garnett@tcgould.TN.CORNELL.EDU asks:
> -A question for some of you racer-types: What kind of adheasive is used to
> mount the numbers and other decals on the cars? A lot of these cars have
> some $$$ paint jobs, not something you want to stick bumper stickers to.
> I imagine you have to change them at times, also. Yet they have to stay
> in place in the rain, wash, and at C+ MPH.
Autocrossers almost always use magnetic numbers (usually cut out of magnetic
vinyl sheets, obtained through big art supply stores or racing supply
places). Many road racers do the same thing -- in fact, I think the
Showroom Stock rulebook strongly suggests this. Occasionally numbers
fall off under high speed or hard cornering, but it isn't too common.
When I venture out on road courses with my only-semi-magnetic autocross
car (Bondo isn't ferrous, you know :-) I use little pieces of tape at
strategic points to make the numbers less likely to fall off.
A lot of people (with less snazzy paint jobs) just go ahead and stick
contact paper on the car, or paint on their permanent numbers and then
if they have to run another number for some reason, they use tape to
modify or cover the painted number.
Of course, not everyone can use magnetic numbers. The Lotus, Griffith
and Corvette types have a variety of solutions (none quite as convenient
as magnetics, though). I think Randy Peck's stock Elan had contact paper
numbers (I don't know if he ever took them off). A Corvette guy in
San Diego has transparent plastic pockets which he tapes to the side
of the car with electrical tape, then slides the numbers into the
pockets. It ends up looking quite good and won't fall off. And some
of the racer supply houses are starting to sell static material which
is very light vinyl or something similar which is designed to stick to
the sides of fibreglass cars through static cling. These seem like they
usually work, though I haven't seen many of them being used and I'm
not sure they would work in rain or 120+ velocities.
--
...Akkana akkana@eeg.com
SAM Technology, Inc. {pacbell,lll-winken,ucsfcgl}!eeg!akkana
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