Soldering Iron Marks??

[LAMing]

A bit of a rant, but really it's more a puzzlement:

WHY are there so many slot cars bodies on eBay that have what looks to be soldering iron melt marks on them??

I see this malady over and over.

For example, there was one Strombecker Pontiac that looked MINT. Bright plastic. Nice chrome on the wheels, parts intact... and sure enough, there was a (mandatory?) melt place on the rear deck!

I really don't understand how so many cars show up with these random melted places on them.

Okay. I think I feel better now.

[Bluevista]

Most of the time those marks are from old rubber tires touching the surface and "melting" into the plastic. It has to do with additives in the rubber breaking down or outgassing or something and it eats plastic. Don't store cars on top of each other.

[BIG E]

This guy has got the right answer to your question... so I don't have to type it out!
Heed this warning, I've seen bodies, glass, and other parts of models damaged by the feared "tire burn".
This why I usually open and individually bag tires, glass, chrome, bodies, ect. in any kits I plan on keeping either for my collection or for model/slot car use.
Now you know...

[LAMing]

So THAT'S what it is? I would have NEVER figured that out.

Sure seems to be a prevalent condition.

Thanks for the input.

Andre

[Dodgefarmer]

I may be wizzin in the wind here, but I think it may be from overheated controller wires. Those same marks are all over a bunch of strombecker controllers I have here. A while back when I was testing all these controllers they were becoming burning hot in a matter of seconds. When I checked output at the power pack I got a 19.2V reading. I've also been told stories of back in the day, guys would put in an afternoon of racing/running laps and have to put on a pair of gloves to be able to hang onto their controllers. So I think that what may have happened is that when the laid the controller down the wires ended up resting on the cars.





Just my $0.02 worth
Randy

[BIG E]

Those marks are probably from being stored with the wires wrapped around the handle. Not good for the wires, and as you can see, not good for the handle, either.
This has been a pet peeve of mine since the sixties... Ernie

[LAMing]

Could very well be Randy.

I've heard other tales of the set controllers getting uncomfortably hot. I don't have any personal recollections of that happening to me, and as a kid I would race hours on end. I do recall them getting warm (and putting off a wonderful aroma), but not uncomfortable. Could be too many volts/amps and too much motor for the home set? My multi-meter indicates one of my Strombecker packs puts out 14.4 no load volts at the terminals, and the other about 13.5 as I recall.

I would think if you want to go radical, about the only thing that can be used is the track. One would need much more robust controllers to handle the hotter motors and higher volts/amps if one wants a higher performaning system?

As for my situation, I'll be fine with the controllers and packs that Strombecker produced for their sets for my Strombecker track racing nights. My Scalextric system will have two Scalextric controllers and two packs, one for each lane. Seeing as I have zero experience with Scalextric track, controllers, or power packs, the user-friendliness of their system remains to be learned on my part.

Andre

[slothead]

Connectivity with Scalextric tracks couldn't be easier. The analogue powerbases I have are totally plug-n-play. There are places for each controller to plug in and places for 1 or 2 power packs. There's a switch for selecting either 1 or 2 power supplies. Plug the controllers and power pak(s) in and you're set to go.

[LAMing]

Hi 'ya slothead! I figure the connections will be easy-peasy. The slot mfg'er starting getting their poop together in the mid-sixties when they started putting plug ends on the power lead and controllers. Instead, what I'm wondering about is how long it will be before I can make the habit of squeezing the lock tabs underneath before trying to pull a track section apart! (DON'T ask me why I say that. (LOL!)

[Fathead59]

Hey slothead , I didn't know about the power supply on the Scalextric track , about being able to use two power sources? That is a tip I will remember

[Bluevista]

Those red and blue 3 wire Strombecker thumb controllers got red hot, still do probably. The person who could hold out longer without dropping the thing like a hot potato was the race winner.
Yeah, I forgot about the coating on wires, it melts into the plastic too, don't have to be hot. Those little marks may be from the hook-up wires touching the car surface when they're stored like in the set box too. Another place to see those wire melt marks are underneath the car body above the guide where they touch the plastic or anywhere else underneath. I have my original set with no box and the Chaparral and Lotus slot cars, may set it up for a nostalgic hand burning race night with my little bro'.

[DC_OR]

This theory only works if they're 3D-printed, I think. But I've run into this issue on mine when printing other items first and it came to mind.

I've found occasionally when I'm doing a 3D print that the printer crashes. But the printer is smart enough to resume from the spot it crashed at after resetting. An unintended side effect of that is that sometimes a little brown scorch mark shows up at that crash spot, maybe 1/4 - 1/2 of a grain of rice in size. I think the nozzle scorches that spot due to a quick automatic return from the crash, due to the filament not having enough time to cool and subsequent re-exposure to the nozzle.

Alternatively, it could be a case of someone accidentally scorching their new slot car with the soldering iron while working on it. I know my soldering iron/station has damaged a few things on my workbench over the years, and a lot of the videos I see of folks working on slot cars also have soldering stations.

More likely I'm wrong on all of this as I don't know a lot about eBay as it pertains to slot cars yet.

[Mitch58]

Also keep in mind that in the '60s it was mostly kids working on and modifying these cars and apparently painting them over and over, and over.

[LAMing]

Bluevista:

I had red ones, and though they would get warm, they never got so hot as to be uncomfortable. On Christmas Eve of '66, I received my 2nd Strombecker set (I was 14 years old) and my new brother-in-law and I raced from about 10 PM to 4 AM! (With no overly hot thumb bombs.)

DC_OR:

I haven't a clue about 3D printing.

Mitch58:

I had fun with mine, too! Although I don't recall painting any of mine, but I do remember messing with different tires, adapting static kits to the frames, homemade bodies, etc.

Fun times!

Andre

[Mitch58]

Over the last few years I've picked up a few older cars for restoration, some have been painted several different colors over time. Now when I find an unpainted one I tend to leave it that way even if I'm not fond of the color.

[Rastas]

I brought a old 1/24 Tamiya King Cobra with melted parts of the body! It looked like soldering iron marks to me.

[LAMing]

As I was tinkering with my Strombecker D-Jag, I noticed some melt marks on it, too, like we've been discussing in this thread. Understand that the exterior of the body is nigh perfect. So, I was surprised to notice melt marks on the underside of the body. Here's a photo to illustrate:



See them up by where the guide-to-motor wires would be? To me, this is really some heavy evidence that hot wires are the most likely culprit for these mysterious melt marks we're seeing on various models and accessories.

All fer now!

Andre

[wizardgm]

Also, the black scorch marks suggest that there was a 'short circuit' at the motor end, which then caused the wires to get VERY hot and burn themselves and the underside of the body.
Not sure what caused the mark above the top left body mount ?
Just my observation.
Dennis M