prewarnut
-
Posts
793 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
1
Content Type
Forums
Gallery
Events
Posts posted by prewarnut
-
-
I use Wolf's Chemicals. It used to be sold out of Canada or FL but I find it on Ebay from the Netherlands. There's others.
-
Because brass is an alloy strong acids can attack it. As example and cosmetically, the brass can turn pink due to dissolving the surface zinc ions. A color change may or may not concern you. Again professional platers will usually use an alkali solution to both prevent that and better remove surface oils and act as a surfactant. However the key you are asking is what will chemically remove tarnish without excessively bothering the substrate. This may not be an easy answer and might require some research on technical safety data sheets. There are also professional forums out there which probably discuss this sort of thing. I think however that physical verdigris usually needs some sort of mechanical removal even if by ultrasound.
-
You could try electrocleaning, the first step prior to plating but you'd need a plating set-up and of course, the alkali for this. Some companies will sell individual components for plating and not the whole set thus saving money.
-
There's two levels to consider. I use a nanoparticle sealant that is wiped on and then wiped off (on my modern cars). It lasts 6-8 months - far better than my best wax. It doesn't have a residue (i.e. no cleaning of emblems, trim, etc). What I use is made in Hungary and can't be easily purchased here but there are a few things on the market. Then there is the ceramic coating. That is generally professionally applied. it should last a year or more and provides a more tangible layer over the paint. This is what helps some cars to look like they are dipped in gloss, if you will. Both need good paint, ideally polished so no major orange peal. However this doesn't always look right on older cars never painted and polished this way. Also many modern cars don't "respond well" because you start to see all the imperfections near stampings like the gas filler flap, doors, emblems, complex creases the designer penned but didn't execute well.... Despite their high prices I've seen polishing and too high a gloss coating bring out imperfections on my Porsches and BMWs. I've seen this problem on Maserati, definitely GM products, Volvo....If you have a RR, Ferrari, Bentley you're all set. MB is up the middle these days. There's a ton to read about. I'd say no harm in the wipe on products. The sealants are DIY so you can simply try if you want. The ceramic coating can only be reversed by polishing off. Overall, the higher level of polishing and then going all the way to ceramic coating is where you can get reflections "hovering" over the layer of paint. It's hard to describe but if you see it in person with a discerning eye then you'll understand. I just about attain that with polishing and sealant so I stop there...
-
2
-
-
Well said! Although the proper restoration of any English motorcar requires investing in the correct materials and workforce too. 😁
-
1
-
-
5 hours ago, Angelfish said:
Well I did it. I was pulling the first aid kit pan to access the fuel sender. This is the top of the back seat, perfectly exposed to the sun, and I poked an elbow into it.
It feels brittle and dry, more what I would expect from leather. Leaving it alone for now but it definitely needs softened up or there will be more of these.
That looks like leather. Using Leatherique's Pristine Clean and Rejuvinator might help. The Rejuvinator is an oil and if this dry as in your picture it will likely soak it up well and help to soften.
-
23 hours ago, Bloo said:
Japan Black predates nitrocellulose automotive paint. It is Gilsonite (asphalt) paint, which can still be bought if you dig deep enough. This is the thick shiny black finish seen on US domestic door locks, brass bladed fans, and cast iron parts of all sorts of the industrial age. Painting with this is called "japanning". It imitates the look of east Asian lacquerware of the time but had nothing in common. Duco (nitrocellulose lacquer automotive paint) came along in the late 20s.
"japan Colors" as in @TerryB's post are something else entirely. Those are pigments that were used in automotive finishing in the brass era where layers of flat pigment and layers of varnish were built up and sanded slowly in multiple coats, sometimes taking weeks. This a process Henry Ford sought to avoid when he switched to black only.
Thanks! I reads the technical brochure and it looks like it is marketed even for vehicle chassis use. I wonder do you (or anyone) have a comment one whether this would be an ideal use for a prewar chassis application, over, say the POR-15 products people use? An advantage could be the one-step application, no mixing and high gloss finish (if that was to be desired) but not sure if the rust protection is as good.
