New to graphite, need tips on how to maximize its effectiveness

Hey there,

There are many different ways to lube a car,

You have asked specifically re graphite methods. There are several good vids on youtube. Here are a couple that may assist you.

Cheers good luck.

youtu.be/kZTjRLwTZYQ?si=1sGi6dqPpM3uRSnN

youtu.be/EQ6LuLHw4E8?si=-peEiBPmpCHJ6A5m

A video on mixing and applying "alcophite"

youtu.be/U2awNyyiFt0?si=vnYuAWT-dhB_obPq

Further reading 

Which graphite products and recipes do you use? - Redline Derby Racing share.google/BirBAR1RiSne2hyQf

The whole "Modding and Performance" forum has nuggets of wisdom in it

I know a fella experimenting with tungsten disulfide powder (WS2) 

graphite is a dead end and can never be as fast as synthetic lubes.

Welcome to red line and racing. Let me drop a few facts on you and then like many things you will have to dig around and make your own choices. As to graphite, there is no magic mix or formula that certainly mixing it with some isopropyl alcohol will give you a little better penetration into the wheel axle hub. And I can say in my case before March 2024, I had never raced a hot wheels or really even owned a hot wheels. But I do know that using graphite only along with a lot of work in testinghas taken me from somewhere in the back of the pack to somewhere in the front half of the the pack. I can also certainly agree that the right liquid lubricant will certainly outperform graphite. But there are more than a few caveats around that claim. In my testing of various silicone and synthetic lubricants The results can vary quite a bit based on the product Or whatever products you have combined. I can also say that once you have applied your choice of juice, it will slowly begin to alter as it is exposed to the atmosphere. Whether that change beneficial or detrimental is again depending on what the product is. On the flipside of all of that is the fact that graphite is just graphite. It's not gonna change greatly over a long periods of time or exposure to the oxygen. Is also not typically going to attract dust and pet hair. 

so once again, welcome to the party be sure to ask a lot of questions and you'll have to make your choices as you see fit. You can look at my YouTube channel and I got a couple of things on applications of graphite. This was all dictated so I hope that the speech recognition didn't mangle it too badly

There's a whole collection of topics about lubes and graphite...it's all in The Forum, give it a browse.

www.redlinederby.com/forum/collection/axle-lube/74

I've used graphite before, including the very same one that you had mentioned. 
Generally, when I was still using dry graphite, I would pour a little into the wheel, then work it around with a small paintbrush, and try to get as much of it down into the wheel and onto the axle as possible.  I also would dust BEHIND the wheel, where it rubbed against the frame, so there would be less friction there, as well.

I tried the alcohol/graphite mix--more than likely I screwed it up, because the performance was pretty poor. I tried it like two, three times, and gave up, mainly because I could not get the consistency right for putting on the axles. This is not to say that the "alcophite" doesn't work.... it just didn't for me.

I know, not a lot to go on, but that's what I got in my experience.

In my opinion, graphite is a great place to start as a first lube when getting into the hobby.  You'll learn a lot of things that apply to lubing in general that will always be applicable.  If anything there's a relatively short period from lubing to rolling on the track, if you apply dry.  If you start to use alcohol you should wait long enough for it dry.  The alcohol's only purpose is to deliver the graphite more easily into all the nooks and crannies without throwing dust every where.  And you definately don't want to inhale any of it.  Graphite is made up of carbon atoms, which are organic and can build up in your lungs.  Look up black lung.

Anyways, I am pretty frugal.  When I was using graphite I got tired of all the tapping, wheel rotating/working and mess I had to deal with.  I tried the graphite alcohol premix and found that my applicator would clog after the first wheel 90% of the time.  Clearing the clog would just waste valuable product.  So Instead I started piling the graphite onto the outer hub where the axle head pretrudes and formed a little hill over it.  Then I'd wet it with alcohol and rotate the wheel intil it all went down.  This also had the added effect of flowing graphite down into the chassis interier along the axle.  And with no airborne dust!  But like I said, I'd wait until the alcohol evaporated off.

CAUTION:  Alcohol weakens the bond of the gilded foil paints on wheels and chrome painted chassis(esses?)!  You'll find your wheel paint jobs getting thrashed...

Also, you may notice your cars losing their speed after 3 months or so.  Even if all they've been doing is sitting and not rolling, which means it's time for a, "Rework."  I didn't want to rework my entire ranks every 3 months, even I hadn't been playing with them, so I moved on to a technique shown by Diecast Show Customs on his YouTube channel.  So far that technique hasn't shown me any, "Expiration Dates."

Enjoy your journey Sir, it is actually 95% of the hobby in my opinion.  Researching, expirimenting and learning.  I'd like to share the other parts of the equation, but I am relatively new to the scene and the veterans don't take kindly to the free sharing of the best techniques it would seem.  Personally I'd love to see everyone at the same level and have every event be a suspenseful and exciting one.