Derby Talk

Here's a problem we all face while using pipe cleanes to polish wheel bores with... Scratched bores!


Some say to:
Try useing a small heat srink tube or a dab of hot melt glue over the end of the pipe cleaner wire
to avoid scratching the bore with the wire end. (All good ideas to try.)
Heat srink tube tryed.. fits threw wheel bore.. but look out while removeing it from bore.
Hot melt glue also tryed.. it's soft and wires can still push threw the dryed glue.

This got me to
On what else in the way of small tubes could be used as a fix for this problem.

Top tube: is a WD-40 straw tube.. way over sized to fit the wheel bore.
Bottom straw tubes..

Here's the fit:




Found it works ok for installing the pipe cleaner into the wheel bore..
But not so good for the removal of the pipe cleaner from the wheel bore if the straw tube is glued on.

Anyhow.. chime in on what you have tryed for your fix!

Small dot of hot glue works on the end of the wire if you trim back a little of the bristles. It doesn't take much to get a drop to dry on the end. I put a melted puddle on a plate and just dip the wire in, doing a few at a time before it cools. Trim any strings after it is cooled.

ngyoung wrote:Small dot of hot glue works on the end of the wire if you trim back a little of the bristles.

Thank's ngyoung..
I must of not trimed back enough of the bristles when I tryed using the hot melt glue
or the tubes/straws for that matter.

This is relevant to my interests!

So, with the plastic tubing, it appears that the nozzle for my can of Liquid Wrench Garage Door Lube is about the right size...



Of course, I only have a few of these straws onhand, and they're all currently being employed by various spray cans...

Is it necessary to glue them onto the ends of the pipe cleaner? Could I not just insert the 'cap', leave it in place for installation and removal of the pipe cleaner, and then pop it onto the end of the next pipe cleaner that I planned to use? A re-usable end-cap for my pipe cleaners would be quite useful, in my opinion.

VK, It's kinda like what ngyoung said about trimming back the bristles on the pipe cleaner ends.

Found that the bristles that lay over the tubes while removing the pipe cleaner from the bore
will make things a little tough to remove.

Right now.. I'm just playing around with a few ideas to try.

Haven't tried trimming back the bristles or using a can of plasti dip on the wire ends as well.
https://emiliereas.files.wordpress.com/ ... =300&h=251
But right now it's looking hopeful also.

I'm surprised you are running into this problem.
.I always but. Extrax fluffy. Extra absorbant pipe cleaners. I never have a issue.
But maybe I'm just good at getting center thru the hole. Going in and out.

However a dap of hot glue on the end sounds appealing.

sporty wrote:I'm surprised you are running into this problem.
.I always but. Extrax fluffy. Extra absorbant pipe cleaners. I never have a issue.

Well Sporty,
The pipe cleaners you get from different PWD vendors wheel prep kits can very from size to size.
And most smoke shop pipe cleaner sizes are usually 15-17 cm (6-7 inches) long.
The craft ones are also usually 30 cm (12 inches) long & can be up to 50 cm & (20 inches) long

So is it safe to say..That you use the extra fluffy 17 cm pipe cleaner size
& are you cutting the length of the pipe cleaner down as well?

I cut them down. They go in my cordless drill.

I get like 3 or sometimes 4 out of one pipe cleaner.

I only use it 1 time tho. So during my prepping. I use 3 to 4 pieces.

Once I spin it in the drill. It don't take long for the pipe cleaners to compress and give less friction in the wheel bore.

I go buy sound and feel as I hold the wheel.

Sorry bit off topic from just pipe cleaners.

I do wet/ dampen the end a little before I insert into the wheel bore.

Thick 100% organic cotton also forgot to mention.

There's so many kinds.

Side note I burnish first. Q tip rod. The pipe cleaner is more towards the end of the process.

Thought I'd revisit this topic. I did try trimming back the "fur" on the pipe cleaner ends, which allowed for the straw and the glue-bead method to work very well.

I think what I will do is to cut a number of pipe cleaners in half and then go ahead and trim and glue-dip them and give them to my kids for both bore polishing and wax-applying/wax buffing to the bores.

The reason I'm electing to give them pipe cleaners for polishing instead of q-tip stalks for polishing is that it's a lot easier to destroy a bore with a q-tip stalk than a pipe cleaner if you get overzealous. I know that the consensus is that q-tips polish best, but after looking into the bores with a magnifier after pipe cleaner polishng, I am satisfied enough to use them at the kid-level.

Here's a pic of a pipe cleaner that I trimmed and glue-dipped: