Bang on, worth writing your set ups down and from that you can use as a base setting so can improve from that by trial and error. Youll only get better.

Well if theyre spending money developing coatings and youre rubbing them off whats your point :confused:

I'm glad you asked that question. Kyosho shock rods unlike Losi etc do not have a low-friction coating meaning as the shock is used the rod becomes progressively rougher, damages the seals/bushes and compromises the shock action (particularly rears as they catch a lot more track debris and dirt).

By polishing the rods when you rebuild your shocks you make the surface smoother than it was when new which improves the shock action and makes it slower to deteriorate in future use. I start with #1200 wet and dry/GT85 and then finish off with Solvol Autosol. I've never noticed a significant reduction in rod diameter over time, even after doing this a few times.

If I had shocks whose rods had a low-friction coating this wouldn't be a good idea as you say.

Whats the 'velvet' coating? Or is that not the shaft?

The velvet coating is the hard anodizing on the shock body