Rust on screws after snow and salt

[SrC]

As with most of this hobby, the answer is not black and white, its what works for you. For me, I’d have to give up on 1/3rd the year if i don’t run in snow, which is just too much so i do it ALL the time. This is just my experience and thoughts: Note, i live in a dry climate with lots of snow but no Salt or humidity.

Perspective: every time you take your car out to bash you run the risk of breaking things and adding to the money pit, snow isn’t any different. If i have to replace a bearing, pin, or screw here and there due to rust to stay in the game through winter, so be it, I’d probably sink the same money in running dry due to my driving anyway.

Snow is not water till it melts and it takes a lot of snow to make water. A car packed with snow isn’t really that threatened till the snow melts, so get it out before and you’re mostly good. If you knock out, blowout, snow early then your risk is no more than splashing through a puddle on dry day IMO.

Know your car and what’s vulnerable. Cars are mostly alum. And plastic which are fine. Obviously its metal to be aware of. Bearing, pins, screws, gears, shafts and outdrives are what to watch mostly. Even those, the risk varies. For example: For outdrives, if snow is removed before melting, car is blown with air or drives spun hard to shoot the little moisture on them off, then they will air dry fine as they are exposed. An A arm hinge pin sleeved in plastic has a harder time drying and having moisture removed = greater risk. Plastic holds moisture near the vunerable metal. This is also why bearings are so vunerable. For example: Typically hinge pins for your A arms are exposed in the middle and thus can dry easier, but when i got the EXB i learned this hard lesson: (see pic). They are completely sheathed in plastic so they rust badly cause no part of them is exposed to dry, unlike all my other cars that have most of the pin exposed and allowed to dry. Lesson learned. Perspective: $8 to replace, haven’t had an issue since now that i know to get these out and dried.

Have a routine. Mine is this: after a snow run i just know i need 10-15 minutes for: Knock all snow out, blast car with high power blower, run car “suspended” quick to spin water and snow off things. Take inside and spend a few minutes quickly taking all wheel bearings, shafts, sleeved pins etc…off the car to dry. This reallly doesn't take more than 5-10 minutes if you identify what ur after and build a routine. Take rest back outside and hit with blower one last time to shoot water off from any melted snow I didn’t get. Done. Picture below of “post snow disassembly” for me. Need about 15-20 minutes to put things back together before next run and this is just good routine maintenance anyway. You have to do this with dirt and dust on occasion too, so no big deal to me.

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I am very adept at rebuilding my rigs. I know for sure that removing all/everyone of the BB's and shafts etc, takes more than just a few minutes!! I don't care who you are. Hours of labor intensive work, all to make sure the rig is totally dry is fruitless. Only to do it again next wet bash session. Makes no sense to me. Why I no longer run in the wet stuff. And snow will melt on the chassis. Melted snow equals water last I heard. Water makes corrosion last I heard.
The motors, lipos and ESC all melt the snow because they are warm/hot. Just takes a few micro drops of water to ruin electrics. That aside, black oxide screws will always rust no matter what you do. Run in the wet surely is fun, We all RC differently. Seasoned RC'ers and all. But for the newbs that come shocked to find that water ingress ruins electrics and rusts all the metal stuff is just fact. Decide from there how you want to do your RC running. There is no one best way to do it. You either get your rigs wet or you don't. No middle ground there. Run wet, take the risk.
If the Fun outweighs the risk for you, go for it. All good.
Now, I only run my Crawlers in the wet stuff and mud and streams. I conformal coat all PCBs, servos, RX's and all. Electrics still get bricked with use. been there, Screws will rust no matter what you do. Is what it is. No matter what regimen you take after wet running. I just I don't mind spending $40. for a cheap Crawler ESC every one or two years versus an $150. basher ESC. And eating BB's. Crawlers run very slow and BB's with marine grease in them or even SS BB's can help some. Is what it is. Fast basher rigs eat up BB's on a good day. Add water to the mix and Chromium BB's rust within minutes.
I got tired of replacing BB's like I change my socks. Sure cheap. But time consuming. And while out bashing you break down from exploded rusted out BB's left and right, if not replacing them enough.
I am out on limb for sure. Many will not agree. All good.

 

[Moirae]

lol I don't know why I said silicon lube but I actually used Teflon wax based chain lube. I believe I saw @SrC suggest it in a thread for something and I bought it and rolled with it lol. Fixed the squeaking I had coming from my outer drive cups too.

 

[Monster Dork]

lol I don't know why I said silicon lube but I actually used Teflon wax based chain lube. I believe I saw @SrC suggest it in a thread for something and I bought it and rolled with it lol. Fixed the squeaking I had coming from my outer drive cups too.

That's a damn fine idea! Putting chain wax on the drive cups sounds perfect, both for CVD and for outdrives.

 

[Senton_Prime]

Fun fact.. fresh snowflakes are pure water.. electrically speaking, pure water is an insulator, when minerals and chemicals are added they produce ions and boom, super conductor!!
Just learnt this!!

 

[Monster Dork]

Definitely true in the conceptual sense! But snowflakes, raindrops, and fog all coalesce around condensation nuclei (airborne solids, smoke particles, and mostly marine salts). Then the forming agglomerate absorbs CO2, which dissociates into ion pairs as carbonates. So snowflakes are conductive before they ever hit the ground. That's why they leave so much residue behind after drying. Unless, of course, you're bashing in stainless snow!

 

[SrC]

That's a damn fine idea! Putting chain wax on the drive cups sounds perfect, both for CVD and for outdrives.

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[slick2500]

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That stuff is great.

Definitely true in the conceptual sense! But snowflakes, raindrops, and fog all coalesce around condensation nuclei (airborne solids, smoke particles, and mostly marine salts). Then the forming agglomerate absorbs CO2, which dissociates into ion pairs as carbonates. So snowflakes are conductive before they ever hit the ground. That's why they leave so much residue behind after drying. Unless, of course, you're bashing in stainless snow!

 

[Warby]

Lanolin or Lanotec or Inox or Lanox. Whatever is called or branded. It lasts longer than WD40 or CRC 5.57.

 

[KnowAir]

Wait..you mean the "patina" I've accumulated on my rigs doesn't make them more valuable!? WTH!! All those hours out freezing my fingertips off didn't add to my rigs values? I guess I was "only" having fun then!? haha..I know, I'm an idiot
There's a saying..horsepower should not exceed ones IQ..guess I'm stuck running my rigs on 2s from now on!?