Scalextric track maintenance

In this article we are looking into Scalextric track maintenance. There are several areas where your Scalextric track can cause problems, these are:

• Corroded, oxidised and dull track rails
• Bent or warped track pieces
• Poor electrical connections
• Dirty and dusty track

Corroded, oxidised and dull track rails

Over time and especially if your Scalextric track is stored in a damp environment, the steel rails of your Scalextric track can become discoloured and slightly rough as the electroplated surface corrodes. This slows down your Scalextric cars and wears out the Scalextric car braids more quickly. In severe cases brown rust may be present of the underlying steel rail.
To prevent this simply polish the Scalextric track rails back to a smooth clean surface with the track polishing pads. These will do the job more quickly and more effectively than any other method we know of.
There are three grades of track polishing pad available, coarse, medium and fine. The different grades are used for different purposes.
Coarse:
The coarse grade pad is used to renovate track rails with rust marks and is not intended for regular use. Use the fine grade pad or medium grade pad after the coarse grade pad to complete the renovation of your Scalextric track rails.
Medium:
The medium grade pad is for use to renovate moderately tarnished track rails and is not intended for regular use.
Fine:
The fine grade pad is designed for regular use to remove dust, debris and light tarnish from the track rails. It is also used after the coarse grade polishing pad to give a smooth running surface.

Bent or warped track pieces
Scalextric track has a tendency to bend or warp over time. This may have many causes among which are people stepping on the track laid on the floor and perhaps the way that the classic track clips together doesn’t help.

Warped track works well enough but can give your Scalextric cars a very bumpy ride, especially down the long straight. Also, the newer Scalextric cars will struggle as they are far more likely to ground out on a bumpy Scalextric track layout.
The answer is to shape the Scalextric track pieces back to level. To do this simply reverse the bend in the track a little at a time and a bend at a time until the track is visibly flat again.
The most common problem then is that the vertical sides of the steel track rail bend outwards and block the slot in the track. This is remedied by pushing the bulge back out of the way with a flat blade screwdriver. There you have it, flat, level Scalextric track that works for new Scalextric cars as well as your older Scalextric cars.

Poor electrical connections
An odd phenomenon that can occur with a Scalextric track layout is that over time part of the track layout looses power. The Scalextric cars run great near to the track power base or where the power is connected to the track but slow down away from the power connection point.
This effect can happen several weeks or even several months after a circuit has been constructed and not usually right away. We are not too sure of the exact mechanism that causes this but we know it’s the joints between the track pieces that introduce a high resistance to electrical current.
There are 2 readily used fixes for this problem with Scalextric tracks; one is to regularly take up the track and relay it with the track pieces in different locations, strange but true. The second is to run a Scalextric track power booster cable around the track and make connections to the track every couple of meters or so.

If your Scalextric track layout is permanent then you’ll be best advised to make an electrical connection to every track piece with the Scalextric track power booster cable. The best type of connection is a solder joint.

Dirty and dusty track
The only form of grip for a Scalextric car is between the 2 rear tyres and the track surface. Grip provides the acceleration force, deceleration force and the cornering force too. Physics tells us that the amount of friction is proportional to the amount of force pushing the surfaces together and the friction between those surfaces.
Force = Friction x Normal force
To give the most grip the track surface has to be as clean as possible. So, how do you keep your track dust free? The simplest way is to wipe your Scalextric track over with a damp (NOT wet) cloth and dry immediately. This will remove the dust and debris and give you the best possible grip from your Scalextric track. Ensure the track is dry before you go racing.

Another great solution from Scalextric Car Restorations