Woke up early, got my bike ride in and headed directly for the shop. Gathered up a handful of parts that have been waiting in the 'to-be-sand-blasted' pile, set the compressor at 60 psi and fired up the blast cabinet. Went with a my favorite blend - 80 grit garnet from GMA Abrasive. Not too harsh with a subtle hint of holly and evergreen.
I always like sliding into the blast cabinet. Reminds me of those science fiction movies from the 60's. You got your respirator on and those cool looking rubber gloves that are built into the cabinet face. Easy to imagine you are operating on some poor monkey that has been infected with Element-X - or manipulating nuclear pellets needed to defeat Godzilla. Unfortunately today it was nothing more exciting than a couple of front grill brackets and a quarter window regulator track....so Godzilla is safe for at least another weekend.
Other than taking a nice uninterrupted 1 1/2 hrs to complete, nothing much to report. Hit the foot pedal, point and squirt, repeat as needed. As mindless as it can be, it's a great way to unwind - especially if the radio station is playing a nice grouping of Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones and The Who. Once I had everything blasted, I went over them all with some solvent to remove any traces of oils/waxes in preparation for powder coating. Went with satin black for the grill parts and argent silver for the regulator tracks. There is probably a better color for the tracks but I've used it before on other tracks. It is a close match, looks good and I typically have it is stock - so that's what goes on.
I've been a bit unhappy though with Eastwood's black powders as I can't seem to get any repeatable stock of what they call 'satin black'. Sometimes it comes out flat, sometimes glossier than I like. This used to not be a problem but I've noticed the last 2 or 3 batches have been inconsistent. This go-around then I tried ordering what they call 'semi-gloss' black. Which is normally the same as satin. But since they are discriminating between them, I thought I'd give it a go. Happily this time, it came out exactly the color/gloss level I was looking for. For now then, I'm going with semi-gloss rather than satin for underhood / chassis parts.
So hopefully with the track powder coated, I'm ready to assemble the driver's side quarter window. I've read over Alex's instructions a couple times and printed out the factory assembly diagram so I think I'm good to go. Will be nice to have that assembly back together as it has been apart for at least 10 years!!!
Nice work RJ! Have a look at "Black Magic" from Powder By The Pound. It is an absolute staple "black" in my powder work and as a urethane powder, it's wicked durable. Also, what bracket is the one on the bottom of the 2nd picture with the single nut insert?
ReplyDeleteSven, does it have a medium gloss? I'm guessing this is what you went with for your rear axle housing? I'll grab a couple pounds of that and give it a go. I've used them occasionally before for odd ball colors I couldn't find elsewhere.
DeleteThe bracket at the bottom is the driver's side quarter window, lower track mount bracket. There's a large plate that has the two main vertical window tracks attached to it. This bracket restrains this plate to the bottom of the inner rocker panel.
rj
Medium to low gloss and very consistent batch to batch. This is indeed the color I used on the axle housing and suspension pieces. Without a doubt, Black Magic is one of my personal favorites. And thanks for the education on the bracket!
DeleteBlasting parts is something I do at work, and a good mix of music always makes it better. Those parts turned out great, they look new.
ReplyDeleteThanks Grant! I never ceases to amaze me how much better powder coat parts look over painted one. And for a $100 gun from Eastwood and an afternoon piecing together a spray booth from Lowe's - it's probably the cheapest improvement one can do to one's shop....as long as you don't powder coat in your wife's oven. Hell hath no fury like a woman who comes home and finds window track regulator brackets hanging in her oven :/
ReplyDeleteYou are the master parts restorer R.J. Beautiful work.
ReplyDelete"A subtle hint of holly and evergreen". Hilarious, along with the "SyFy" blast cabinet description. Excellent work as usual. I suppose I need to start thinking about coatings when I get to parts restorations. I have a gas oven and my wife wouldn't mind me using it, especially since I do the majority of cooking in our house. Of course, if there were fumes, that would be the end of it. Keep at it RJ!
ReplyDelete