kyoshofan88

Hi All,
I am looking to restore two vehicles in my collection:
A Kyosho Ultima Pro & a Kyosho Turbo Optima Mid SE.

One has a graphite chassis that has a lot of scratching (light), and the other is aluminum. I have a dremel tool, but have never done this before and would love some tips, guidance, advice, etc. I would like to do everything I can to buff out the scratches in the graphite before painting it. Any input appreciated!

Thank you.

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

I've cleaned up composite / graphite chassis pretty easily. I find that automotive interior finishing products like Armorall gives a nice fresh shine. If the chassis has scratches, you can sand with 100grit paper to reduce the appearance of them. Then apply the Armorall and buff it out with a cotton cloth.

I have only attemped to polish a pair of aluminum shock bodies. What I used was a metal polishing compound and a polishing wheel attached to a bench grinder. They came out alright but I couldn't get a chrome-like finish. They just looked like very clean metal. I recommend wearing gloves if you try this.

The Mad Modder

What type of graphite chassis are you talking about? One type is with laminated graphite fibers, usually made as a flat plate(sometimes with a couple very simple bends for rigidity). The other type is just like any molded plastic chassis, but has a large amount of fibers in it to stiffen it up.

ER-95

Mothers Mag and Alum polish works wonders on metals.

mattster1971

I second that!

phmaximus

If it was me i would start with Wet&dry paper and go up in grit untill its ready for a final hand polish....

I dont think a dremel will be much help, have u got a 5 or 6inch buff? that would save some time.

Its kind of hard to advise with out seeing it.

Its really personal prefferance, these days there are so many liquid polishes in different grits, that u dont really need to wet and dry.

kyoshofan88

Thanks for all of the help everyone...I have some good info to start with. I believe the graphite chassis is a composite, but it is hard to figure out exactly what it is made of since it is over 25 years old and there isn't anything comparable on the market today.

johndavis

ve used wenol on aluminum parts, it works good

The Mad Modder

1.Search around google images and link to a picture of one with the exact same chassis you have.
or
2. if you have a camera, upload a picture of your chassis.

kyoshofan88

Here are three links that probably represent it best:

[link=http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3525/3211925640_4981493251_z.jpg?zz=1]Photo #1[/link]

[link=http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/731/0531.jpg]Photo #2[/link]

[link=http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vtg-kyosho-ultima-pro-xl-duratrax-135902759]Similar product for sale[/link]

kyoshofan88

When I tried this, I only wound up with a chassis scratched up worse by sandpaper. \

kyoshofan88

I don't really know much about the different types of graphite I'm afraid; but if it helps, these are photos of the two chassis in question. I'm pretty sure the pan-car is carbon reinforced plastic (CRP), but then again I'm not totally certain about the makeup of either.

Bhait

The graphite chassis is a composite, but it is hard to figure out exactly what it is made of. There isn't anything comparable on the market today.