiny as new.Edward

This is on/off the subject. I would be more than happy to doa cleaning of the rods and rails during a three day launch. Likemid Saturday. Not all at one time, just one every so often.I know I have had…   Read more»

Mike,Your comments about stiction highlight a belief of mine when it comes to lubricating towers for minimum diameter flights. I’ve see lot’s of discussion about the best lube for the tower on high altitude flights, but I’ve always been a…   Read more»

IMHO I bet that the stuff I and many other folks have used as a release agent for casting propellant would be fantastic. It makes things very slick and non-sticky. For cleaning again stuff like wd40 works great. But out…   Read more»

For what its worth, BOY SCOUT water works pretty well at cleaning up the AP residue on rails and in motor cases but you need to re-grease afterwards, or use the stuff we used in the Colorado Army National Guard…   Read more»

I’ve also been happy with some black powder cleaner I picked up at the store where I got my Pyrodex. I think it’s water soluble, but it made cleaning out the inside of my rocket a snap. I wonder if…   Read more»

I just mentioned WD40 because I’ve seen a lot of folks in the club use it that way and for that purpose and its usually sitting around.WAnd, that’s what we use at every bi-yearly cleaning party. This really IS a…   Read more»

This is completely off topic, but given the industry you work in Mike, I wonder if you could comment on this.A while back, it was reported that ALL the hard disk drives in the ISS essentially seized up within hours…   Read more»

I just mentioned WD40 because I’ve seen a lot of folks in the club use it that way and for that purpose and its usually sitting around.This is actually a very helpful topic, but provides another reason why investing in…   Read more»

There is a teflon spray I’ve used in the past that would likely be far better. I just mentioned WD40 because I’ve seen a lot of folks in the club use it that way and for that purpose and its…   Read more»

Only one problem with spraying wd40 on all the rails. its a penatrant as well as a cleaner. Its job is NOT to slick things up. This is a side effect of the materials that are in Wd40. After you…   Read more»

I’m thinking about maybe multi-piece stainless rail buttons with a teflon washer on both the inner and outer bearing surface.In general though, I spray WD40 on rails before every flight. It definitely slicks things up.W

There are some benifits for owning your own launch rails (and pad) to insure you have a slippery launch and to give yourself more prep time w/o slowing down others wanting to get on. When I start more complex rockets…   Read more»

Mike, absolutely fantastic post. Thank you much. Very thorough and I’m interested in the buttons you’ve come up with. My original thought was to machine the buttons out of teflon, but bad experiences with overtightened Delrin buttons binding up in…   Read more»

A few launches with buttons that are harder than the rails would show negligible wear, but if the concept became popular and widespread, than it would become an issue in the life of the railsSo, if you don’t mind me…   Read more»

JW,Since you asked… Anodizing oxidizes the outer skin of the aluminum. There are at least two types, with one being more porous and therefore softer than the other. Hard anodizing produces a fairly dense outer layer of aluminum oxide. There…   Read more»

These are fully polished rail guides so I guess I don’t see an issue. Besides, I’m one of the two equipment managers and the rails are, amongst other things, my responsibility and I see the kind of damage they take….   Read more»

FWIW, about ten? years ago, Black Sky gave away free rails to all clubs who asked for them. This is still when PHITS and TRM (the predecessor clubs to NCR) were in existence. Both PHITS and TRM ordered and received…   Read more»