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Ever since I restored the old track for Thanksgiving that got snowed out, I have been running 8-10 laps a day on each lane to rubber it in some, being careful not to run any urethane tires, which clean the rubber off as they run. Alas, I finally could see no build up so I got a microviewer off its stand and rigged it to look at the paint on the track. NOTHING AT ALL!

That's the last straw. The copper tape I used was old and the glue is no good. I've burnished the whole thing 5 times, and the only place it doesn't lift up is where the new package was started which finished off the taping. That part of the track looks like the copper is painted on.

So that's it. I'm going to go buy some different paint, more like what I used to use, and I'll retape with fresh, bright, new tape, and I never liked the way the second power tap came out, so I'll move it a few inches and redo it while I'm at it.

What ticks me off is that I am a veteran at this stuff, and I still ran into hidden trouble. I have a lot to do as Spring approaches this year. Not only are there promises to keep and brush to clear after a rough winter, the garden, my pride and joy for yeqars now, went to ruin as my father's health got worse and worse and there was so much to do for my folks last year. The garden is going to be overhauled from stem to stern, corn patch to pear tree. Huge big job. So when it rains and I can't do all the rest of the stuff, I'll be working on the track.

Waay,

If you didn't care my friend, you wouldn't be upset.

Happens to the best of us. I can't count the number of times I've shot myself in the foot. Guess I'll just have to "Do the Barney" and keep my bullet in my shirt pocket from now on.

Hope your mood swings to the good here shortly.

Ditto

In the words of an old Kiwi ad "Bugger!"

Surprised actually at your comment on urethane tyres. In Oz they're the norm and much loved for their ability to "rubber up" a track. It never ceases to amaze me all of the different approaches to track and tyre combo out there.

Hang in there, you still have your looks.

Couple months back the Skunkworks was a shambles and it seemed like it would never get done. Then all of a sudden there is light at the end of that tunnel.

Track paint and tire choices are amazing as The Queen mentioned. Around here we run the PG's almost entirely. They create a "groove" over time and pretty happy with the results.

It will get better...it's a Monday, maybe by Friday things will be looking up for you.

I knew silicone tyres clean the rubber off but wasn't aware urethane did the same.

Rob sounds like your in need of a holiday mate.

The tyre marks you see here are from urethane tyres.
The paint is an acrylic base with no added tint used as a clear coat over Dulux Suede.

I think you are wrong to be avoiding urethane tyres. In fact, I wonder if you might have more luck with urethane on the paint surface you're using.

Lynne, we are snowed in again, so I'll go out and see what I can do with some PG tires. I also have some Yellow Dog SCC and some urethanes made by one of our guys locally, so if there is a difference in formula that can help, I'll find it.

Last night I got to thinking... What if I shoot a fine spray of acrylic satin lacquer over the existing paint? I have a quantity of the stuff leftover from a chest-on-chest I built for someone. If it worked, I would only have a retaping job to do.

In other news, all this huge amount of work to do after we thaw... Its just a matter of going into EDM, Elephant Dinner Mode. That how you eat an elephant by yourself... one bite at a time.

I'm surprised on the urethane comment as well, they seem to work very well on my primered plastic track and have left markings much like Embers. 8-10 laps doesn't seem enough to me to get much done. If I haven't used the track for a while it usually takes me at least 50 laps to get the dust off and get some decent grip but I'm working with a totally different surface.

Rico

Rico, that's 8-10 laps per day almost every day since Mid-November. That's more than 1000 laps.

There are many different formulations for urethane, and that is complicated by the many kinds of paint and textures applied by the way the painting is done. We used to use cheap primer paint (the cheaper the better- the fine particle stuff doesn't work), because that was what stock rubber and silicones liked. The silicones are better now, and urethane is amazing and they both like a smoother, stickier surface than the old primer. Best of all, today's urethanes don't seem to be bothered by dust at all. My theory at this point is that I somehow mixed genres in such a way that stock rubber runs great (it does), on this surface, while not building up at all for smoothness and swing out, and silicones as well as urethanes make no improvement. If my plan works out, the track will be much easier to keep dust-free as the flat paint holds dust while the satin finish does not.

Se... The Aussies are of the opinion that it's the silicons that do damaged to the embedded grip developed by other tyre types. Urethane and rubber are ok together. But because of the sili tyres love of gathering dust, it is the one that drags the surface clean.

Then again, the Kiwis quite happily use silicon, rubber or urethane on their tracks, one after the other. But they tend to use gloss surfaces on their tracks.