[mickman]

Hi all,
I am starting to consider better options for my car collection. ( paranoia is setting in

I have a few slot car kits in really nice condition but realise how sensitive they can be to environmental elements etc..

I notice a few collectors removing the rubber wheels as they can cause discolouring on plastic chassis.

Aspects such as:

Environment:

Is a smaller space recommended, perhaps they should be stored away in a cupboard as opposed to simply sitting in an open room.
I realise the number one threat would most probably be moisture & then light .. yes ?

How about CORROSION:
preventing magnesium / alloy / metals turning to powder.
Dissimilar metal corrosion is a potential threat eg. two metals of different compounds in contact cause corrosion.
Do the magnets in a motor require special attention ? I have several cars eg. Bentley with what looks to me as an old motor should I even attempt turning it ?

STORAGE :
Physical storage techniques. Stacking, If I have two kits stacked a top one another.. can the cardboard stick to each other.. eg. the print from one box blend with the other.
use of plastic bags to prevent moisture .. is this recommended ? can the plastic react to foreign materials etc... or time given cause a chemical reaction.
ACCESS:
One does not want to lock the cars away without having easy access.. what is a collection if one is unable to easily view it easily. My PRECIOUS...

MAINTENANCE: Perhaps a kit or car should be wiped with a clean dry clothe once a year or so ? turning the wheels.. is this recommended ?

I'll admit, I almost lost several kits a month ago after the bathroom located next door to where I have a few kits stored leaked .. water found its way through the wall and the cardboard box I have three kits sitting in was damp !!! just the bottom corner.. the kits just narrowly escaped damage.. but gee it sure has me on edge now.

So I'm really interested in what methods fellow collectors adopt? I'm sure their have been a few horror stories emerge over the years regarding bad storage techniques?

 

[gar]

The Scalextric cars of the 60's seem to be prone to getting black marks where the rubber is located, near tires and light bulb fixtures, but they are all probably discoloured by now so I'm not sure about removing the old rubber at this point. As for the Bentley motor and others, I use a good quality oil on the bearings and axles and there is no reason not to race them. Keep the commutators clean and don't let the motors overheat and they will be fine for a few lifetimes.
For storing boxed kits, of course don't put too much weight on them. I recommend putting white acid free paper between the boxes and if there is any old tape, remove it using a hair dryer and even the residue can get on other boxes so I try to remove all traces with lighter fluid and a cotton swab. Ususally there is damage where the tape was and I try to minimize it if I can.
If you pack these away in plastic and out of the light , them you can't enjoy seeing them so there is a trade off. For the cars that I am actively racing, I remove the rear tires and place them in black plastic film vials when not racing. This keeps the light, ozone, humidity and dirt out and keeps the tires fresh for good traction. Some cars a hard to remove the tires from, such as foam tires mounted on rims and for these I have been looking for small freezer containers of plastic to keep the entire car in, to keep these tires fresh, or I keep them in a sealed plastic race case like a fishing tackle box. Plasic bags would work but I don't like wrapping the cars all up .
Best place for the cars is the China cabinet, just pack away all those dishes in cupboards (Tell the lady it keeps the colours vibrant) or better still on the track where constant racing keeps the dust from settling on them.

 

[FMS]

Good topic

I have always assumed that it is better to let air circulate around my cars and boxes than to enclose in plastic bags. This requires that the air isn't damp though so avoid proximity to sources of moisture, bathrooms, kitchen and laundry.

If I am wrong about the bags let me know.

Also I am starting to coat my stored track in Inox as recommended by others on this forum

I am sure there will be some real experts out there who can give us some definitive storage tips.

 

[mickman]

Oh yeah, good point regarding track pieces. I'm sure there's many posts that confirm the fact rails should be lightly oiled. I used WD40 & then simply stacked them in a cardboard box until I move into a house with a decent garage or loft. Now I live aboard a boat of all things.. not the best place for storage considering space & moisture...

I never considered taking the Bentley for a run around a track... I know the motor rotates fine, hhmm... maybe tomorrow night I'll take it for a spin.

Any particular method I should use when removing an old sticker from a car. I have an old Classic Stinger that's got a few renegade stickers across it. I tried testing it with a finger nail.. but it looks well & truly stuck. It has a gloss film over it.. perhaps it's been subjected to a little gloss nail polish or something.

The box that came with the car has a child's name scribbled lightly on the lid ... any tips on removing it... or would I be taking a big gamble wiping it down with spirits or a damp cloth ?

 

[merkit the grof]

For Scalextric tyres, you can use talcum powder, it helps preserve the rubber and seems to stop the black marks on the body.
For Polistil, it is best to remove the tyres and replace with Ortmanns, or they will self almagamate on the wheels.
Never use any tyre treatment and then put the car away as is (it will kill the tyres and make a mess of the body).

For boxed items you really have to watch out for silverfish damage, they will sneak into the smallest place and eat the paperwork and transfers.
I use ant powder in my cupboards to stop them.
I guess a pet spider might do the trick too.

Joel

 

[superhornets]

Hi Joel
Should i use the russkit spider or the porsche spider ?

Cheers tony

 

[gasowder]

QUOTE (superhornets @ 2 Mar 2012, 13:37) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Should i use the russkit spider
Black Widow, should do the trick

Eddie

 

[RikoRocket]

Just the Scalextric Spiderman TR7 - that should scare them away!

