Build Thread The most interesting Team Associated SC10 in the world

[Lukedavis]

It's all standard AE parts; front bulkhead, front chassis brace, rear chassis plate, front shock tower.

What did they do to get the arms and other things to fit?

 

[Cheetah928]

The original photos remind me of keeping the slash running . Key words "by any means necessary" I ziptied a rock in the front one time to keep it from flipping back like a CLK-GTR when I hit 50! If that's not desperate, then tell me what is

 

[Spksh]

What did they do to get the arms and other things to fit?

The Durango(?) rear arms are narrower at the hinge than AE stock. There weren't any spacers on the hinge pins, so "with tons of slop" is probably the answer.

 

[Spksh]

The original photos remind me of keeping the slash running . Key words "by any means necessary" I ziptied a rock in the front one time to keep it from flipping back like a CLK-GTR when I hit 50! If that's not desperate, then tell me what is

I think professional drivers call that "finding the limit"

 

[Spksh]

Next up is cleaning, but before we do that let's look at the front left arm and the zip tie that was holding it to the hinge pin. I reckon this collision is what bent the front left shock shaft into a pretzel, and those things are tough, so someone really was sending it. I want to give this old lady a medal for courage under fire or something.

But, by some miracle, the front bulkhead is... perfectly fine?

 

[Spksh]

These are a few of my favourite chemicals.

For the initial clean, I use acetone, a plastic-safe degreaser, an all-purpose cleaner, and a spray degreaser.

Different types of parts get a different cleaning treatment:

• Plastic chassis and suspension parts get run through an ultrasonic cleaner, in a degreaser solution to get the worst of the crud off. Then they're soaked in an all-purpose cleaner solution for a day, scrubbed with a brush, and rinsed clean.
• Shocks, springs, and plastic drive-train parts get blasted with the spray degreaser to get the worst of the oil out, then run through the ultrasonic cleaner, and rinsed clean.
• Screws, ball studs, hinge pins, metal washers/spacers, and metal drive-train parts get soaked in acetone for a bit, then run through the ultrasonic cleaner, and rinsed clean.

A thing to remember is that, if you 3D print cute wash baskets to dunk your parts in various containers, remember what the "A" in ABS stands for before you reach the acetone step.

This is your cute basket.

This is your cute basket (and its full complement of SAE screws) on acetone.

Be smart and buy some frying baskets, or just reprint in PETG which laughs at acetone all day.

Here are some more wet parts for your viewing pleasure.

(Don't be naughty and ask about the SC10b body up there, be patient and wait)

 

[Spksh]

If you've done this kind of rehab before, you know that all the original steel hardware is usually lousy with surface rust. I'm going to replace all the screws with stainless steel (not titanium, I'm not made of money), but I want to save the hinge pins, out drives, axles, dogbones, and turnbuckles if I can.

Well, say hello to my little friend(s).

Yes, I could use electrolysis on every single screw individually instead of Evapo-Rust, but then I'd never have time to write this thread. It's a bit pricey, but the surface rust (and the old black oxide finish) just disappears after a few hours. You'll be back to bare steel.

One tip I have for working like this is that your parts will develop a dusty black layer if you leave them in the solution for too long. That's OK, you just need to wipe (or ultrasonic clean) the parts so they're a nice dull steel before the next step.

Here's one of the turnbuckles from earlier, cleaned back to bare steel.

The Presto Black PC-9 (manufactured by Birchwood, but re-bottled here) is a chemical that promotes a black oxide layer on steel. Sometimes this is called "blacking" or "parkerizing", and there are different techniques (of varying effectiveness) to achieve it. You just soak the steel parts in the diluted solution (I used 10:1 in water, matching the Birchwood instructions) until you're happy with coverage.

The black oxide looks cool, but doesn't prevent rust by itself. It does create a great porous texture for a penetrating oil to... penetrate.

A tip here is that the black oxide process is extremely sensitive to contaminants or oil on the parts; they'll come out looking blotchy if the part isn't completely clean. I often do another acetone soak and water rinse before throwing them into the PC-9.

Here are some precious, precious SAE screws that have had the black oxide treatment and then soaked in WD40.

Now, why don't I have a photo of the turnbuckles all nice and black? Well, I did something different! Keep watching.

 

[Spksh]

A quick interlude to note that two of the turnbuckles were banana shaped.

