Proper polishing of your Pinewood Derby
axles will make a big difference in the speed of your car. Follow
these easy steps and you will have winning axles in no time.
This kit includes:
- File
- Two stripes of #400 sandpaper
- Two stripes of #1200 sandpaper
- Axle Polish
- Instructions
You will also need:
- Clean cloth rag
- Drill
- Marker
Instructions
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1. The first step is to inspect your axles for
obvious flaws. Look for deep scratches and a misshaped axle
head. Replace
any bad axles with new ones. |
 |
2. Mount an axle on a drill. Turn the
drill on and watch the axle head. It should be steady. If the
head vibrates or wobbles, your axle is not straight. Replace
the axle or use our Pro Axle Press to straighten the axle. Repeat
for all four axles. |
Now you should have four good axles. The goal is to remove the crimp
marks on the axle shaft and the burrs on the axle head then
give the axle a good polishing.
 |
3. Use a marker pen and mark the crimp marks on
the axle. Be sure to mark the crimp marks on both sides of the
shaft. This
is the area that you will be filing. Let
the ink dry. |
6. Now you are going to polish the axle with the sandpaper.
Use the #400 sandpaper first. It has a red mark on the back. |
7. Dip the sandpaper strip into a glass of water.
Hold each end of the strip with each hand. Use about 1/2” of
new paper to sand the axle for about 15 seconds at low speed.
|
| 8. Repeat using the #1200 sandpaper (no red mark on the
back). |
9. Dry the axle with a soft cloth. |
10. Cut three 8” by 1” strips from an old t-shirt
or other light cloth. |
11. Spread a very thin layer of the axle polish on a 4” center
section of one of the cloth strips. |
12. Hold each end of the cloth strip and place the center of
the strip under the axle shaft using moderate pressure. Turn
the drill on and spin the axle while slowly moving the cloth
about one inch for about 10 seconds.
|
13. If done right, there should be a dark residue on the cloth. |
14. Using the same method, take one of the clean cloth strips
and clean the axle of any excess polish. |
15. Repeat for the other axles.
|
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