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Old 06-04-2009, 11:13 AM
schmenzer schmenzer is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 12
As I mentioned in a preiously I want to improve the traction of my RealTracks race track to better suit the power of my dNaNos. I feel the stock surface, while great for low power cars like the Epoch, is too slippery for the dNaNo.

For the new surface I am going to use thinned Household Goop (Plumber's Goop is the same thing as far as I can tell so get which ever is cheaper). I use Toluene to thin the Goop to about Maple Syrup consistency. It takes a while to mix and I let the mixture sit for a while between mixings so the Goop will dissolve in the Toluene. BTW, this is a thing you want to do either outside or in a place with good ventilation. If you do it at home and are married, prepare for a confrontation! The fumes are not something you want to huff! Probably a good idea to wear gloves too.

Before I applied the Goop mixture I used Alcohol to clean the RealTracks tiles. Toluene is a good solvent but it does affect the RealTracks plastic if it is allowed to pool and rubbed. It does not immediately dissolve the surface but to be safe I am only using it in the final application of the Goop. I suspect that the Toluene would also remove any painted stripes. Even the Alcohol removed a little.

After the Alcohol dried I used blue painter's tape to mask off the connecting tabs so assembling the track would still be easy.

I used a small foam roller to spread a thin but even coat of mixed material on the top of the RealTracks surface and worked the roller enough to get some small bubbles in the Goop mixture and then set the track piece aside to dry. BTW, I did try applying the mixture on the underside of the track to check compatibility and was pleased with the result so I went ahead and applied it to the actual running surface.

One tube of Goop and about 4 or 5 ounces of Toluene did a dozen RealTacks tiles. I ended up using almost two tubes total and about 7 ounces of Toluene for the entire RealTracks TrackPack 20 set.

After I had all the track parts coated I left them in the shop overnight. The Goop mixture actually dries to the touch on about an hour but the solvent takes longer to totally dissolve and the associated odor is persistent as well!

I guess I should add a disclaimer here: This mod is not reversible. From my tests it does not ruin the track but you will not be able to remove the Goop once it is applied. Except for the added traction you will hardly notice it is on the track.

On with the driving. Check out the next article as I discover if all this rig-a-ma-role was worth it.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg realtrack-892.jpg (108.5 KB, 14 views)
File Type: jpg realtrack-891.jpg (96.3 KB, 15 views)
File Type: jpg realtrack-890.jpg (106.9 KB, 14 views)
File Type: jpg realtrack-889.jpg (96.8 KB, 22 views)
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