When to clean

[Hypoxic]

On 9/26/2024 at 12:10 AM, guggles said:

<snip>

Case in point here is my new to me tmaxx in the state i got it:

 

[Hypoxic]

So. I had to strip her down. Crushed gravel can work its way into the tightest of places, it’s crazy. Now I understand why railroads use it. Anyway, I had gravel lodged into places I couldn’t access, I tried everything; I couldn’t get the good angle, or it was lodged in too tight. (Sigh) Gotta go in deeper. Good thing I ordered those Tamiya tools. You can see the scratches on the pebbles from my failed attempts at dislodging them.

Et voila, there was more to lurk within. Not to mention Big Daddy. Even actuating the suspension, it took some force to remove.

[Hypoxic]

In the process, I noticed that the threaded pins were already corroding. So I pulled them all, sanded with 400 grit paper and hit them liberally with some 3-in-one PTFE and reinstalled. We’ll see how that works after a few runs but for now, the suspension is already back to like new. It had a really slow rebound before the stripping-down which kind of clued me in. If that’s a no go, someone here mentioned a waxing of some sort. I’ll try that next. 

[alvinlwh]

45 minutes ago, Hypoxic said:

threaded pins were already corroding

Just get some stainless shaft (Tamiya or others) to replace them and call it a day. The plus about not using these screw pins is they will not unscrew themselves. 

[Hypoxic]

13 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

Just get some stainless shaft (Tamiya or others) to replace them and call it a day. The plus about not using these screw pins is they will not unscrew themselves. 

I’ll look into those. Thanks for the tip!

[magnumb]

On 9/25/2024 at 8:04 AM, Twinfan said:

I'd be wary of stripping a car down too often as you're going to ruin the plastic threads on many parts in quick order.  I wait for the car to dry if it's wet, then use an old paintbrush to brush out dried dirt, grass etc.  I rinse the body under a tap and dry with paper towels.  That's about it!

Once certain areas or the whole car start to look really grubby, then I'd consider a strip and rebuild and even then I'd only do what was necessary.

Is this actually a true statement? 

I've torn down the axles and transmission on a 5-year-old RC crawler probably 8 times now and have not notice any difference on how the screws and plastic interject. Is this more a statement for the Tamiya "ABS" type plastic? 

[Twinfan]

It's a general comment about metal being screwed into plastic  

[magnumb]

On 10/7/2024 at 1:51 PM, Twinfan said:

It's a general comment about metal being screwed into plastic  

Haven't found this to be true in my experience 

[skom25]

On 10/7/2024 at 8:06 PM, magnumb said:

Is this actually a true statement? 

I've torn down the axles and transmission on a 5-year-old RC crawler probably 8 times now and have not notice any difference on how the screws and plastic interject. Is this more a statement for the Tamiya "ABS" type plastic? 

If you use Self Tappers, after few times threads are definitely looser and it is easier to strip them.

It is much better with machine screws, especially if you use Tap Tool to make threads first.

Soft plastic Tamiya parts are terrible and there is no good answer for that question. They are bad right from the start, no matter which method you choose. ABS like TT-02 chassis is not bad, compared to e.g. rear lower arms of TT-02 which are like cheese.

[magnumb]

10 hours ago, skom25 said:

If you use Self Tappers, after few times threads are definitely looser and it is easier to strip them.

It is much better with machine screws, especially if you use Tap Tool to make threads first.

Soft plastic Tamiya parts are terrible and there is no good answer for that question. They are bad right from the start, no matter which method you choose. ABS like TT-02 chassis is not bad, compared to e.g. rear lower arms of TT-02 which are like cheese.

It's interesting how plastics can vary soo much. Some of the best "plastic" i've seen in the RC industry comes from MST and Xray...just as far as screw engagement and fit and finish. 

[alvinlwh]

2 hours ago, magnumb said:

Some of the best "plastic" i've seen in the RC industry comes from MST and Xray...just as far as screw engagement and fit and finish. 

I don't have much experience but I find that MST and 3R have better plastic than Tamiya most of the time. Some Tamiya will better plastic as a hopup option (£$€¥) while other brands have the good plastic from stock. 

[MadAnt]

After some runs I clean my cars with compressed air and and sometimes brushes. If it's really bad and messy, I take things apart and scrub clean the parts in a bubble bath. Oil the joints and bearings during reassembly and keep everything working for a long time. 

Back when I did customer repairs when I worked at a hobby store, people would bring in their car caked in dirt and other stuff. They would do nothing to take care of their cars, it was really bad and made the repairs more expensive. No one wants to pay for expensive repairs on a hobby grade toy. If I ever decide to do RC repairs on the the side, the cars brought to me to fix better be reasonably clean enough or they go somewhere else.