WPC Surface Treatment

[Crash Enburn]

I thought I'd seen this vid before, so it was probably here. But a search didn't turn up anything...

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMo7rkyBMsg[/video]

Apparently you have to send the metal bits to WPC, but it does look interesting.

 

[BulldogRacing]

Wow, I wonder how this would work with the axles? looks very sweet!

 

[Kinser Racing]

You could potentially test axle treatments this way. I'll bet you get get close to the same with jig on the polished metal. However, spin times do not equal speed.

 

[GravityX]

...but in the case shown above it does mean less friction and longer spin times. I'll take less friction.... and the longer spin time, as a bonus.

One more thing! A well balanced car to take advantage of this property.

 

[davet]

I talked to these guys a couple different times over the last few days. Very difficult to understand and I'm pretty certain English is not their first language...or second.

They didn't think it would work as well with metal axle/plastic wheel as with metal on metal. I may polish one up and send it in to see what happens. Not sure how I'll test it though other than spin test.

It's like talcum powder that they pelt the steel with to give it a very microscopic golf ball effect. Supposedly it also hardens the steel. They said to polish the axle to it's highest possible luster then send it in. Once it's treated it will not need to be polished again, however, a good cleaning and your choice of spray prep is recommended to fight oxidation or corrosion.

I contacted two of the companies listed in their Testimonials and both answered back saying they continue having engine and tranny parts treated with many years of success. Neither had any experience with metal against plastic such as bushings or nylon gears against metal.

It's $5.00 per axle. I'll let you know what happens but it will be a while before we get an axle polished up and sent out.

 

[davet]

Just got a set of stainless axles back from WPC. Prepped a wheel and axle the same as always and spun it. A faint scraping type sound that sounds like "shh,shh,shh,shh" as it spins. These are BASX wheels with the second step still in tact. Seems to me that what I'm hearing is the slightly out of true front hub face is and must have a high spot. Maybe didn't hear it before as everything was perfectly smooth. Spin time is much less than our non-treated axles. The axles look dull where they were treated. It may be that they need to be finish polished to get the most of them. I'll try that and let you know. It took 2 weeks from door to door to get finished.

 

[Kinser Racing]

Do a full prep before you try to polish them and see what happens.

 

[davet]

A good prepping job is best I suppose. I was hoping they would just spin forever on last years prep and make the decision easy for me. I'll try some different wheels when I get time too. Diameter did not change. I marked with marker the areas that did not need to be treated. They charged me $1.00 per axle when they got them to cover masking the head surface and portion that goes into the body.

 

[Maglev]

Try spinning with oil on the treated axle and then see what happens.

 

[davet]

Try spinning with oil on the treated axle and then see what happens.

That's how I got the above result. Last year's race prep on the wheels that were never run and a fresh coat of spray on the axles. I only let the spray dry for an hour or so. Usually I leave them sit a day, respray then leave dry for several days under cover. I'll give it a better prep soon. Their videos are used with no lube from what I can tell. Metal on metal.