Should I Use Pledge with The Next Level Axle Polish?

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jasarsenal

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Jan 16, 2015
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We just completed polishing our axles for our upcoming District BSA Derby. We used the Zero Friction Axle Polishing Kit with The Next Level Axle Polish.

Should we apply Pledge after using The Next Level Axle Polish? If so, how long after using The Next Level Axle Polish should we wait before applying the Pledge? Also, how long should we wait before wiping off the excess Pledge?

Many thanks for your time and consideration!
 
Clean your axles good with Alcohol or brake cleaner, then wipe off the residue and dry the axles. Now spray the pledge and wipe off excess after about 10 min. Go get um!
 
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Clarification needed...

Once the axles are cleaned and dried. Then spray Pledge onto the axles. Wait 10 minutes then wipe off Pledge with a clean cloth?? Should I only wipe off where there is an obvious drip? If the race isn't for another 2 weeks should we wait to do this step until closer to the race?

(We use graphite)
 
When I do it, I wipe the pledge dry. Nothing left that a soft microfiber towel can absorb. Then I make sure I blow the axle and wheels with compressed air before packing the graphite. You don't want anything other than graphite between the bore and axle. Is that "using silicone" or another step of axle polish??? Usually the "no silicone" means not to use it as a lube...no oil. That's up to you to decide. I can tell you one thing, if you DO pledge and dry, there isn't any way for the judges to know. It's one of those rules that they can put down on paper, but can't enforce.
 
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The worst kind of rule. If there is no way to know or enforce it how can you even say you cant do this.

What the h*%# is a "no silicone" rule anyway? No products containing silicone? Cant be used on your axles? Wheels? Cant be used as a lubricant or polish? Or just cant have any silicone or products CONTAINING silcone on your car at all?
Or does it just simply say NO SILICONE!!!
Haha lol, SO STUPID
How do people justify this stuff,
SILICONE = CHEATING Lol
 
SuperSlow said:
The worst kind of rule. If there is no way to know or enforce it how can you even say you cant do this.

What the h*%# is a "no silicone" rule anyway? No products containing silicone? Cant be used on your axles? Wheels? Cant be used as a lubricant or polish? Or just cant have any silicone or products CONTAINING silcone on your car at all?
Or does it just simply say NO SILICONE!!!
Haha lol, SO STUPID
How do people justify this stuff,
SILICONE = CHEATING Lol
Click to expand...
Well, it's usually because the people in the race are taking it more seriously than the people running the race. They just don't know any better...you really do need someone that is really into the hobby in order to write a good set of rules. It's harder than most people think to be completely unambiguous and clear. You got to know all the tricks and what people will try before they do and how to catch it. Guys at NPWDRL, PDDR, APR...they know them. Mid-Ams, NSC...they know too. They have good rule sets that others should use as a baseline. In my opinion, they should have a clear "mission statement" too to guide them in these rules. Too often I think packs stray from the opportunity to teach the kids something.
 
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SuperSlow said:
The worst kind of rule. If there is no way to know or enforce it how can you even say you cant do this.

What the h*%# is a "no silicone" rule anyway? No products containing silicone? Cant be used on your axles? Wheels? Cant be used as a lubricant or polish? Or just cant have any silicone or products CONTAINING silcone on your car at all?
Or does it just simply say NO SILICONE!!!
Haha lol, SO STUPID
How do people justify this stuff,
SILICONE = CHEATING Lol
Click to expand...

In the "Lubricant" section of our rules, it states " no oil or silicone may be used. Only dry lubricants such as graphite may be used".

I agree ...terrible rule and nearly impossible to enforce. I am working on getting them to rewrite the rules. However until they do, I didn't have or won't encourage any Scouts to break or creatively interpret the rules. I certainly don't want them to get disqualified by saying that they used pledge on their axles.

I would really like the committee to more strongly consider the teaching and learning opportunities that the Scouts could have by allowing more things along with having a better set of rules. However, for now, the rules are the rules. We along with the Cubs that attend our workshops will continue to follow them.
 
I totally agree to fallow the rules. But I think it is rules like this that just ruin it. People are either going to do it or not, and having something as stupid as that stated in your rules is doing more harm than it is helping anybody.

My son is 11 now and he is old enough and has built enough cars at this point that he is starting to do alot of things himself. He is not going to do everything as good as a pro but he is gonna directly see the results of well done or sloppy work.

My son is not stupid by any stretch but say we had a NO SILICONE rule and hes working on his car and I catch him putting pledge on his axles. I say Jonah you cant use silicone on your axles n he says its not silicone its pledge dad. Lol this is absolutely a conversation i could see happening and honestly its hard to say "no son your wrong", that is how a kids brains works. Ofcoarse we know better but its such a stupid thing that rules like these even exist.
There is no real reason why that needs to be a rule. No oil, ok fine its a dry lube race. That is what it is but the silicone thing is just absurd.
 
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We never raced scouts so luckily we never had to be in that situation but I really feel for the people that do have to deal with it and even more rediculous guide lines than that.
 
How much do you guys think Pledge is worth on a 42’ track when used with graphite?
We have the “no silicone” rule at the pack and district level so we race without Pledge but my oldest raced in a large, highly competitive youth open race for fun recently. We used the same graphite prep he ran at the district level. How much did we give up to the guys that ran Pledge?
 
bracketracer said:
How much do you guys think Pledge is worth on a 42’ track when used with graphite?
We have the “no silicone” rule at the pack and district level so we race without Pledge but my oldest raced in a large, highly competitive youth open race for fun recently. We used the same graphite prep he ran at the district level. How much did we give up to the guys that ran Pledge?
Click to expand...

BR,

I have never tried the with/without in a back to back comparison. My guess it is not worth a ton of speed, but it probably helps with maintaining the speed if you have more than 6-8 runs before adding graphite.
 
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It's more difficult than most people think to do a "before and after" type test...especially for something like Pledge, where you would have to partially disassemble the car. I could just happen to tune the car better the second time...or something else.
Of course, there are ways around that kind of variation...but most people don't have the time, money and patience to do it to make a real determination. i.e. Statistical Inference and Design of Experiments.
 
I'd use Pledge. You're not using it directly as a lube...that's what the graphite is for, and that is where the "no silicone" idiotic rule comes in.
What they're trying to prevent is someone actually lubing the axles with silicone spray and it dripping/shedding on to the track, that's all. They're not talking about it being in some polish product in a small amount.
 
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