Rescue Me - '51 41D

Very nice work on the Chrome.

I use 0000 steel wool (unsure what you used) and Mothers metal paste polish For HEAVY neglected chrome, otherwise its a micro rag and Mothers.

Only issue I have is I get micro swirl marks from the steel wool that scratched the chrome.

Need to find a way to get rid of them.. Or if I am just set with it until I re-chrome ?

Curious if you have the same issue ?

I'm using 000 steel wool (what I had in the garage already). The polish is a Mothers product for wheels. I had used it on aluminum wheels previously. I am not getting swirl marks in the chrome. Might be the polish or pressure. I'm not pressing very hard at all - letting the polish do the work. I'm also generally using straight scrubs in one direction and straight scrubs about 90 degrees to the first, not a circular motion in the polishing.

You can't polish out scratches in chrome plating. It's can only be cleaned.

You can't polish out scratches in chrome plating. It's can only be cleaned.

Right. Even with buffing wheels you are more likely to buff through the chrome than remove scratches. The least damaging way is to clean with a phosphoric acid preparation like Ospho or Sanivac to remove the mineral deposits and bleeding rust. Phosphoric acid will stabilize the rust too. Then use a chrome polish. On poorly plated parts where you see yellow (nickel showing), you can polish that with metal polish and then clear coat that area to keep the nickel from tarnishing again...try clear coating some of your newly cleaned part and report back .

Willie

Still got some more work to do on the rolled-under side of the bumper, but here are some outdoor photos:

Lovin it! And the avatar too!!!!!

Nice!

Keith

Thought I'd get a better look for photos at cruise night just before sunset. I think it's better, anyway:

- for the wild Riv in the background...

- don't recall seeing this one before... Almost put back together.

Looks great Eric,

I love unrestored cars.Keep it like this,and enjoy the ride.

I'm normally not a "patina" guy, but yours is right on the marks. Looks really nice ! I agree, I wouldn't paint it, just enjoy as she is now.

Went to that somewhat higher-end monthly gathering again today. Surprising how many people asked "how did you do that hood" - well, let it sit out for about 20 years...

Anyway, here's some fun photos:

- how the row looked when I got there.

- Ferrari? Meh. Lamborghini? Ha. Lotus? Piffle. Try brand-spanking new McLaren 650S Spider.

- One thing that surprised me about the McLaren? It's not loud enough. When he backed in, there was a guy standing behind making a video on his phone asking the driver to run up the engine, which he did, and it sounded - puny. Checking Wikipedia, I see it's a twin turbo... Oh, doors that open like that are IMPOSSIBLE (to not bump on something). About the stupidest hinge line ever... It's amusing to see 2 guys who have so much money into something, sit there and creep the doors open - lift a little, check. Lift a little more, check. Lift a little - looks like this side's gonna open... I guess the only thing funnier than that would be if the cars on each side pulled out, and others pulled in - just a little closer. Then they couldn't get the doors CLOSED (without pulling out)...

- Oh yeah - back corner, a 300SL.

- 300 SL

- I'd seen this '59 before, but if I get another 4-door, this is the one.

Sweet action there! The front end looks GREAT!! Looks like the rear bumper could use some 0000 steel wool polishing? But otherwise it looks like a real gem amongst all those Porsches.

Thanks - yes, I've started on the back bumper. Much slower going because the surface build-up is more extensive there... I'll see if I can find the Ospho or Sanivac products...

Tried this phosphoric-acid-based product, since it was easy to find around here:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/rust-kutter-rust-prevention-and-control-1-qt?cm_vc=IOPDP

Willie is right on with this one. Let it sit for 24 hours, then wiped off with wet paper towel to remove the excess acid and whatever the rust turns into, then went over it pretty quickly with the steel wool / polish combination. I do believe amount of pressure with the steel wool can make a difference - too heavy, and the steel wool will leave a permanent scratch pattern. The acid saved a huge amount of scrubbing. Photos later.

Adding photos -

- semi "before" photo - I had already gone over the top edge and a vertical line with the steel wool and polish.

- after the phosphoric acid had sat on it for 24 hours - acid still in place (didn't wipe anything off yet)

- contrast the center section by the license plate with the outboard section - wiped off & quickly gone over lightly with steel wool and polish

- where it's at today. Will do the center section later.

- secret to bringing up the chrome in that license plate light bar - another part that isn't so far gone...

The product description says this: " Rust Kutter binds itself to the metal and prevents moisture and oxygen from attacking the metal surface ..."

I did not study chemistry, but it does not seem one would want an acid to bind to the metal. In fact, don't you wipe it off? Is this statement just advertising BS, or does it really happen?

