Clearing NASCAR models.

[Toast]

I remember I was always told that to accurately depict a cup car I shouldn't clear coat over the decals. Reason is that they're vinyl decals placed over the paint the same way the model decals are.

So I was watching Daytona qualifying this week and they actually had a segment on how much the teams worry about aerodynamics. So much in fact that they actually do lay a couple coats of clear over the vinyl decals. I think they said the decals on the cars are only 3 to 5 mils thick and that's enough for the teams to consider it drag. Ha ha the tag line of the segment was that racing used to be a game of inches, now it's a game of thousands of an inch.

It sounded like this is something they only obsess over on their super speedway cars. If you're building a short track car this may not be the case.

Edited February 19, 2011 by Toast

[dwc43]

You are correct. That's one way to tell a super speedway car from a short tracker. Also look at the wheel openings. A short tracker will have a lot of distance between the tires and fenders to prevent tire rub in case they touch another car and bend a fender. A super speedway car will have the fenders tucked in real tight on the tires to help air flow around the fenders. There used to be a lot of other stuff you cold do on the older cars, but the rules are too tight on these new cars. Can't do a lot to them at all.

[Guest Markus355]

i to saw that segment, they said the teams will actually but upwards of SEVEN (7) coats of clear to get rid of the step of the decals

[93Z34]

Ironically, while watching final practice today, they showed the 24 team applying vinyl to Jeff Gordon's car in the garage. The whole car is a vinyl wrap and it was neat watching them apply the vinyl over the primered body. The color was one wrap and then the numbers were applied over the color wrap. Just curious if they're going clearcoat the car in the garage or if the official will make them move it someplace else to clearcoat it.

It was cool watching them apply the vinyl to the car though...

[ra7c7er]

i to saw that segment, they said the teams will actually but upwards of SEVEN (7) coats of clear to get rid of the step of the decals

just shows you how thin the coats are.

[highway]

i to saw that segment, they said the teams will actually but upwards of SEVEN (7) coats of clear to get rid of the step of the decals

Yep, me too. I thnk if I remember correctly the team in question was Penske Racing using up to 7 coats of clear.

[ffreak]

On the downside to that, i've also read that some teams don't like to clear them because of the added weight the clear adds to the overall weight of the car.

[Force]

3 to 5 mils sounds very thick for vinyl decals, if they are layered they should be more like 1 to 1.5 mil at the most as the vinyl the decals are made from is very thin and a single vinyl decal might be a couple of tenths in thickness.

But I can understand if the teams would clearcoat over the vinyl stickers to reduce drag as the edges of the decals might disturb the airflow on a super speedway car.

[dwc43]

On the downside to that, i've also read that some teams don't like to clear them because of the added weight the clear adds to the overall weight of the car.

The added weight should be min. compared to the aero benefit you get from the clear though.

[ra7c7er]

The added weight should be min. compared to the aero benefit you get from the clear though.

Depends on who you talk to. Penske does it at every track because with there background with open wheel cars all the teams do it there. From what I have seen only a handful of Nascar teams do it. Almost all on the big tracks but only about a handful at the smaller tracks. Also the clear is used to help hold the number graphics down. If your number comes off the car it is actually a black flag till you get another one on the car.

[dwc43]

Depends on who you talk to. Penske does it at every track because with there background with open wheel cars all the teams do it there. From what I have seen only a handful of Nascar teams do it. Almost all on the big tracks but only about a handful at the smaller tracks. Also the clear is used to help hold the number graphics down. If your number comes off the car it is actually a black flag till you get another one on the car.

Well the aero want matter much on a short track like Bristol or something similar. Could come into effect on the intermediate tracks though. Weights not always a bad thing as long as its in the right place. When we ran dirt we used to run a little heavy compared to the min. weight rule in the books. Actually helped handling there, but now I aint comparing apples to apples anymore though. Still on a NASCAR short track the weight wont hurt it as much as a super speedway.

Here's something else to think about when it comes to weight. That external tank on the space shuttle was left plain ole orange foam instead of painting white to reduce weight since the thing burns up on re entry anyways. That alone proves the paint weighs quite a bit. If it was lead based it would weigh even more.

[ffreak]

The weight advantage / dis-advantage vs. the aero advantage / dis-advantage is always a tuning option depending on which tracks they would be at. I have even heard of this same debate being played out in other forms of motorsports, not just the good ole boys.

[dwc43]

Here's a good debate question. Which is better, weight of paint and decals and clear VS. weight of a body wrap decal with no paint and no clear.

[Reeves Racing]

Taking a little weight out in other places of the car is easy so the "added weight" of the clear is bunk.

NASCAR checks weight and templates the body so anything to make the car more slippery is the ticket.

[MarkJ]

I have to clear over my decals with Future to keep the decals from peeling up with age. I have no choice.

[Skydime]

Ironically, while watching final practice today, they showed the 24 team applying vinyl to Jeff Gordon's car in the garage. The whole car is a vinyl wrap and it was neat watching them apply the vinyl over the primered body. The color was one wrap and then the numbers were applied over the color wrap. Just curious if they're going clearcoat the car in the garage or if the official will make them move it someplace else to clearcoat it.

It was cool watching them apply the vinyl to the car though...

I actually saw a segment on that as well. They said that it was much quicker and easier to just put a full vinyl wrap on the car nowadays. One of the things that inspired this is that they have so many cars per team and they do special graphics for specific races. It is aparently easier for them to remove the wrap and rewrap after races than fully prep, paint, and sticker them...unless, of coarse, they wreck.

Edited February 26, 2011 by Skydime