To burnish or not to burnish--a graphite question

[CTDerbyDad]

My son is in his last year of Cub Scouts. He has run oil the last couple of years, but now must run graphite to comply with the rules.

So, should he burnish in graphite on the hubs and bores? He sprayed the nails with Pledge last time, which seemed to work.

 

[Mojo Racing]

burnish

 

[Thinkin'Bout Racin]

My son is in his last year of Cub Scouts. He has run oil the last couple of years, but now must run graphite to comply with the rules.

So, should he burnish in graphite on the hubs and bores? He sprayed the nails with Pledge last time, which seemed to work.

I am not a Pro, so take this information with the appropriate level of consideration. We have not done oil yet ...so all we have is experience using graphite. I agree with Mojo, definitely burnish.

We found that we like one graphite for burnishing , but prefer DD4H's graphite for lubrication. The DD4H Zero Friction seems to work fine for burnishing also, but we started with a different one that seems to "smear & cling" a bit better. So we have stuck with the process of burnishing with one graphite and then using Zero Friction for lubrication and "break-in". This process has servered us well so far.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Absolutely burnish. Might be the one most effective thing you can do to a graphite-lubed wheel. IMO

 

[Dennis]

Absolutely burnish. Might be the one most effective thing you can do to a graphite-lubed wheel. IMO

Any post on the how to process?

 

[Mojo Racing]

I polish a piece of stainless rod and round the ends to avoid scratching. Then I have the cub insert the rod into his wheel and add graphite. On his mom's wedding dress or best towels, roll the wheel back and forth holding the rod with both hands, applying some pressure to push this into the bores.... after a few rolls back and forth, add more graphite and do it again...

Generally, I have the cubs roll out and back 5 times and add graphite... then they do this 10 times.

just have the cub wipe his hands clean on the dress material or towel afterward.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Studio 35 Q tips from Walgreens. Cut the ends off. Chuck it in the drill. Take a fine piece of sandpaper and squeeze the tip and spin the drill, to make sure it's smooth.
Paper towel, folded in half. Dump some graphite in a small spot. Squeeze the q-tip in with the spot where the graphite is and spin the drill. This will embed the graphite into the q-tip.
Take your wheel, spin the drill slowly and insert it into the bore. Move the wheel back and forth. You can re-graphite the q-tip a and do it again if you like. It will transfer the graphite to the bore surface.

You can polish the bore first. I wouldn't bother with any sealer, though. It keeps the graphite from sticking.

 

[Mojo Racing]

Honestly, I wouldn't use a Q-tip... you already went through the polishing process, using a q-tip (because paper has abrasive qualities).

Use an axle that you polished, a pin gage, or a piece of stainless... those work best, and you don't run the risk of opening up the bore in your wheel.

 

[1reason]

Honestly, I wouldn't use a Q-tip... you already went through the polishing process, using a q-tip (because paper has abrasive qualities).

Use an axle that you polished, a pin gage, or a piece of stainless... those work best, and you don't run the risk of opening up the bore in your wheel.

Is the idea to "bury" the graphite into the plastic, and how tight does one want the pin gage to be in relation to the inside diameter of the wheel?

Thanks in advance

 

[Mojo Racing]

yes... you are pressing your graphite into the bore. it is going to take a LOT to imbed it into the plastic, but you are doing what you can to make it stay for a long time.

you don't want to use a 96 gage pin on a 97 bore... give it some room... somewhere between 0.090 - 0.093.