-
1
-
-
My pinhole camera:
-
4
-
1
-
-
The wear of dye in the side bolster without destruction of the underlying material makes me think this is not leather but MB Tex. Also supporting this are the crease lines in the seat bottoms that seem superficial and lack of creasing or cracking of the somewhat flattened center pleats. If so it will outlast you. Obviously getting an experienced "eye" on this would be helpful. I have used Leatherique products for cleaning and redying of leather. I differ with their suggestion to completely strip before new dye is applied. I'd first try some spot re-dying (if that is on your mind) as the older/original oil-based dye is much more durable than the new water-based, also imparts the familiar "smell" of German car products of the era, and additionally the removal is just a huge endeavor for small reward over dying over the old in small areas. Being black this can be matched easily and the interior will come out nice. If this is MB tex then the cleaner of choice is probably not too important given the durability of the material. As with all things of new territory go slow and plan.
-
1
-
-
Bonhams has this Springfield Ghost up for auction in about 2 weeks, brought back to the UK presently.
-
2
-
-
I remember as well. Enjoy!
-
I haven't seen any contemporary ads for used Locomobiles beyond the 1929 model year in numerous papers online. I wonder if the '30 is a body swap of sorts but not sure. This notice below poses the absolute outer limit when the factory, as a car company, was sold for a final time on 2/2/32. Shortly thereafter a public business event was held there suggesting it was cleared out for show space. Beyond that the history of the building is known. I'll be back this summer and can look through the historical files again and see if documentation shows when production exactly wound down.
-
2
-
-
With the demise of a few of the large scale chrome platers I would actually think smaller scale nickel plating (decorative plate) has a role to look into. It could satisfy the need for refinishing older speedometer and gauge bezels, hinges, escutcheons, window crank levers, external mirrors, bolts and clamps on wheel felloes, lock covers and lock heads, gas caps, etc. The utility of nickel plating is that it can go right onto a number of substances without an initial plating of a different metal. It is not very caustic as the kit I use utilizes boric acid which is a weak acid and used prevalently. Also the solution is cheap. The downside is that it takes a little while to get a thick plate, it requires a few anodes spread around the item, it requires air agitation, and ideally some heating. Someone could at least come up with their own "set-up" with specifications on the maximum size of item they could accommodate. Additionally if a closer to chrome appearance is needed I would think one could plate palliadium over this (although I have not tried that). Food for thought you entrepreneurs!
-
1
-
-
They no longer park cars along that section of the fairway....
-
1
-
-
7 hours ago, 28 Chrysler said:
Wasn't there a Packard at Pebble Beach that rolled a bit and got real wet?
That was the Hilton Head Concours. They needed 3 sets of experts to retrieve: a tow company, divers, and gator experts.
-
1
-
2
-
-
I had looked at someone's schematic explanation on-line with narration and it seemed there were more (maybe on the condensing cars?) In essence I somewhat wonder how one knows what the pressure is within all the lines? Or is the water automatic working correctly? I suppose the steam automatic can be figured out when/if the burner goes out. In essence if one wanted to get one up and running (with or without disassembly of each component) how are they tested? Probably no easy short answer and I imagine a Stanley technical service manual in period or afterwards would be consulted...
-
I think we have seen through the years many period photos and literature supporting white walls on almost every decade of car. Walt has also shown stylistically when and when not to do such (e.g. are there side-mounts and are they covered?) I do however mostly fall in the anti-white wall camp unless it helps the particular vehicle (e.g. a '30s Cord, an otherwise black '20s Pickwick P1). The more important question (for another thread so I don't hijack yours) is what can we do, and why the h@#& does everyone keep painting the wheel spokes/rims a contrasting color???? Unless supported in the literature like a '36 Cadillac with chrome hubcaps please stop painting wheels red, yellow, neon green, orange.....Otherwise your photo examples above look nice with whitewalls.
-
3
-
-
As a note, I believe I read that contemporary owners have modified the rear brakes and essentially switched them so that the main braking by pedal is on the internal shoes and parking brake on the external band. It possibly requires different or larger shoes but worth investigating/verifying. This is a mod I'd probably do. The couple Stanleys for sale are tempting. The burgundy 750 is just beautiful, the green one might be another one at an affordable price, alas a lot of surface rust is on it begging for a bunch of nickel plating and repainting...Good luck!
-
On 3/16/2024 at 9:16 PM, Paul Dobbin said:
Great day for a ride in the country was today 3/16/24. We organized a ride into Georgia for the Clayton Block Party.
