Track paint questions

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Toypainter	Track paint questions	Lead	[-]
Posts: 4 (03/10/08 09:37 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None Guys, I just got my track painted and wired. I ran some cars and they all seem to slide around a lot more than I thought they would. Even through some pretty mild esses, they will go full lock if you try to hold any speed at all. All the cars have silicone tires, and I have run them on another wood track and they work fine. I don't know what kind of paint is on the other track, but I used Behr exterior flat latex on mine with a foam roller. It did end up with a rougher surface than I expected. I thought the foam roller would really lay it down smooth. I tried sanding one area smooth with 150 grit sandpaper, but that seems to have made it worse! Anybody have any suggestions? Any and all comments would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Rob
hot shoe 1		#1	[-]
Posts: 1361 (03/11/08 06:07 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Couple a things first. What voltage are you running the track? Most wood track guys run their cars around 10v. Cars are a little tamer and turn just as fast laps than say at 12v. What type of foam roller did you use? Lowe's sells two kinds (at least). I use the small diameter white ones. They are made out of very dense foam and leave a super smooth finish, almost looks sprayed on. I tried another foam roller they have that is yellow foam and not as dense. It left a terrible finish. I think your choice of paint should be ok. Although I've always used interior paint. Why did you choose the exterior? is the track your friends track painted with the same paint? Finally, it can take several hundred laps before a track "comes in". You really need to give it some time for the green to wear off. Good luck, keep us posted on what you find. Oh yeah, ...how about some pictures. We want pictures. hot shoe "I must be behind on my cheatin' "
RichD		#2	[-]
Posts: 1307 (03/11/08 07:02 AM) Home Racing Guru! Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Our expert track builder puts down one coat of paint with a brush, then uses a razor blade to remove the tiny wood fibers that are sticking up. The track gets a second brushed on coat of paint. A semi-gloss acrylic finish on top of that will give you a lot more grip, but it looks a little strange. We run all of our thacks at 10 volts most of the time. For silicone tires to work really well the track must be absolutly clean. Keep wiping off the tires every few laps. Rolling the tires over sticky tape on a block of wood is the quick way to clean them. It will take a few thousand laps to break in a new track. Last Edited By: RichD 03/13/08 06:33 AM. Edited 1 times.
Toypainter		#3	[-]
Posts: 5 (03/11/08 09:57 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Thanks for the comments guys. I am running 12 volts, no way to turn it down. I used the large diameter roller like you would use to paint your house. I really don't think the texture is affecting it though. I chose exterior because I thought it might have a heavier film build and last longer? I don't know what the other track is painted with, I'll find out this weekend. I'll keep running laps and see if things change. Thanks again, Rob Here's a couple pix:
Toypainter		#4	[-]
Posts: 6 (03/11/08 10:00 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	ooops
Buspor63		#5	[-]
Posts: 32 (03/12/08 01:30 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	That is an awesome looking track! I also noticed you have a collection of VW toys, are VW's another weakness?. Mine is VW Westys.....surely three is enough.
hot shoe 1		#6	[-]
Posts: 1362 (03/12/08 07:17 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Very nice track Rob. Sounds like the fix will be a variable voltage power supply. Keep the pix coming of your scenery work. hot shoe "I must be behind on my cheatin' "
Fletch		#7	[-]
Posts: 112 (03/13/08 01:04 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	sweet track Rob, some guys might think i'm nuts but for the first few weeks we ran our stock tires after sanding them real good, after a while we switched to our sillys and got the track clean and it really hooked up. keep running on it it will get better, our first route the guys were trippin out they hated it, wanted the plastic back, by the end of the night it got better now a year later they are all building wood tracks. it will come around, keep it clean before you run on it. before you know it there will be color in the turns and you will be flying through those esses. A variable power supply will help also like shoe said, a good thing to have anyways great for breaking in tires and motors
RichD		#8	[-]
Posts: 1309 (03/13/08 06:51 AM) Home Racing Guru! Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	You can use diodes to reduce the track voltage, they are cheap and easy to find, Radio Shack has them. Six amp diodes would be a good choice. You need to use three diodes in series to drop the voltage from 12 volts to 10 volts. Current can only go through a diode one way so they all must be pointed in the same direction. You can try this out by connecting the diodes to a white controller connection and connecting the white controller wire to the other end of the string of diodes. The diodes need to be in the white part of the circuit or your brakes will also be reduced. If you get the diodes backwards you will get no power. It is best to use a seperate set of diodes for each lane. If you run at 12 volts you will have some of your cars break right at the guide flag holder. Our experience was the same as Fletch's.
Toypainter		#9	[-]
Posts: 7 (03/13/08 11:52 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Thanks for all the input guys, and the compliments! It does seem to be getting better-or I'm getting used to it!!! ; ) I'm going to try my variable power supply from my HO track and see what happens. Oh yeah, buspoor63, I have a custom '70 beetle. Also, I'm about to thin out that collection if you are looking for anything. Yes, there are some buses in there..... Rob
olsoltracer		#10	[-]
Posts: 3 (03/26/08 02:01 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Great lookin track. Iam gonna build my first wood track hope it turns out half as good as yours.

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