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I admit it... Heck, I'll brag about it! I'll steal a good idea anywhere I can find it.
So I wasn't the guy who thought of sticking folded masking tape under a car to sweep dust off their track. The brass frame might be my innovation -- can't remember if I copied that or if it was my own idea. But the setup works and works wonderfully well.
The brass strip is 0.016 inches thick by 1 inch wide and 8 inches long, screwed to the underside of the car with two 4-40 flat head machine screws. The "wings" are cut free about 3/8" in on either side of the body and formed up approximately 90 degrees. The tape is 2 inch wide 3M brand masking tape.
You need to bend the tape sharply to provide some ground clearance at the leading edge. And you do need to use a car that has a fair amount of ground clearance to start with. But get that right and the car runs nicely while still dragging the underside of the tape along the track surface.
As you can see the tape can pick up a substantial amount of grunge. The dirtier side was run along the outside edge of the track for 4 or 5 laps. I replaced the tape a number of times before the tape stayed reasonably clean.
I finally realized the correct way to clean the track is to run the car on both of the outside lanes before changing the tape. That way the tape should be about equally dirty on both sides before it gets replaced. After the outside lanes get clean then I'll work on the two inside lanes, again switching lanes before changing the tape.
One advantage of this technique is it removes loose dust and grunge without affecting the "rubbered in" tire tracks. The track should retain its grip.
I note that there is no visible MDF dust kicked out of the slot by the guide. That is evidence that the slots are clean. If I did see MDF dust I'd go back over the entire track with my shop-vac. That's a more appropriate tool for cleaning slots.
So I wasn't the guy who thought of sticking folded masking tape under a car to sweep dust off their track. The brass frame might be my innovation -- can't remember if I copied that or if it was my own idea. But the setup works and works wonderfully well.
The brass strip is 0.016 inches thick by 1 inch wide and 8 inches long, screwed to the underside of the car with two 4-40 flat head machine screws. The "wings" are cut free about 3/8" in on either side of the body and formed up approximately 90 degrees. The tape is 2 inch wide 3M brand masking tape.
You need to bend the tape sharply to provide some ground clearance at the leading edge. And you do need to use a car that has a fair amount of ground clearance to start with. But get that right and the car runs nicely while still dragging the underside of the tape along the track surface.
As you can see the tape can pick up a substantial amount of grunge. The dirtier side was run along the outside edge of the track for 4 or 5 laps. I replaced the tape a number of times before the tape stayed reasonably clean.
I finally realized the correct way to clean the track is to run the car on both of the outside lanes before changing the tape. That way the tape should be about equally dirty on both sides before it gets replaced. After the outside lanes get clean then I'll work on the two inside lanes, again switching lanes before changing the tape.
One advantage of this technique is it removes loose dust and grunge without affecting the "rubbered in" tire tracks. The track should retain its grip.
I note that there is no visible MDF dust kicked out of the slot by the guide. That is evidence that the slots are clean. If I did see MDF dust I'd go back over the entire track with my shop-vac. That's a more appropriate tool for cleaning slots.
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