Burnishing

[Black Fox]

Nope, and never will. That guy is a joke. Has no proof on anything he does. Wont race in the NPWDRL. I heard he raced in Texas and TxChemist smoked him. ....

Just to be clear, I beat a guy using the packing method, not the actual packing guy. {but I have no doubt in my mind Mr. Packing would get smoked in the Novice class}. But that was a guy bringing a knife to a gunfight against oil. More to the point would be- Where would he show up in something like the graphite class at Mid America- OH!, I know!- nowhere near the top.

The reason a successful coat of graphite comes from burnishing is that the larger particles must be crushed under some pressure to present a fresh surface of graphite to cling to the walls for a bit. The tiny particles in many graphite mixtures can smudge up a bit of plastic, but they cannot create the bond needed to hang on to the surface and allow planes of graphite to slip. If you just spin, spin, spin, it is very difficult to create enough spots of good slip to get the lowest friction. When you burnish, use about 2 pounds of force when you push down with the rod onto the wheel bore.

I thought it would be better to creat a new post for this.

Txchemist has me thinking more about burnishing. In the past I would just put graphite in the wheel and spin it a few times on the axle, then repeat. I would do this for each wheel for about 10 min. From TXchemistdbd comment it seems there is more to burnishing. So what do you guys when you burnish your wheels for graphite? What tools do you use and methods.

 

[DEW36]

I used a one piece axle from a pinecar kit to burnish the graphite in after the wax cured in the wheels and burnishing does make a huge difference.

 

[Black Fox]

I've heard people using a sanded down Q-Tip and I believe someone sells a smaller Q-Tips style stick specifically for BSA wheels. What about those? Or are they just used for polishing the bores?

 

[Obsessedderbydad]

You can use anything that fits in the bore that you can apply pressure to

 

[5KidsRacing]

We talked a little bit about burnishing last week here:

http://www.pinewoodderbyonline.com/post/the-waxs-role-6790243?&trail=15

 

[Black Fox]

One other thing. Once you have finished burnishing the graphite. Just before the race. Do you add more raw graphite (straight from the tube) inside the the bore or just leave it as is?

 

[DEW36]

One other thing. Once you have finished burnishing the graphite. Just before the race. Do you add more raw graphite (straight from the tube) inside the the bore or just leave it as is?

I just added a little more graphite.

 

[Obsessedderbydad]

Just make sure if you add more you spin your wheels

 

[Black Fox]

I used a one piece axle from a pinecar kit to burnish the graphite in after the wax cured in the wheels and burnishing does make a huge difference.

Dew36. I have one of those pine car axles and I'm polishing them right now. I'm going to give it a try.

Out of curiosity do you hit it with a Q-Tip afterwards? The pine car axle is not a tight fit but I see how it can crush the graphite into the bore. But if I use the Q-Tip it also does the same thing but because its a tighter fit it also seems to remove the graphite too. I'm wondering if I should use both methods together or one or the other.

 

[speed bump]

use what fits the bore with out scratching it. It does not have to fit tight. You want the polishing rod to just apply pressure to the graphite to burnish it into the bore. Once you have done that spray the axle with pledge let dry for 30 min wipe the axle off with cloth and insert into tire. Apply more graphite and spin the tire and add a little bit more. Place it in the axle hole on the car and set the gaps. Don't over think this part its real easy. Just don't apply to much pressure when rolling the tire when burnishing it might make it out of round.

 

[Obsessedderbydad]

If you use something that fits too tight you'll push all the graphite out when you insert it.

 

[TRE]

I use a tooth pick

 

[DEW36]

I used a one piece axle from a pinecar kit to burnish the graphite in after the wax cured in the wheels and burnishing does make a huge difference.

Dew36. I have one of those pine car axles and I'm polishing them right now. I'm going to give it a try. Out of curiosity do you hit it with a Q-Tip afterwards? The pine car axle is not a tight fit but I see how it can crush the graphite into the bore. But if I use the Q-Tip it also does the same thing but because its a tighter fit it also seems to remove the graphite too. I'm wondering if I should use both methods together or one or the other.

Sent you a PM. I don't use a Q-Tip for burnishing.

 

[Black Fox]

If you use something that fits too tight you'll push all the graphite out when you insert it.

Obsessed

That comment was a huge clarification for me. The Q-Tip style stick I have does push the graphite out so it must be for polishing the bore and not for burnishing. Now everything is clear for me now.

Thanks so much for that comment

 

[Black Fox]

I used a one piece axle from a pinecar kit to burnish the graphite in after the wax cured in the wheels and burnishing does make a huge difference.

Dew36. I have one of those pine car axles and I'm polishing them right now. I'm going to give it a try. Out of curiosity do you hit it with a Q-Tip afterwards? The pine car axle is not a tight fit but I see how it can crush the graphite into the bore. But if I use the Q-Tip it also does the same thing but because its a tighter fit it also seems to remove the graphite too. I'm wondering if I should use both methods together or one or the other.

Sent you a PM. I don't use a Q-Tip for burnishing.

Dew36

Got your PM

Thanks

 

[Black Fox]

One last question.

How long do you usually spend one one wheel when you are burnishing it with graphite.

 

[Obsessedderbydad]

Until my OCD wears off or I get tired /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif

 

[Black Fox]

What's ODC?

 

[Rocket car]

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
How long to burnish? Put in a good movie. When it's done your done.

 

[Obsessedderbydad]

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder