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Re: (ET) refinishing my "new" E15
As a reminder to Mike and all that Keith has replacements available.
Dennis
Elsberry, MO
Did you all forget I have been selling Rear Battery Boxes , Front Side
Covers,
And any other frame part that is needed! I have already spent a lot of
time and money
To start reproducing them. This includes hood decals. The only thing
needed is
Some one to buy them! The parts are First Class Reproductions! Just ask
the
Guy's that have already bought them!
Keith 763-425-6246
Keith & Nancy [kns5 comcast net]
-----Original Message-----
From: elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu
[mailto:elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu] On Behalf Of Michael S
Briggs
Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2006 10:04 AM
To: Klein Robert W NPRI
Cc: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
Subject: Re: (ET) refinishing my "new" E15
Bob,
Part of my rationale for wanting to remove all of the paint is
that there's rust underneath the paint in spots. Most of the rust is at
spots without paint, but on something this old, it's not uncommon to
have rust underneath the paint. I started out just planning on sanding
off the visible rust and then painting - but as some of the paint came
off the painted spots (with no visible paint initially due to the paint
being there), there was rust underneath. So, I'm wary of going to the
trouble of painting it, and then having that rust underneath cause
blistering of the paint. Not sure how likely that is to happen, but
that's my concern, and why I'm leaning towards removing all of the paint
- or at least as much as I can reasonable remove without going to the
extent of sand blasting.
Thanks,
Mike
--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Michael S. Briggs
UNH Physics Department
(603) 862-2828
---------------------------------------------------------------
On Tue, 6 Jun 2006, Klein Robert W NPRI wrote:
> FIRST STOP AND ASK YOURSELF: WHY DO YOU HAVE TO REMOVE ALL THE
EXISTING PAINT?
>
> I'm not kidding. My Wheelhorse C-185 is 30 plus years old and yes
there's some corrosion and the paints faded and dinged. Unless you're
going to build a show tractor taking it down to bare metal is actually
not a good thing. Paint protection is measured in Mils thickness. More
is better. Surface finish is measured in smoothness. I highly
recommend you lightly sand to remove surface rust, contaminants, etc.
You don't have to see shiny metal, only a rust free contaminant free
surface. Then you spray on a couple of coats of primer. Then you top
coat and then if you're really anal, clear coat for that forever shine.
>
> With all the large flat surfaces of the electrak, you should be able
to prep most surfaces with a 5" dual action (orbital) sander with
180-220 grit (it will finish around 400 with the dual action of the
sander). Hand work the corners and you're ready to paint. Remember,
you want a smooth finish, not a paint free one.
>
> Good Luck!
>
> Bob
> -----Original Message-----
> From: elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu
> [mailto:elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu] On Behalf Of Michael S
> Briggs
> Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2006 10:45 AM
> To: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
> Subject: (ET) refinishing my "new" E15
>
>
>
> I'm going to be restoring and refinishing an E15 that I bought last
> week from a list member (thanks again Bill). The first job will be
> stripping the paint off and repainting everything - and also deciding
> what I want to do about the battery boxes (as is apparently common
> with most of these, there's a good bit of rusting around the battery
> areas, and a few holes in the sides of the boxes (well, side of the
> rear battery box, and the side panels on the front).
> I'll be removing the fenders (picked up a spot weld
removal
> tool yesterday) to get better access to everything, and allow me to
> remove the rear battery box. I'll probably also take the wheels off to
> get around there better.
> We have a machine shop here at work with a sheet metal bender
and
> cutter, so I'm pondering making myself some nice shiny new boxes (and
> side
> panels) - assuming I can find steel sheet metal somewhere (I've always
> in the past only made things to use at work, so used sheet metal stock
> here - never bought my own sheet metal for making something, so I'm
> not sure where to get it).
> If that proves to be too complicated, I may fix the old ones
with
> bondo (not as desirable though). I've stripped some of the paint so
> far just by sanding and scraping it off, but that's a rather slow
process.
> Apparently sand blasting is popular on the list, but I don't want to
> invest in an air compressor just for that - so I'm going to try a
> chemical paint stripper this weekend. After I get the paint stripped,
> I'll sand down the rusted spots some more (with the power drill and
> sanding disk), then apply POR-15 to much of the tractor - especially
> the frame underneath, the battery boxes, and the underside of the
> mower deck. Then on goes primer (except for the frame, battery boxes,
> and underside of the deck, to retain the slippery POR-15 surface),
> then paint. Right now I'm leaning towards a non-original color -
> either a blue or purple. It will be a week or so before I get to that
> stage, so I'm not bothering to decide yet.
> Once everything is nicely painted and reassembled (fenders,
battery
> box, etc.), I'll move on to trying to get her working - putting in the
> T-105s (slightly used) I picked up, making some new battery cables (I
> want to go with 4 gauge, since I'll be using Gator Blades which will
> apparently mean a higher current draw, so the thicker the wire the
> better), putting the motors in the mower deck and attaching the Gator
> Blades, etc. etc..
> So, I'll probably have a good deal of questions over the next
two
> weeks or so. I've searched the archives a good bit for info on
> painting, so I think I'm prepared for that. If anyone has any tips on
> getting the paint off (short of sand blasting), cleaning the gunk off
> the underside and underneath the mower deck, etc., please feel free to
share it with me.
> :)
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
> E15 in progress
>
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