T Slot Cleaner
Oils, Cleaners, Glues
A wide variety of chemicals and solvents are available for the cleaning and lubrication of slot cars and track. Many of these products can be made from commonly available products found at any good hardware store or pharmacy. If you are racing on a budget, or use large quantities of these materials making your own can be very inexpensive.
Modern slot cars use a preponderance of synthetic plastic compounds for both the chassis and the body. When using any product for the first time, test it in an out of the way place first to make certain it will not harm the plastic itself. This is especially true of the plastic used in injection-molded body shells.
Product Information T-Slot Cleaner. Eliminates the danger of removing chips with air. One by each of your machines will be a time and eye saver. T-Slot Clean T-slot covers are protection plates designed to prevent chips and coolant from collecting inside the t-slots of machining centers. These covers are easy to handle and keep slots clear of debris when not in use. When the machine slots are ready to be used, the t-slot covers are removed for access to a clean.
Oils
Mobil 1 Synthetic motor oil is an ideal lubricant for slot cars. Purchase or re-use a pin-point oiler and fill it with Mobil 1 to produce your own racing oil.
Mobil 1 synthetic oil is safe to use on plastic bushings as well as sintered bronze oilite bearings. A quart will cost about $5.00 and should last a lifetime. Get the lightest viscosity you can find. There’s even a 5W that you can get at better speed shops and racing centers.
Cleaners
Commercial lighter fluid has several uses in slot car racing. It can be used to clean and soften rubber tires, as a general purpose cleaner or as a mild solvent to remove the adhesive left behind when stickers are removed.
Lighter fluid is one of the best general purpose cleaners available for slot car racing. Commercial products made by companies such as Ronson and Zippo are simply Naphtha. Check the label for yourself!
Save your next empty container and fill it with Naphtha. The applicator nozzle that comes with the commercial containers is perfect for applying small amounts. Naphtha can be found in the paint department at any good hardware store or building supply house. A gallon will cost around $2.00.
WD-40® aerosol spray can also be used to clean and protect the metal power rails on a slot car track. WD-40 is NOT a lubricant, but rather a water displacement product, hence the WD-40 designation given to it by the Rocket Chemical Company in 1953.
WD-40 works well to protect metal power rails from oxidation and corrosion. WD-40 will however destroy plastic over time, so take care to apply it to the metal power rails only.
WD-40 is available just about everywhere. The best prices however are usually found at large discount stores such as K-Mart or Wal-Mart. It’s also available at most hardware store for slightly more. A large aerosol can will cost approximately $3.00
Formula 409 Commercial Cleaner & Degreaser makes an excellent cleaner for plastic and routed wooden tracks. It will also safely clean rubber and silicone tires. It’s available in the Automotive Cleaners section of most department stores, home improvement outlets and auto parts suppliers. It can be applied directly to the track surface and then wiped clean with a rag.
Note: Use Formula 409 Cleaner & Degreaser, NOT the oven cleaner sold in the cleaning products isle at the grocery store.
Adhesives
Permatex Flowable Silicone Windshield and Glass Sealer 65A can be used to coat and seal foam rubber tires. Glue unground foam rubber tires to your rear hubs and sand to the proper size. Then coat the foam rubber with a thin layer of this flowable silicone sealer. Permatex Windshield Sealer is much thinner than the normal silicone caulk used to seal bathtubs surrounds. Permatex Windshield Sealer can be purchased at most auto parts outlets and better hardware stores.
Plastruct Plastic Weld is perfect for repairing crash damage to bodies. The small wings of Formula One and IndyCar bodies can be re-attached using this product. Plastic Weld can also be used to glue track sections together to create tight joints that won’t separate.
Plastruct Plastic Weld has a small brush applicator mounted to the inside of the cap to make plastic repairs fast and strong. Keep the cap tightly closed when not in use though, or it will evaporate! For best results let the joined parts cure overnight before using them.
Plastruct sells a general purpose plastic solvent cement that can be used with a variety of plastics including Styrene, ABS, Acrylic and Butyrate. Solvent is applied to the two surfaces that are to be “welded” and then the parts are held together. The solvent will actually melt the plastic surfaces and join them in a strong “welded” bond.
