To Paint or Not to Paint

[1reason]

My son has asked me if painting will slow the car many times.

Believing that the added weight near the front that must be taken from the back, I have said yes, albeit very slightly and probably will never make a difference in the results.

Giving the question further thought, I know that the paint may offer benefits that outweigh the loss in potential energy, including greater strength, maybe more aerodynamic or something I haven't thought of.

So, given a choice based purely on speed, do you paint or not paint?

 

[Rocket car]

For a scout car painting is fine. Remember racing is not that close at that level. It may make it a few thousandths slower. It is hard to tell. I haven't seen much of a difference.

 

[Chief]

painting is probably the funnest thing for a scout to do on thier PWD car. Just be sure to buy the quick dry paint and let him be creative and have fun. The paint wont make your car any slower, if you follow the rest of the advice here on the forum. You will be in the front of the pack and look good doing it too. Best of luck and remember to post your pics.

 

[HurriCrane Racing]

I still paint my cars if I'm using wood fenders. I use Dupli color paints. They dry to a hard finish.

 

[1reason]

painting is probably the funnest thing for a scout to do on thier PWD car. Just be sure to buy the quick dry paint and let him be creative and have fun. The paint wont make your car any slower, if you follow the rest of the advice here on the forum. You will be in the front of the pack and look good doing it too. Best of luck and remember to post your pics.

Thanks, yeah, after I thought about it, that's his favorite part too (explains why he asked if it will slow it down about 566474 times).

So, we're gonna be painting today....

 

[Obsessedderbydad]

Good on ya. It's about having fun with your car, but at the same time, WOW that's awesome that he's that concerned about weight. But like others said, at the scout level it wont matter that much.

 

[OPARENNEN]

Use lacquer, not enamel. It's thinner, and also dries faster. Adds a bit of weight, but not enough to count in BSA racing.

 

[1reason]

Good on ya. It's about having fun with your car, but at the same time, WOW that's awesome that he's that concerned about weight. But like others said, at the scout level it wont matter that much.

Thanks, yeah, he kinda has to think about speed - it's not like we're going to make a pretty car...lol

Considering I use the power tools once a year during Derby time, it's a wonder we even get the wheels on straight.

He took first in Den and Pack, so it worked out well. Crazy enough, they didn't have trophies for the Pack level this year. I told my son that they just didn't arrive in time (technically true), and ordered one for him last night online. The upside is it's a little bigger, and has his name on it, so he ends his racing "career" on a high note.

 

[1reason]

For a scout car painting is fine. Remember racing is not that close at that level. It may make it a few thousandths slower. It is hard to tell. I haven't seen much of a difference.

Ya know... he beat one car by about two or three lengths, but the others were close, really close.

In a way, I was surprised at how close. I will admit, I was a little disappointed we weren't faster relative to the other cars. I don't think the paint was an influence, but wow, I have a lot of work to do. My wife pointed out that two of the dads in the Den are engineers, so that was an ego boost...lol (love my wife)