Scalextric Track Question

[raggededgeracecars]

Cleaning the track for race nights what is the best to prep the track. I’ve been just using a damp cloth. Should I be going a little more aggressive to take up any of the rubber laid down?

Im searching to to give everyone the best corner traction I can give them

Thanx

[dungeonracer]

I like to use tack clothes made for automotive. It does a real good job of removing dust without moisture.

[downtowndeco]

I use just a tiny sprinkle of alcohol on a rag to wipe the track of dust.

[Vision34]

Rubber laid down is not a bad thing. When I ran my scaly track i just used a soft painters brush and dusted off that way. You can also use a vacuum with the brush attachment too. Roads and race tracks in real life aren't perfect it's a part of racing. It's all up to the drivers and lanes will be faster than others.

[raggededgeracecars]

Thanks Guys.

There definately is something on the track after a night of running. When I come out in the morning you can see a slight film on the surface where the tires were running. I just assumed it was rubber down. A damp cloth removes the grayish film and we are back in business. When I use rubbing alcohol it completely removes the film and any of the witness that anything ever raced on the track.

Whats your thoughts

[Billy boy]

When I had scalextric track just a dry cloth to wipe it down. Get the rails to. Run cars and clean the tires every few laps to get xtra dust off and you will be good to go. No liquids unless you want to strip it, but that’s just me.

[raggededgeracecars]

Last night I used Lysol Wipes and dried the track with a dry cloth afterward and it worked really good

[Fathead59]

Just a question , wouldn't rubbing alcohol work ? Figure it would dry quickly as long as you do not over do it .

[KK Racing]

I used to use lighter fluid to clean my old 1965 Aurora plastic track after running tons of laps on silicone tires. If using rubber or urethane tires I would just vacume it. Isopropyl alcohol would also be amoung my top choices for cleaning a plastic track but I can't say which would be better as I only remember using lighter fluid.

[Fathead59]

Wouldn't you use the rubbing alcohol to clean the tires off also .

[KK Racing]

The clubs I have run in over the past decade or two don't allow any foreign substances other than water/saliva for cleaning tires.
Other racers and clubs allow all sorts of different tire treatments, coatings and goop to be used. I suppose its all a matter of preference, type of surface and where and who you run with.

Cheers

[Dogsbody]

As mentioned, a tack cloth to take of the dust but I'd leave the rubber there. Cleaning it off just takes away the grip (assuming you're running non-mag) till it builds back up again. Plus, it looks cool

[RichD]

If you are running on rubber tires it is best to leave the track rubbered in. Most of the time what you need to remove is dust, but if there is rubber on the rails you should remove that without removing the rubber on the rest of the track surface. Scalextric track is made of ABS, a type of styrene. Look here to pick a solvent that will not attack the track: https://www.coleparmer.com/Chemical-Resistance
Be aware the most organic solvents are likely to remove rubber. If the rails have rubber on them put your solvent of choice on a rag and use that on the rails alone. Organic solvents are not great for removing dust, it is likely that you will end up just pushing it around. A good spray surface cleaner may work better if you want to remove the dust without disturbing the rubber, but something like a Swiffer is probably a better bet.
If dust on your tires is a problem just wiping them off or rolling them on sticky tape will remove it. I have seen cars with rubber tires pick up a glaze that greatly reduces their grip, rolling on tape does not remove the glaze. In one case I put some contact cleaner on a rag and wiped off the glaze with that. A water based cleaner might have worked as well, but I did not have any of that handy.

[KK Racing]

I agree with both of you. I only used to clean the actual track surface if I was running silicone tires for a while and was swithing back to using cars with Uretane tires to go racing out on the wood tracks. Otherwise I would just vacuum the dust off periodically.

[RichD]

Vacuuming is good for a start if you have very heavy dust, but it may not remove fine dust, so a final pass with a Swiffer may still be needed. In addition fine dust will pass right through an ordinary vacuum cleaner and eventually land back on the track unless you have a vacuum with a HEPA filter or a central vac.
A tack cloth can remove all of the dust, however some tack cloths use wax that will coat the rails so the cars will not run at all until that is removed with a solvent. If you want to try a tack cloth only do a part of the track as a test before you wipe down the entire track.