Leaf's New Lawn Ornament...

[MotoJ]

Go Leaf!

Good luck with the CB900 negotiations. That would make a great combo with the chair.

[Leaf]

One question and a request for a bit of help.... :3


Q: Does anyone know what kind of paint went on the Decos in '98? I'm still trying to decide if I want to fill in the dings and paint over what's on there, or if I'd be better off stripping the whole thing... If I paint over what's on there, I want to be sure that the stuff I'm using is compatible with what's on there.

Redoing the paint makes me sad, because it's a darn cool paintjob, but I'm too skeert of not getting at all of the rust....


R: Would anyone mind laying their tonneau cover flat on the floor, laying some yardsticks beside/below it, and snapping a picture?

I am going to make one, and I think I'll make fewer initial failures if I have some rough measurements and layout to go off of. :P

[MotoJ]

You know you can buy a cover shipped from Yuri for about $25. Are you going to make one that's color coordinated or something?

I can take some pics for you after work. It'll have to be a tape, though. No yardsticks about.

[Leaf]

Originally Posted by MotoJ

You know you can buy a cover shipped from Yuri for about $25. Are you going to make one that's color coordinated or something?

Yes. I'm planning to use white imitation leather.

Originally Posted by MotoJ

I can take some pics for you after work. It'll have to be a tape, though. No yardsticks about.

That'd be awesomely helpful, if it's not any trouble! Thanks!

[Leaf]

Time for some chrome polishing! (ick)



Before:





A light wire brushing to remove the loose stuff. Too much pressure will scratch the chrome.

Then, a rag soaked in Coke in one hand, and a wad of aluminum foil in the other. Wipe, scrub, wipe, scrub.

The foil works best once it gets really nasty and starts to fall apart.

After:





Despite that thing having the thickest chrome I've ever seen, there were still some places where the corrosion went through. It's not perfect, but $2 for a 2 liter bottle of Coke is far cheaper than getting stuff rechromed. :3

[WU7X]

Originally Posted by Leaf

Time for some chrome polishing! (ick)

Despite that thing having the thickest chrome I've ever seen, there were still some places where the corrosion went through. It's not perfect, but $2 for a 2 liter bottle of Coke is far cheaper than getting stuff rechromed. :3

Dang, you have some great (cheap) techniques! I'm going to follow this thread for sure.

[Leaf]

Tasty tonneau cover measurements from MotoJ. Thanks, MotoJ!!! You have now earned the Official Leaf Seal of Awesome. Wear it proudly. :P

From these, and tub measurements, I shall draw a Diagram (probably during work tomorrow, while waiting for various progress bars to creep across screens...). :3

Then hopefully my tools and materials will arrive at the office before the end of the day, and I can go home and start stripping paint!

[Leaf]

Originally Posted by WU7X

Dang, you have some great (cheap) techniques! I'm going to follow this thread for sure.

Thanks! But most all the credit goes to the very elderly gentleman from whom I learned it!

Upon further investigation, it seems that apparently Coke has a ton of phosphoric acid in it, which seems to be the major active chemical in Ospho and other rust treatments.

The aluminum foil must react with something in the Coke. Maybe the acid, but I dunno. All I know is, it works far better using foil than a brillo pad or fine sandpaper!

The things we drink! =:O

[Leaf]

An initial diagram, produced from MotoJ's photos.

I haven't yet measured it against the tub. :3

[Leaf]

No paint stripping fun tonight... It is raining! D:

[Leaf]

I lied. The rain stopped, and I got bored enough to strip paint. =:O

Paint! I think maybe I'll go with a darker blue and a lighter white after all, lol. Gonna try them on the bottom of the tub first, though. Maybe I'll get lucky and it won't be the same color as the cap. :P



Rusty tub bottom & new remanufactured angle grinder.



Brushed the loose stuff off.



Slathered with paint stripper.



Paint stripper attachment for drill. Very very handy. Don't strip paint without one! They don't make stripping paint not suck, but they do make it suck a good bit less....



That paint is tough as nails and seems to resist everything but rust. The stripper didn't even make it bubble, though it did soften up a little and allowed the stripper attachment to mow right through it....

Tub bottom stripped to bare metal. Coke wipe-down (my generic Ospho isn't here yet) to keep it from rusting too much until I get it stripped the rest of the way and primed.

[Leaf]

I'm not sure how I am going to strip the inside. I guess I'll have to put on a mask and crawl inside and do it all without stripper, using only a sander. I sure don't want to be rolling around in that stuff......

[MotoJ]

More stripper(s)!

[WU7X]

Stilling watching the progress. Great work so far!

[Leaf]

I'm still crying myself to sleep about having to mess with the paint!

C'est la vie!

Maybe I'll just repaint it the original colors instead...

What do y'all think? :O