Some usefull products

[wilfy100]

Hi,

    I am not sure of the rules regarding making some recommendations for products I have found to be really usefull. I will detail them here and the moderator can delete/modify as required.

Scalextric chassis and wheels seem to be made of a plastic that does glue very well with superglue. The fix for this is Tricky Stick by Deluxe products, It is a small bottle of clear watery liquid which I believe to be some form of organic solvent. This is a superglue primer in that you paint onto the surfaces to be joined prior to applying superglue. The primer evaporates rapidly and then you superglue as normal. It does cause the superglue to go off quicker than normal, which is a problem when trying to glue loose wheels on as you do not have much time to position the wheel on the axle. But this primer will allow you to superglue shiny waxy plastics that do not normally bond with superglue, and get an extremely strong bond. I intend to see if acetone (nail varnish remover) will have a similar effect. The alternative is plastic weld, basically a solvent that softens/liquifies the plastic so they melt together. Acetone is a major component in this and may work on its own. The proper stuff is not that expensive though so I think that is the way to go. Be aware of the fumes though and work in a well ventilated room when using it.

For cleaning plastics surgical (isopropyl alcohol) spirits (isopropyl alcohol) is the stuff to use. It will not normally harm most decent quality plastics at least if used in moderation. It also Is a usefull "Kicker" to get superglue to set, just apply a tiny amount with a brush and the superglue will set instantly. Just do not get it near any painted surfaces or decals.

I have been repairing some old british scalextric cars with the capacitor/resistor/diode circuit boards in them. This means lots of loose wires going everywhere, including rubbing against the inside of the wheels. I fix them inplace with a small piece of Blacktack which is bluetack on steriods. This sticks like the preverbial to a blanket but can still be removed without harming the surface it was stuck on. Look on a certain online auction site for this.

Talking of the capacitor/resistor/diode circuit board I got all excited thinking it was a "Stayalive" as used on model railway locomotives. This works by picking up a charge in the capacitors when the loco is running and then if the loco hits a bit of dirty track so the current pickup is interupted, the charge in the capacitors keeps the motor running for a split second so hopefully it moves on and regains normal current pickup. I have seen model railway loco's run for several seconds with no current pickup due to having big capacity "stayalive" circuits. I have made up these myself using the basically the same capacitor, resistor and diode components. I suspect now I was barking up the wrong tree and is only to power the brake light effect, rather a letdown really.

I hope some of this will be of interest, Cheers wilf

   

 

[Andy P.]

No problem with discussion tips and tricks...

I can confirm the alcohol tip... it works wonders sometimes!

A note about acetone : it eats plastic, literally...

I have also found that only hot glue from a glue gun sticks to Sport track.

All otehr glues do not hold...