Cyanoacrylate or CA, is ideal for fixing sintered bronze axle bearings to a plastic chassis. It can also be used to repair small plastic parts that break and fall off of plastic body shells.
CA, unless mixed with glycerin dries almost immediately. Most R/C departments sell a variety of CA blends for fast, medium and slow curing. The medium curing blend allows approximately 30-45 seconds of adjustment time before it hardens.
Cyanoacrylate works best on non-porous materials. Plastic, metal and glass can usually be successfully bonded using CA, but wooden and fabric items can not. As with any adhesive or glue, the strongest joints are achieved when the two mating materials are clean and free of any oils or dirt residue.
Cyanoacrylate can be found in the R/C department of most better hobby shops. A 2-4 oz. bottle will cost about $4.00
Cyanoacrylate can be removed using a dissolver blended specifically for that purpose. Most R/C departments that sell Cyanoacrylate adhesives will also sell a dissolver. You can make your own though by simply using straight Acetone.
Cyanoacrylate adhesives can safely be used with just about any plastic compound, but the remover, because it contains acetone, may not. So again, test the product on a scrap of similar material before you commit to using it on an expensive slot car.
T Slot Cleaner Dimensions
This is an adhesive you probably can not blend at home, unless you’re a chemist. It can be purchased in 2-4 oz. containers in the R/C department at any good hobby shop though. The small bottles sold in hardware stores can be quite expensive, and the caps often wind up permanently attached to the bottle long before the contents are used up.
Track Care
The steel power rails in all brands of HO slot car track tend to oxidize (rust) when not in use. Model Railroading enthusiast often use a product called RailZip to slow the inevitable rail oxidation process.
Dexron ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) has essentially the same chemical properties as RailZip, but it’s much more economical. A 1 quart bottle will cost about $2.00 and should last a lifetime.
Apply a small amount of Dexron ATF to a clean rag and then wipe it on just the steel power rails. Let it work overnight, and then the next day wipe up any remaining residue.
Dexron ATF has strong detergents for cleaning and anti-oxidants for retarding new rust formation. Best applied at the end of a night of racing.
Introduction: T-slot Cleaner
Machine T-slot cleaner. A simple project that should take no longer than an hour even for someone who has very little experience with hand tools.
Step 1: Tools Needed to Make T-slot Cleaner.
Various Files
Engineers Square
Marking Blue
Rule
0-25 Micrometer
Emery Cloth
Scribe
Dividers
T Slot Cleaner Dimensions
Letter stamps
6mm Drill
Pillar Drill.
Machine vice.
Power saw
Vernier Height Gauge
Angle Plate
Marking blue
Scratch Plates.
Vernier Calliper
Step 2: Getting Started.
A piece of 4.5mm thick Low carbon steel (L.C.S) should be cut using a power saw or hack saw to be as close to 110 mm long and 22 mm wide.
De-burr the material
with a hand file, select edge for datum and square with files checking with engineers square.
Apply marking blue evenly to one side of the material with a cloth.
Mark it out using marking out equipment such as vernier height gauges and scribes.
Step 3: Drilling and Counter Sinking.
Mark Hole with center punch and ball pein hammer.
Collect 6mm drill from store and check. Sharpen drill if needed, then using the pillar drill to drill hole in correct position. Drill speed of 700rpm-900rpm.
Collect countersink from store and safely using the correct speed (around 100rpm-150rpm) counter sink both sides of work piece.
Step 4: Profile and Product Finish.
Position work piece in the bench vice and safely hacksaw the profile. Check that the hacksaw blade is in good working condition before use (no missing/bent teeth)
Safely use files to obtain required finish and finish with emery cloth, then from the 0.5mm chamfer around all edges of the work piece.
Stamp name on work piece with letter stamps and ball pien hammer. Stamp work piece on surface plate to protect the surface of benches.
Check sizes with micrometer and vernier calliper.
Oil the finished job or protection against oxidization.
Magnetic T Slot Cleaner
Be the First to Share
Recommendations
Tinfoil Speed Challenge
Make it Glow Contest
First Time Author Contest