Turbo Optima Craigslist find- project: return to stock

[GoMachV]

My current dimemma is that they polished the plates. I wish they were plain and stock, but I don't think I can get them back to dull aluminum. I can give them a brushed look with steel wool and sandpaper but that still isn't really correct per say. I'm leaning towards re-polishing them. ugh.

[DennisM]

Orbital sander grit 800/1000 and tooth paste - should make it dull. But the stamped impression is gone.
The car is worth a new set of plates? they don´t seem that expensive on the Bay.

[GoMachV]

Actually that's not a bad idea, and I can keep the polished ones for the belt drive car that I seem to have most of the parts for lol

[GoMachV]

Super Clean 1, Paint 0

Only a couple areas to scrub, and it didn't touch the stickers

[Hcp22]

Hard on paint, lean on stickers, that’s awesome.

[TM Ru22311]

Wow, what an amazing deal for $100! I never have luck like that. It looks as if it is cleaning up nicely and having enough spares for another buggy is just wonderful, Nice find

Thanks for the tip on the Super Clean also. Seems like I had read somewhere that this was a good way to remove paint from rc bodies, but it's nice to have it confirmed (and with pics) +1

[GoMachV]

I have a Losi body that has been soaking for 2 days and it has not touched the paint yet.

[RedScampi]

Your Optima looks outstanding Jeff, nice work on the shell! I have also had mixed results with the Super Clean. It may be the brand of paint that was used, or some other factors.

[GoMachV]

I thought this was lexan paint due to the color and transparency but I'm now leaning more towards an enamel. The losi body is definitely Pactra laquer and it isnt budging!

[RedScampi]

I've also noticed some shells left in the stuff for too long get brittle and become useless for anything but shelving.

[Coelacanth]

Some old bodies with Pactra paint sprayed on, I think the only thing that'll take it off is 80-grit sandpaper. I think most of the reports of DOT4 brake cleaner or Super Clean saying it removed paint from Lexan, the paint was probably not Pactra. That stuff really bonds to the Lexan!

[GoMachV]

Being a G10 guy I couldn't help but test out the pin router and make sure it still works. These pieces will be for the parts car- aka the "runner". I made the top deck to allow for fore and aft placement of the battery, as well as relocating the steering servo like a Pro. I will delete some holes and add some cutouts after I determine that it will work

And no, I don't plan to do the motor plate in G10

[GoMachV]

After making all those g10 parts I changed my mind...polished parts for the spare parts car and new or lightly used parts on the keeper. I used the belt drive kit and other pieces I'm not keeping to get this far, i think the motor plate needs to be polished too! Shocks are black anodized golds btw, it covers the imperfections a little bit!

[Coelacanth]

I like the Kyosho Go....er, Blacks. Kyosho Gold shocks are among the best-performing shocks around, so when used ones get scuffed up and scraped, deanodize, polish & reanodize. No matter the color, they'll still work great!

That motor guard breaks up the consistency though...either polish it or blackify it.

What wheels are those? Details--12mm hex? 5mm straight axles or tapered? 2.2mm? They kinda look like HPI.

[GoMachV]

That motor guard breaks up the consistency though...either polish it or blackify it.

Yup it's already in the bin to go to the anodizer for stripping