Is there ever any end to this?

[michaelod]

For the last 7 months I have been (for the most part) doing nothing other than removing various forms of crud and debris from my 1930 Buick 5-window coupe. This has included dirt, gravel, road tar, beach sand, oil, grease, sticks, leaves, mold, paint, bondo, a crop of mushrooms growing on the frame, rodent nest complete with a dead mouse, wasp nests, an active powder post beetle infestation, rust, rust, and more rust.

Somehow the romance of restoring an old car has been eclipsed by the reality of the seemingly endless task of removing an eighty year build-up of every form of trash known to mankind.

Thanks for listening to my rant...

[Thriller]

There is an end to it Michael...after you get everything cleaned up.

Another approach, which can cause storage or organizational issues, is to take something apart and restore / refurbish the piece(s). This can give you a greater sense of accomplishment and has the advantage of giving you shiny parts to look at. Of course, a down side is getting paint to match if you start painting items.

Good luck. At least you are getting somewhere...I've had the '29 in the garage here in the city since September / October 2008 and haven't gotten anywhere beyond vacuuming out the interior, taking some photos, and removing a sidemounted tire (the idea was to bring it into the basement to refurbish over the course of a winter).

[eric_b_1937]

I feel you. My old Buick had several inches of Clay on the frame then under that Road tar mixed with sand. As far as I could tell the car had never been cleaned underneath since it was new. All the oil and crud protected it from rust but I hate working on dirty car's. It took me months to clean the stuff off laying on my back with scrappers, wire brushes and getting dirt in my face.

These old car's spent most of their time on dirt roads so that could be why they are so bad.

[bobj49f2]

I've been working on my '37 Special since I got it last fall. Some times I get discouraged when I pull a part and find more rust damage but then I take a look at the pictures I took the day I first saw it and it boosts my desire to get it done.

1937 Buick Special Page

[unimogjohn]

I spent almost six months on my back with steel wire brushes, wheel brushes in drills and dremel tools, scrapers, and then various cleaners to get all the muck off my 1928. Never saw so much dried grease and mud. Then I painted everything by hand, replaced all the leather, and made sure everything was all greased up. Boy, there are a lot of fittings. But it all ended and I was able to move forward, and finally off my back. Now twenty years later, it still looks great, but I still remember...........

[trp3141592]

Sigh...

My Cord has entered its 60th year of "on-going restoration." It last ran in 1950.

So did I. LOL

--Tom

[garnetkid]

that's a good question Michael, in my case, no it doesn't end. I spent seven years restoring mine and am still l looking for some parts thirty years later. Now due to fair ware and tear it could use another cosmetic restoration.

[Guest OLBUICKS]

I have two old Buicks, I drive one and work on the other,, I also get tired of working on them, then I think to myself I'd rather be here working on these old Buicks than laying in the best hospital in the country. always a worse place to be..

[bobj49f2]

Some times I find people waste time restoring their cars on things that can either be done by others or another way that really saves time and money. If a frame is caked with gunk it would save a lot of time either having some one pressure wash it or renting a pressure washer and doing the job yourself. You'd still have to do a moderate amount of scrapping and pre-soaking to remove the heavier stuff. The rust on the frame could be blasted off, again by a pro or DIY. It may seem expensive but instead of taking weeks or months or years the job could be done in a week. Of course, I'm assuming you're doing a frame off restoration. Your time is also worth something.

I've pressure washed my frame a few weeks ago in my driveway. I am hoping to blast the frame and body this weekend. I would rather have a pro do the sandblasting but I don't have the money for that. My neighbor lent me his homemade blaster unit and I'll be doing myself. I have plenty of experience blasting and know to take care when doing sheet metal. I have had other vehicles blasted by pros and they do a great job at a minimal price when you consider how much time it saves, not to mention the cost of wire brushes and sand paper. I shopped around and found prices are all over the board depending if the shop is busy or not.

[trp3141592]

Hi.

Bob--are you planning on using silica, plastic beads, glass, soda? Just curious. I used soda on the Old Lady. It worked well, and it did no damage.

--Tom

[bobj49f2]

The set up I have is going to be fairly weak, nothing like the big commercial units so I'm going to use plain sand and see how it works. I also have about 100 pounds of Black Beauty slag if I need something more aggressive. I'll be taking all the safety precautions because I am aware of the dangers of using sand and silicosis. I'll be doing it outside with a good filter mask.

As long as I keep the blaster going and not concentrate in one area I think it'll work OK.

[39BuickEight]

I used black beauty--the finest grade they had. I scraped off the major stuff with a hand scraper, then we went to work blasting it. Here is my ongoing restoration thread:

http://forums.aaca.org/f190/1939-buick-special-restoration-273123.html

[bobj49f2]

Billy,

I checked out your posts on your restoration. Looks like you're coming along. How far are you now? Any new pictures?

I have a site for my '37:

1937 Buick Special Page

I'm hoping this weekend is dry so I can blast my body and frame.

[39BuickEight]

Billy,

I checked out your posts on your restoration. Looks like you're coming along. How far are you now? Any new pictures?

I have a site for my '37:

1937 Buick Special Page

I'm hoping this weekend is dry so I can blast my body and frame.

I'll be tackling my tool tray in due time--not looking forward to that. You'rs looks nice!

My car has been moved from the "restoration garage" to move the bass boat in for the summer. It will sit at my brother's shop during fishing season. I'll be trying to accumulate all the parts we need to reassemble the chassis in the Fall. I'm still a bit away from body work yet. I'm think best case 5 years to be on the road....the budget is right at $0 right now

It took me 2 weekends just to blast the frame (the crevices are tough to get in, and my father and I are very particular).