Track link protection

[Adrian Harris]

Reading up on the various methods of using acid to age the upper surfaces started me wondering what people have done to protect the undersides of the links ?

I would imagine that running the Mark IV through mud, puddles or even just water-soaked grass, as found in abundance at TankFest this year, the inner workings of the track will become quite damp, which would allow rust to proliferate.

Adrian.

[David Skeldon]

Hi,
After running my Centurion BARV in the sea last year all I did was wash them in clean water and sprayed them with WD40,And even now a year later there does not seem to be any corrosion.



David

[Daniel Scholefield]

Guess I will find out for sure when I take my tracks off shortly but my feeling is that there should be no problem. The track plates are aluminium so rust is not an issue and the main drive chain is pretty oily so fairly water repellent for the amount of water ingress you might get from running through wet grass. I haven't tried running through water of any depth thus far so I can't speak for what effect that might have but I guess any treament for a bike chain would be effective here as far as stopping rust? Unlike the WW2 tanks the lack of any holes in the track plates actually works in our favour in protecting the rear area.

[Steve Stuart]

I think that given that it is quite difficult to rust the plates in the first place what will be needed is to wait for a year or so to make sure the tracks show suitable corrosion.
Then it will be time to take the tracks off and most importantly check the state of the chain links and lubricate them as necessary. If necessary the internal surface of the track plates can be also treated.
My greater concern it just what has happened to the hull and the plastic rubbing strips on the topside of the hull. Given when the Tank was run initially just how much metal dust was produced, I expect to see quite a lot of wear. I plan to remove my Tracks in the early autumn and I will report then!
Steve

[Adrian Harris]

> After running my Centurion BARV in the sea last year

Thanks David. I ran the Sherman BARV near the sea a couple of years ago and the return roller shafts suffered considerable corrosion - to the extent that the rear two stopped rotating and were bing worn away by rubbing on the tracks.

> The track plates are aluminium so rust is not an issue

I've not found mine in the packaging yet but I thought the plates themselves were steel ?

I guess the thing to do is spray the undersides with primer and some form of protective top coat and then run them for a while, off the floor, and see where there are any witness marks.

Adrian.

[Oliver Brüninghaus]

Hi Adrian,

for myself I answered this question in January by degreasing the track plates, sanding the inner side, using some U-Pol etch primer, afterwards oxid-primer and finally dark grey top coat. Maybe that’s to much rust prevention but I have a better feeling.

Kind regards
Oliver

Primer

[Peter Silcock]

If you are ok with a gloss grey finish can I suggest POR 15 paint. Thinner than other rust preventers such as Hammerite and dries to a rock hard finish which you cant even scratch with a screwdriver. Other basic colours are available - fairly expensive and you have to follow the instructions carefully but properly applied rust wont be a problem. You can spray over it as well if you need to.

[Chris Hall]

I suppose it's a conflict between protection and an 'authentic' look .....

I certainly don't intend to run Liesel (or Flaming Fire II when she's finished) anywhere near deep (or salt) water, but I don't mind loose earth, a bit of mud, and wet grass. After all, when I get home, the tanks are stored in a warm and dry room, and I use an old vacuum cleaner to get the worst of the rubbish out, which is a LOT more than was done in WW1 !

It's a question of scale, of course, but Liesel, Bloodstone and Lightning III (at least) have probably done more scale miles than their real life counterparts already, with little sign of excessive wear. The track plates (which are steel) are certainly tarnished, and even bent in places, but show no sign of real degradation. Although I haven't actually removed my tracks (I shudder at the thought !) I can see the chains through various holes and everything looks OK. Even the splash of white paint on the joining link (an essential piece of advice from Steve, there) is still clearly visible.

So I can't see any need to worry, unless you want your finished model to be Concours d'Elegance. But it's early days yet - ask me again in 10 years time !

All the best,

Chris

PS. Metal is obviously pretty resilient stuff. D51 Deborah's tracks are still recognisably complete (apart from the shell damage) after 80 years buried underground .....

[Adrian Harris]

Thanks for the comments. I'm planning on a rusted / bare metal finish on the outer face but it was the hidden inside I felt would benefit from some kind of protection.

POR15 is something I've never met before. They do a rubberized coating which is supposed to be moisture and wear resistant.

Regarding the wear situation, has anyone ever run the tank with the chains fitted but without the track plates installed ? That should show anywhere where wear is likely to occur, as well as showing whether the rubbing pads are doing their job.

Adrian.

[Peter Silcock]

Adrian I would not suggest using the POR15 rubberised coating - I think it will be too thick. Their standard paint should do the trick though and you can thin it down. I doubt it will go through an airbrush so brushing is the only alternative. For some reason it goes on and dries better in humid conditions. Follow the instructions carefully and there is no chance of steel parts rusting.

[Daniel Scholefield]

Having removed the lefthand track from my Mark IV (as part of the process to fix the bad track slippage issue it developed at Tankfest) I can share the state of my untreated tracks with approx eighteen months worth of usage.

I will put up some more pics of the general state of the track runs and the wear patterns tomorrow for reference in case anyone is interested.

[Steve Stuart]

I am interested!
Thanks, Steve

[Adrian Harris]

Many thanks for the picture Daniel.

It's interesting to see the witness marks on the links, although I admit I don't know where they are rubbing, but more pictures are sure to help.

I wonder if more rubbing strips might ease the rubbing, and reduce friction in the process

Adrian.

[Chris Hall]

That looks quite reassuring. The chain looks in good shape, so the only question is over the track plates. Some shots around the track run will be of great interest.

And Daniel - I like the pictures you've been posting on Facebook ! You should copy them here, or on your main thread, for completeness.

All the best,

Chris