Silicone on wheels

[pony express]

For you new racers: Most of the speed you achieve after a perfect back axle drill is achieved by the type of polish/wax you use.
Some of the fastest preps include:
1. Legend with two applications and time to cure.
2. Ski wax
3.Silicone on top of red rocket or other polishes/ waxes.
4. Smart seal
5.New wheels are always good for .010 seconds.
The silicone to the wheels must be burnished into the wheel bore after cleaning with alcohol. If you use jig a loo just spray it onto a pipe cleaner and let dry for 15 minutes.
I hope this helps some of you new racers get up to speed and helps in your district and council races.

 

[Quicktimederby]

Interesting way of preping, I would have never thought to use a fluffy and try and burnish the jig into the wheel. Do you still apply to the axle?

 

[Mr Chips Racing]

That scares me to put Jig directly onto the wheel. Years ago I tried that and oh what a nice gooey mess that made. Do this carefully. I guess the dry fluffy may be safe however.

 

[GravityX]

For those of us that do not know, please explain what "smart seal" is.

In regards to Jig a loo, by letting the fluffy pipe cleaner dry for 15 minutes, you are allowing the propellant and volatile ingredients to evaporate (this would be the plastic destroying stuff) leaving behind the silicone only, the good stuff.

 

[pony express]

The axles are prepped the same way unless you wax them first. If you wax them, then you must spray the jig a loo onto a piece of leather (or cotton cloth) first and let dry then apply. Spray On sells a silicone spray that's totally safe on polystyrene and paint.

Smart Seal is a paint sealant sold on the internet. Chemical guys sold me mine. Apply two coats and allow to cure.

 

[Guest]

I ask this question on another link, after the jig-a-loo drys do you just hand turn in the hub on top of the already waxed hub that has red rocket and DD4H hub 1 wax. Has it given you any speed gains?
Thanks
Quote:
For those of us that do not know, please explain what "smart seal" is.

In regards to Jig a loo, by letting the fluffy pipe cleaner dry for 15 minutes, you are allowing the propellant and volatile ingredients to evaporate (this would be the plastic destroying stuff) leaving behind the silicone only, the good stuff.
__________________

Reaching for the top... First step: Sub 3.000... Check, Step two: 2.9790 (getting there) Nextmilestone: 2.95xx Getting there .010 second at a time

 

[topspin.d]

Do these prep methods work for graphite as well? I've heard of using legends, but what about the others?

Thanks.

 

[pony express]

Dr Jobe uses graphite and silicone at times in his pinewood derby bible. It is fast if you're using graphite.

If I use graphite I wax the wheel and axle first then burnish the graphite into the wax. The wax substrate gives the graphite something to hold onto. It forms a slick layer. Remember how bad your paint job was ruined by graphite? The graphite had something to hold onto.

The Smart Sealant is very fast on oil. I've not tried it on graphite yet. Smart Sealant is available through Chemical Guys on the internet. Legend and ski wax are very fast too. Smart Sealant is cheap compared to the others.

I'm still doing testing of the silicone on top of the ski wax, legend, red rocket, smart sealant. If you use silicone on top of your wax prep, you must burnish and then try to remove as much as possible with the pipe cleaner.

 

[DerbyDad4Hire]

Graphite and Red Rocket work by far better than any other combo I have ever tried. My graphite times are .01 faster since I changed to it.

Do these prep methods work for graphite as well? I've heard of using legends, but what about the others?

Thanks.

 

[birddog]

Not sure I understand all this, but sure appreciate everyone sharing this info! Looks like there are many more combintations to consider, beyond the red rocket and jigaloo i've been using.

birddog

 

[pwddc]

I was awake last night trying to remember the type of plastic the BSA wheels are made of.
So it's polystyrene as Pony Express mentioned?
Thanks, I'll sleep better tonight.

 

[topspin.d]

Getting my sons car ready for districts this weekend and came to discover our legends is separated. What can we use to get equivalent results that I can get quickly locally?

I see above the mention of ski wax. How does that work? Is there any special type of ski wax to use?

Any help you can provide greatly appreciated.

I should add that this is for a graphite only race.

 

[Bones]

I have done well with liquid glass. I did two applications of the wax. On the second coat I put the graphite in the bore while wax was wet. Let it dry, then use a pipe cleaner in the drill. Hope this helps. Rick.

 

[topspin.d]

I couldn't find any liquid glass locally, so we went with Meguiar's Tech Wax 2.0.

Worked like a charm. The car won the closest final race I've ever seen to make my son District Grand Champion. The finish line timer wasn't working so we were judging by eye. We had 4 different people shooting video and had to go to the videos to determine the finish order.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[E.T.Racing]

Congrats!

 

[Bones]

Congratulations!

 

[GravityX]

Congratulations on the win!

 

[Papa V Racing]

Right on Topspin.d

Congrats !!!!!!

 

[Falcon777]

Thanks for the info!

So let me get the process straight.

Wheel Bores:

1. Clean with alcohol
2. DD4H wheel wax #1 then Red Rocket - let cure 24 hours
3. Jigaloo a pipe cleaner, let dry 15+ minutes.
4. Put pipe cleaner in wheel bore and rotate at slow speed rubbing/burnishing silicon into wheel bore for 30 seconds.

Axles:

1. Polish axles up to .5 micron paper
2. Finish polish with DD4H axle polish with a cotton cloth.
3. Jigaloo a leather strap - smooth side, let dry 15+ minutes.
4. Put axle in drill, polish axle with leather/silicon for 30 seconds medium pressure.

Am I missing something?

Also, DD4H, is your graphite/wax/silicon method faster than your oil blend.

Thanks!

 

[561 racing]

The silicone to the wheels must be burnished into the wheel bore after cleaning with alcohol. If you use jig a loo just spray it onto a pipe cleaner and let dry for 15 minutes.
I hope this helps some of you new racers get up to speed and helps in your district and council races.

Anyone doing this or have tried it, how did it work? Feel free to PM me your response.

Thanks!
Brian