Q-tips from Tamyia

Jan 28, 2012
153
1
16
Texas
I found these today at hobby lobby. They look to b more solid than the store bought stuff. Would they work as a replacement for the no scratch wheel boe applicators or would they be better suited to replace the polishing stalks. It looks like they might be usefull since you can get them in several sizes.

www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=87105
 
Richard-nearest Hobby Lobby about 40 miles from me but willing to make the trip since I've never been to one and am partial to Tamiya products. Did you happen to take a measure of the stalk diameter?
 
I happened across these at a Hobby Lobby recently. The shafts looked pretty thin, but I didn't get a measurement (pretty soon I will have a digital caliper with me wherever I go
idea
). I am always on the look for polishing tools for the small Eliminator bores, but the ones I saw looked too small.
 
Bring a micrometer; shorter/smaller than a caliper and fits in your shirt pocket! Of course unless you can pull one from a package, you have to account for the thickness of the cellophane and not mind the stares from the clerks!
 
According to another post these fit nicely in a Royal Ranger bore. The Sugar Daddy and Zip-a-Dee sucker sticks I currently use need to be slightly reduced in diameter to not enlarge the bore. Was in Olympia the other day so I decided to check at the hobby shops, pathetically both of em are out of business/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif If anybody has any on hand and wouldn't mind measuring a few for me it would really help me out. Hoping they come in around .123 and are of a higher quality than the sucker sticks I am using. My next best options are driving an hour and a half to Tacoma "aroma" or an online purchase.
 
They way I do it , to make any size I need is very easy. I take a large pop cycle stick or a too large Q-tip and chuck in my drill and just sand them down , just like you sand your axles ,to any size needed for the job. Works just great, no need to search everywhere. ........SPIRIT...... Hope this helps
 
jator359 said:
Richard-nearest Hobby Lobby about 40 miles from me but willing to make the trip since I've never been to one and am partial to Tamiya products. Did you happen to take a measure of the stalk diameter?
 
That's is a great idea Spirit, so far I've used a razor blade to peel off a layer. I was slightly paranoid to attempt sanding for fear of any grit shedding from the sandpaper and potentially embedding in the stalk. What type of sanding material would be best for this procedure, I have some micro mesh. Guess I could always inspect with a loupe to make sure. You're smokin' fast so I'm not questioning your method one bit, just want to make sure I follow it correctly. Also, if my bore is .122 should I sand down to .123, what is the ideal differential?
 
I use around 220 to 400 grit sandpaper depending on how fast and how much I want to take off , and you can use higher grit to finish off if you prefer the surface a bit smoother. As far as size, I just want it real snug and not too tight because it will swell in the polishing process , you don't want to force the stalk in with a lot of pressure at first......SPIRIT......
 
I re- read you post and realized that I didn't address your concern of getting material from sandpaper in-bedded in your paper stalk. Of all the years I have have done this, I have never had this happen , maybe I have been lucky. My common sense tells me that it could happen. Never had a scatch in a bore . Also use these q-tip stalks to hold my wheels when polishing the outer hubs and cleaning the tread between races. Always with good results. To keep from scratching the polished hubs on the drill fingers , I put a Teflon washer between wheel and hub......SPIRIT.......
 
Spirit, great tips! That's what I love about this board, in the process of learning one thing usually several more tips are given. What's cool is I don't have to worry anymore about my sucker sticks absorbing moisture and expanding or having to cherry pick thru the bag for the right size- now I can sand em how I want em/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif Oh yeah, thanks for the heads up on the polish swelling the stalks, I probably would've learned the hard way and expanded the bore more than intended.