BTW: Impressive results. On your's and Roberts car I just love the way the chrome shines against that rusty paint patina.

The product description says this: " Rust Kutter binds itself to the metal and prevents moisture and oxygen from attacking the metal surface ..."

I did not study chemistry, but it does not seem one would want an acid to bind to the metal. In fact, don't you wipe it off? Is this statement just advertising BS, or does it really happen?

BTW: Impressive results. On your's and Roberts car I just love the way the chrome shines against that rusty paint patina.

It does what is says, John. But that is unique to Phosphoric acid a few others, but don't try it with Sulfuric acid (battery) or Hydrochloric acid (muriatic).

Eric, most of the rust on the panels is rust bleed through and a short application will will show mostly paint color and that will shine some if some compound is applied. Avoid waxes since most contain silicone which might interfere with future paint application. On the other hand, if you are going to go to all that trouble, just prep for paint and paint it.

Check with a local body shop to see where they send bumpers for rechroming...around here some send them to Mexico where the 'price is right' and the quality is remarkably good.

Willie

Just to add a bit more info, and this is from memory, so forgive me. The Phosphoric acid reacts with the ferrous oxide (rust) and removes it from the surface, and then reacts the surface of the remaining steel to form another, less reactive, oxide, and it is this that helps to prevent further rusting, at least slows down the progression. This is sometimes used as a metal prep on steel before painting. So that would be what they mean by the description "bind to the metal". This is also why it is important to wash the excess Phosphoric acid from the surface.

Keith

I was going to guess that one of the products was water (basically taking the "water" back out of the "rust"), but it's on Wikipedia, so it must be true: the acid + "rust" yields ferric phosphate + water. I noticed the bottle didn't have the usual multitude of super-toxicity warnings such as on B-12 Chemtool. Wikipedia also points out that it's the "sour" in colas (phosphoric acid is a food additive), and 90% of production goes into fertilizer.

Here's the equation:

<DL><DD>2 H₃PO₄ + Fe₂O₃ → 2 FePO₄ + 3 H₂O</DD></DL>

Another surprisingly cool cruise night yesterday...

Did the acid treatment on the tops of the front bumper light housings to brighten up the most pitted areas...

Got the center section of the bumper cleaned up, then swapped over the center bar with the license plate light & bracket:

- center section acid spray & polish.

- swapped out the center bar - done for now.

- reminder of where it was...

Nice results, Eric!

Keith

Will try this again sometime - non-technical photos in the landscape are tough! Anyway, sized these to use as backgrounds on my computer...

You really brought this car a long way back to life. And I love those pictures! But I can't help thinking what a great car it would make with refreshed paint.

You really brought this car a long way back to life. And I love those pictures! But I can't help thinking what a great car it would make with refreshed paint.

I am usually on the same page with John, but I would not "refresh " the paint. I believe, if it needs anything, it only needs the same treatment the chrome received. The green '50 I had looked much better after wet sanding.

Ben

I may try something in the paint area eventually - but some parts have started to show up for the 76R, so you'll see some updates over there soon.

Added some more photos - to not clog up the thread here, they're in my gallery:

http://photos.aaca.org/browseimages.php?do=member&imageuser=92541

Though it looks as if the gallery re-shrinks them, so I might add them here in slightly larger file size. That last one is natural light - no color adjusting by filters or software...

Samples (resolution reduced per the gallery function)-

Man what a transformation!

Thanks - one of the other threads on here was talking about making changes to original cars, and a couple of the postings had to do with "the first thing people change" is wheels / tires. Probably because they're pretty easy to change out - just add money. I'm pretty happy with this one that I sought out original rims, went through a bunch of hubcaps to get some nice ones, and put on the original size (bias ply) tires. There have been threads on here about "equivalent" radial tire sizes - there really isn't. The bias ply is so tall and narrow in cross section, radials, even bias-look radials don't get too close to the original cross section. The car just looks "right" at the original height and overall tire diameter. Oh, and the steering effort is MUCH less than the '55 that I had (it had wide, low-sidewall radials).

Thanks - one of the other threads on here was talking about making changes to original cars, and a couple of the postings had to do with "the first thing people change" is wheels / tires. Probably because they're pretty easy to change out - just add money. I'm pretty happy with this one that I sought out original rims, went through a bunch of hubcaps to get some nice ones, and put on the original size (bias ply) tires. There have been threads on here about "equivalent" radial tire sizes - there really isn't. The bias ply is so tall and narrow in cross section, radials, even bias-look radials don't get too close to the original cross section. The car just looks "right" at the original height and overall tire diameter. Oh, and the steering effort is MUCH less than the '55 that I had (it had wide, low-sidewall radials).