I only noticed this after I went through the trouble of cleaning them, and if I'm being honest with myself (and we should all strive to be that, at least) I probably should have guessed that the clear and obvious damage to the left front that also turned a shock shaft into a banana might have also caused some banana-ing of the turnbuckles too.

Anyway, I was invested in those turnbuckles at this point, because they were clean. So I printed a bending brake for my bench vise. Ever see a video of how they straighten cannon barrels after forging?

I got them pretty straight.

 

[Spksh]

This is a bottle of white vinegar.

You can do a magic trick where, if you run only a tiny bit of electrical current through the vinegar via a nickel anode and cathode, you can turn the water a pretty cool green colour and stuff it full of nickel at the same time.

And then, if you swap the cathode for a steel part, you can put some of that magically suspended nickel back on to the part.

And you end up with a nickel-plated steel turnbuckle that isn't going to rust in your lifetime.

 

[Spksh]

OK, so we've cleaned the plastic parts. But they still look old and tired. That greying around the edges, scuff marks. Some people think it looks distinguished, and other people (me) tell you to get some work done.

I soak every plastic part in a liberal spray of 303 Aerospace Protectant.

The best side by side I have is the comparison of the rear bumper brace above. Look at that gloss! Both of these are well-used parts, but only one has had the 303 treatment (call your doctor now).

If you couldn't see the scrapes, you'd pay full price for these, right?

 

[Spksh]

OK, cleaning is done. What's next?

(Yes, I know there are more parts here than one mutated-but-lovable SC10. Be patient.)

 

[Spksh]

Oh, right, I used a heatgun to soften the nerf bars that looked like pretzels, and gently coaxed them into making better life choices.

 

[Doom!]

You have your own restoration channel on cable yet? Some really good info and techniques here.

 

[WickedFog]

I'm going to have to try that 303 stuff. I see you have the WD40 there. I use that on all my plastics. Especially the older stuff, as it softens the plastic back up. Does the 303 do that as well? Or is it just like a sunscreen?

 

[Spksh]

I'm going to have to try that 303 stuff. I see you have the WD40 there. I use that on all my plastics. Especially the older stuff, as it softens the plastic back up. Does the 303 do that as well? Or is it just like a sunscreen?

I don’t think the 303 penetrates much beyond the surface, no. I do leave it on longer than the instructions say, but the plastic feels the same after. Maybe that’s because I’m working with newer plastics?

Tell me more about how you use WD40.

 

[Spksh]

You have your own restoration channel on cable yet? Some really good info and techniques here.

Thanks, I have been told that I have a great face for radio!

 

[WickedFog]

I don’t think the 303 penetrates much beyond the surface, no. I do leave it on longer than the instructions say, but the plastic feels the same after. Maybe that’s because I’m working with newer plastics?

Tell me more about how you use WD40.

If you soak your plastics in WD40 overnight, it basically restores the plastic back to damn near new, which all but dimishes any brittleness, removes the oxidization, and brings back the luster of the plastic. But adding that 303 afterwards I bet will help keep it fresh longer.

 

[WickedFog]

Really digging how well you've documented everything here man. Great thread!

I have done a few restos over the years. My latest being a Losi XXX-SCT. You can see it HERE if interested. I love hunting for discontinued stuff for some reason. I managed to find a lot of parts over the course of about a year, searching here and there, but it was the gear cover that eluded me. One would pop up from time to time, but at $30+. I was reluctant to pay that, so I kept hunting and I eventually landed one pretty cheap, which finished the resto. This was probably my favorite resto job. A little before and after...

 

[Doom!]

Really digging how well you've documented everything here man. Great thread!

I have done a few restos over the years. My latest being a Losi XXX-SCT. You can see it HERE if interested. I love hunting for discontinued stuff for some reason. I managed to find a lot of parts over the course of about a year, searching here and there, but it was the gear cover that eluded me. One would pop up from time to time, but at $30+. I was reluctant to pay that, so I kept hunting and I eventually landed one pretty cheap, which finished the resto. This was probably my favorite resto job. A little before and after...
View attachment 252179View attachment 252180

You could have at least edited those peanuts out of there, now I want some!

 

[Spksh]

If you soak your plastics in WD40 overnight, it basically restores the plastic back to damn near new, which all but dimishes any brittleness, removes the oxidization, and brings back the luster of the plastic. But adding that 303 afterwards I bet will help keep it fresh longer.

Ok, I have to try this. Is there a limit on how long you can soak parts?