CG Slotcars, questions.

[wanabgts]

Alright guys, I recently acquired a CG Slotcars Shadow. I was very excited to find one basically new in box in a collection a friend recently got. I was on the fence about picking one up, but this sealed the deal.

Unfortunately I have a couple issues with mine, I have resolved all of them but 1. The body is severely warped. I don't know if it was stored in an area that got too warm or something but the front of the car is tweaked. If I try and the run chassis to body screws anywhere near tight it begins to wreak havoc on the chassis.

So question is. Have any of you guys tried straightening 3d printed parts?!? I am worried about trying to get it reset without ruining what is a pretty darn nice finish on this body. I messaged CG on Facebook, will also try email for tips.

Thanks for any help, I will try and get pics up later tonight.

Zack

[slothead]

Thankfully, I didn't have similar problems with my CG Shadow, and after some tweaks it's a solid member of my Can-Am series.

The info I got on HRW about straightening a very warped Monogram McLaren chassis was to pin it to the bottom of a big pot or pan with strong magnets, pour nearly boiling water in the pan and let it cool slowly overnight. I did this and it worked like charm. but I still have to leave out some body mount screws or the body warps the chassis and pulls the right front tire in the air.

I haven't done anything with the body for fear of harming the decals. Though with strong rare earth magnets pinning chassis and mounted body down together, and not so hot water, it would probably be okay. If others have done this successfully I'll give it a try.

[nhdungeonracer]

Zack, just so you're aware, Matt (owner of CG) will be away this weekend for the MI24 race. It's possible you won't get an answer from him til next week.

[wanabgts]

[Broman62]

[wanabgts]

[slothead]

I tried this on a warped resin body, but used rubber bands to pull it down flat on a plastic setup block. Not smart - because the body buckled where the rubber bands were and was totally unusable. One rubber band was over the roof and the pillars couldn't resist the force once the resin softened up from the hot water. And, I should not have used hot water either. Warm would have been better.

Ideally, I probably should have attached the body to the flat surface at the bottom so no pressure was on parts of it that could buckle. Maybe use hot glue or make some temporary mounts to hold it in place without creating new stress points.

What type of 3D print plastic is this body is made from and how would that differ from resin or an injection molded body? I added aftermarket decals to change my Shadow from #1 (George Follmer) to #101 (Jackie Oliver) and didn't use another coat of sealer over them. No hot water bath for mine.

[WB2]

I’d warn against putting the body into hot water until you find out what paint was used.
I had a warped SlotIt Wynn’s 962 with a warped chassis. I did the old boiling water trick. Chassis is flat but the water dissolved the paint.
I think I’d take a piece of 1/4” plate steel or hardwood and drill holes to match the body screw location. Screw body down so it flattens out, then place in direct sunlight.

[slothead]

Totally agree with you WB2. I've screwed up a bunch of things being impatient and not getting all the facts first.

I never thought of the direct sunlight idea, probably because I live in Maine and it can still be 20 below zero on a sunny day. Need to wait for summer to be able to have that work. Rumor has it summer going to be on a Tuesday this year, probably 2nd week of July.

[WB2]

[Changing-Gearz]

Zack - I did email you back yesterday.

Basically, strong sunlight will work (it is a black shell after all).
Tape the nose to something flat and weigh down the rear.
There is a slight rise in the nose by design - but it seems some bodies cured incorrectly over a longer than normal period of time and stressed the nose up.

If it fails or you're not happy with it - just let me know!

Matt

[slothead]

Our cat, Gilligan, owns the window that gets the most sun. He curls up on the radiator in front of the window and has no intention to share. If I put a car any where near there he'd chew on it.

[wanabgts]

[glasshorsevh]

I use nothing but acrylic paints for medical reasons, so the hot water thing was never an option. Living in Tejas, I have had a number of resin body proxy cars return in 100+ heat and therefore more than a little saggy. If you are careful, you can jig them and use a hairdryer to get them back into shape, but it’s real easy to overheat them, so go slow.

Val

[wanabgts]

Ok I figured I would post a copy of the email here for all to see. A lot of the ideas here were great. I have to say that he did offer to help me replace the body if it doesn't come out well after straightening, I can't say enough about the customer service thus far.

"For some reason there were a few bodies that cured over a long period of time and the long curing caused some stress which ultimately started pulling the nose up. I believe it was from a new batch of resin material - but I never got a handle it and I haven't seen it again in a few months....

Anyway - yes. You can tape the nose down to something solid and let it sit in the sun for a while - maybe put some type of weight on the rear and over time it will drop down. You can use a hairdryer - but go slowly with that!

There is a little lift in the nose on the 1:1 and that is supposed to be there - but I've seen people flatten it out completely because they felt the lift was wrong....

You should be fine with painters tape. Duct tape will react with the paint over a couple of days."

Also, I ran the car last night with the chassis screws loose enough the body didn't affect it. Man this thing handles absolutely amazing, easily keeping pace with some of the fastest Can-am cars in my lot. It needs a little more motor to make use of the straight on our club track, But I was blown away by the performance.

I let many people drive the car, and every one of them was impressed and asking about them. Moral of the story, I forgot about the problems with the body and just wanted more CG Slotcars!

Zack