 

[merkit the grof]

I have some ready trained pet spiders if anyone is interested.

Joel

PS: Sorry Mickman for slightly diverting your thread from its intended purpose.

 

[SL0TCAR]

I keep my vintage '60's scalextric collection in a leather BRIEFCASE

it's solid - know the box like one with the flick connectors to open? I've put cut up made to measure scalextric track in it for the cars to rest on so as to stop the guide blades from getting damaged.

I only have 8 cars in there where there's room for 14 in total.

No doubt eventually I will fill it, then I'll need to buy another briefcase to start collecting more of the buggers. I'm addicted.

They are stuck away in a dark place (the best thing for them IMO) and occasionally I'll bring them out and just look at them, and go over them with a 'microfibre' cloth, sad really!!! But can't help myself.

 

[gar]

QUOTE (mickman @ 1 Mar 2012, 21:27) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Oh yeah, good point regarding track pieces. I'm sure there's many posts that confirm the fact rails should be lightly oiled. I used WD40 & then simply stacked them in a cardboard box until I move into a house with a decent garage or loft. Now I live aboard a boat of all things.. not the best place for storage considering space & moisture...

I never considered taking the Bentley for a run around a track... I know the motor rotates fine, hhmm... maybe tomorrow night I'll take it for a spin.

Any particular method I should use when removing an old sticker from a car. I have an old Classic Stinger that's got a few renegade stickers across it. I tried testing it with a finger nail.. but it looks well & truly stuck. It has a gloss film over it.. perhaps it's been subjected to a little gloss nail polish or something.

The box that came with the car has a child's name scribbled lightly on the lid ... any tips on removing it... or would I be taking a big gamble wiping it down with spirits or a damp cloth ?

For the Benley, after oiling the motor bearings with bearing oil and the axles with light oil, I carfully remove the rear tires from the 2 piece wheels being gently not to press on the spokes. Then I mount the tire on a suitable mandrel , an alumnum 1/24 wheel , drill bit , or whatever will fit into a variable speed drill, and I sand off the oxidized layer of rubber with 220 garnet paper mounted on a flat wooden stick like a paint stir stick.
For the Stinger , if it is an adhesive sticker , heat the sticker with a hair dryer for a few seconds, not long enough to soften the vacuformed plastic, but enough to get the adhesive to soften up and then try your fingernail again. After that a bit of lighter fluid on a cotton swab on the adhesive remnants. Around here (Canada) we buy Ronsonol made for Ronson lighters which might be a chemical similar to white Benzene but that is just a guess. It evaporates quickly and leaves not residue , but it is highly flamable in its liquid state and probably not healthy to breathe or soak into skin. Of coarse it was used for lighters carried in pockets for a century but caution is due. As for the box , best to test any thing like the lighter fluid, on a spot that is not seen such as the area inside the box where the printed cover folds over the edge. I have used dish soap on a damp cloth on box lids but you must be carful not to let it soak in , a quick wipe and immediate drying with a clean paper towel. You can also try a very soft eraser gently massaging the dirt away. There are a variety of these erasers, white, pink, and gum. Let us know if you have any luck.

 

[dgersh]

This is an excellent question, but I haven't responded earlier because I must admit I take a "head in the sand" approach and just put cars and parts in various showcases and boxes, even in piles (for incomplete cars/junkers in the boxes), without paying much attention.

So far, after 15-20 years of collecting, no apparent damage, but I did do one very stupid thing. I had one of my vac-form cars on a bookshelf for several years, with a halogen light not far. By the time I realized my error, one side of the body had already started to curl away rather flagrantly, and that's almost impossible to cure...

I know it's not ideal to leave cars unenclosed like that, but have run out of protected spaces....

Don

 

[superhornets]

Hi Guys
In the words of the travelling wilberries "keep them in a cool dry place"

Cheers tony

 

[Rob J]

Maybe not so much of a problem in the gloomy north but, if you're putting up a display cabinet, mount it out of direct sunlight, which can affect the colour. The only place left for one of my two cabinets gets an hour or two of sunlight in late afternoon in the summer, or one end of the cabinet anyway, unless I draw a curtain, and a couple of cars were affected. One was a Spanish Scalextric SRS vac-bodied McLaren where the white yellowed, the other an SCX Ferrari F1/87 where the red faded.
I change the display cars more often now.
Rob J

 

[Coides]

Since the 1980s I've kept all my cars individually wrapped in bubblewrap squares and boxed by genre in shoe boxes. That means you can get to a car very quickly and they are packed in a small space - this starts to matter when you get to hundreds of cars! I did this originally to reduce drying out of tyres and this does work well in most cases - for example, some of my 1960s scalextric cars still have good, original working tyres.

Incidentally, the past 30 years has resulted in no more brown marks on my 1960s scalextric cars and than were already there. The brownness comes from the rubber tyres or insulation blocks they used. The key seems to keep your cars right side up so the tyres don't sit on the inside of the body.

Cheers

Andy

 

[mickman]

(Merit) SILVER FISH !!! never thought of them eating away my car though .. I'm guessing spiders dine on silver fish ? Talc is a good idea.. I'll rub some on the tyres.

(Coides) A simple shoe box sounds quite reasonable as the cardboard would also help suck up moist air.