Bravo! Back in their day, hubcaps and tires were a major focal point for these cars, to the point that especially snazzy hubcaps got swapped on to other, less stylish cars. Note the '54-'56 Olds three bar spinners. Save the Mag wheels for the mid-sixties and newer vehicles. Hubcaps Forever!

Excellent day at a regional car show (in Tucson) yesterday.  Sure, most of the cars are from Tucson, but quite a few from Phoenix, and a couple from NM and San Diego.  Comments ran maybe 40:1 to some form of leave it as-is.  The other one was pretty funny, but I had been warned to expect this from another "patina car" driver - the comment was along the lines of "well, it looks like you have a nice start".  Of the other 40-50 comments in the leave-it category, they ran about 50:50 to clear-coat it or leave it exactly as it is.  I was a little bit concerned about bringing such a car at all, because the show runs somewhere between craftsmen who do this for a living and have access to all this stuff, showing off the best they could put together for themselves and people who know how to write huge checks and manage a project (or just write a huge check for something already done).  Not that there's anything wrong with any of that, but what I'm doing here is different.  Get it running, get it looking as good as it will for what it's experienced over time, and drive the heck out of it.

I have bigger ideas for the 76R, but I'd say reception was overwhelmingly positive for this 41D.  I was surprised by how many people took photos - detailed photos of different trim parts in contrast with the surrounding "natural finish".

Couple of pics for the above post.

Eric -

Reading through this thread has been a ton of fun!  Thank you for the numerous, detail-oriented photos and videos; they really help bring the transformation to life for the rest of us!  I, too, get to live out a dream through your posts, ha.  The car looks great!

I'll see what conversations these start:

I visited Angel and Vilmas about ten years ago, at the start of the Route 66 Fun Run. It's in Seligman AZ. I wonder how many people know that "Radiator Springs" from the movie "Cars" is patterned after that town and that Angel was an advisor to the movie. Check the credits!

And that "here it is" sign is also in the movie, but I believe it's with a silhouette of a T instead of the jackrabbit. We also stayed at the Wigwams in Holbrook on this trip. Look that up and see how they used that in the movie as well. We drove some of the old road between Flagstaff and Williams. It goes through, but some of it is dirt.

Couple of days out recently.  Been making the Thursday night cruise nearly every week.  Ferrari pulled in next to us at the early-morning cruise July 11 on the higher-end side of town.  The other is last Thursday July 30.

Yes, I've created a for sale thread for this car recently. But with no response yet, I might just go a little further with it. Over the past few days, I cleaned up & painted the air cleaner and the cover and housing for the oil filter. I used Duplicolor engine enamels - Chevy engine orange and old Ford blue (as recommended in other threads in these forums). I also took notes on the location of the decal on the oil filter.

Eric, catching up on threads and loving your car. I asked for lots of advice on painting vs. patina, and came up with an easy answer for me. I can always paint it "someday" but only get one chance to enjoy it as she is. Are you doing anything to prevent further rusting? I wet sanded mine for several weekends then rubbed in some WD-40 and she looks like a million bucks. Old paint and some rust still there but she shines! Question on the bumpers though? Keep reading chrome treatment....aren't the bumpers stainless steel? Thanks for teaching me stuff!

Dale

To prevent further rusting, I store the car in a year-round 11% relative humidity environment - my garage in the Arizona desert. Low humidity leads to drying out of non-metal parts such as rubber and upholstery, but the metal will probably still be recognizable for thousands of years...

The bumpers are not stainless - they are chrome plated. I don't know if it's natural porosity in the chrome, but the entire surface of front & rear bumpers was "bloomed" out with rust. On the front bumper, I used a chrome wheel polish & steel wool. That took a lot of elbow grease. On the rear bumper I used that phosphoric acid solution from Tractor Supply, let it sit overnight, and it wiped off fairly easily. I also replaced the bar in the middle that holds the license plate with a nicer one - the original one had almost no chrome left at all. If I was to do this again on another car (shine up existing old rusted-over chrome), I'd use the phosphoric acid first - much easier to just spray on & walk away. The trim along the sides of the car is stainless except for the small piece between the front & rear doors - that's plated pot metal. But the stainless along the sides didn't rust. It was just dirty and/or oxidized, and it responds well to polish.

As for protecting the paint - I don't think I could do any sort of sanding on this one and not have the remains of the paint just fall off. I put masking tape (the blue painter type) on a little something in the trunk area for a Halloween display, and the masking tape lifted the paint right off. So I think what paint is on the car is just barely still on there.