They closed off the main street for a Cruise in and about 100 cars showed up. We led 8 cars from Franklin.
Franklin to Highlands was a most beautiful stretch a few years ago. Of course after the 5th hairpin holding the steering wheel upside-down at 25 mph and hoping oncoming motorcycles weren't going to cross the double yellow by more than a foot or two my wife just about had enough. Getting down from Highlands is another matter altogether - not sure I'd try prewar brakes. I've not been to Clayton but looks nice!
-
The one thing I wonder is with so many check valves on these, how does one know they are functioning correctly?
-
I've done gold, nickel and copper plating (soon to do silver for a project) - my friend does rhodium plating. I use a different company which I feel is a little more transparent in the process but doesn't supply zinc or cadmium type products so I have no direct experience here. I would say the following: 1) this company appears to require you zinc plate first and then through nitric and sulfuric acid exchange, deposit chromium ions to mimic a cadmium look. 2) the initial step of zinc plating can be done different ways and the zinc is chiefly going to protect the substrate from rust or oxidation. Depending on the way it is done you may or may not get good protection. I don't know enough about it to comment here or to comment on your purpose (rust protection or decoration only?) 3) I am not certain if this company has you "electrostatically" cleaning or treating the metal first as I do in order to get uniform coverage. If not done you can get spotty results with some substrates or some types of plating (e.g. nickel) 4) I think the zinc plating step is relatively benign. The second step with the sulfuric and nitric acid for the cadmium "look" is a more careful step. 5) the final step is not a true cadmium plate from what I can tell but I'm not completely sure. In essence you may want to experiment with some bolts and see how it goes. There's also writings by other authorities on-line that show how to expose the final product to a salt spray to check corrosion resistance. All of this is beyond my capabilities or interests when it comes to plating but this is what I can deduce that may be important for your endeavor. I don't want to make this sound horrible - and I think the plating could be done in your shop - but I'd hate for you to do complicated carb castings only to have a non-uniform color or corrosion resistance. Also some metal plating will also "build-up" too much, blocking threads although I do not think that will happen here.
-
1
-
-
I like the "etc, etc" on the body plaque!
-
1
-
-
...by the way, while the herringbone woodwork looks a little irregular in coloration or staining it probably looks better in person. I would advise the future owner probably leave it as is or ensure a real good professional attend to it. It is not an easy restoration color-wise as I can attest to on a George I and George II period pieces I have touched up with shellac, wax and stain. The Brits were masters of subtly and the subtly here is to have contrasting, veined color which is not tremendously proud of the surrounding wood work.
-
2
-
-
I can only comment stylistically....DeCampi notes it is a Hooper Sedanca which sold to Cleveland in 1928 - so it would appear an original body. I wonder how a British body made it over here for this purpose but presumably special ordered on account of the style offered. The front inside cowl/dash is more traditional/recessed maybe older styled. The increased use of herringbone woodwork is not common on the Brewsters here. The jump seats are not very well integrated. Overall it exudes quality and luxury. However the integration of stylistic and mechanical accoutrements in the cabin were a little improved in the following decade. Externally the fenders were undoubtedly updated. I think the blind quarters are a little "heavy". Nonetheless a quality car which is markedly different than any other on offer now. The market? not my guess. On a different note I wonder how modern driver's feel about rearward visibility when usually being slower than most other traffic. Forget adding a rearview mirror on this one....
-
1
-
Gray tire paint ??
in General Discussion
Posted
Ron, you could try leather dye. Not everyone knows that modern water-based leather dye is really a flexible paint. It is impervious to fluids which makes me laugh when people buy/sell leather conditioner as it is not penetrating compared to leather prepared from the '90s and earlier. As I've said on a number of threads I've used Leatherique products for redye jobs. They can custom make a color and for $30 you could give it a try. It can be wiped on, painted or airbrushed. When I airbrushed I noted I needed pretty good pressure but forget the psi. I would say this will definitely work for a static display and look "appropriate." It has just the right sheen - mostly matte with just a hint of shine. Will it hold up with rotating tires, not crack, etc? I'm not sure. Just put some on a spare vehicle's tire (potentially someone you dislike)...😁
- Dan.