60Patrol

RiverPatrol wrote:I guess the person that painted over the high beam switch must have been a previous owner.

Yes, the customized high beam switch came with the patrol... I actually still have a minor open circuit or corroded connection down there that is affecting the headlamps, so I'll be cleaning that area up a little bit and filing the contacts, etc...

But - my list of "To-do's" on this Patrol is down to one side of a standard sheet of paper - 35 tasks left, some big (ie: entire weekends burned fabricating), and some small... checking them off one by one as I go

I'm impressed!

Wow Robert I've just been catching up on this thing. Its coming along very nicely. They dash looks great

Nice work Robert. looks great. As soon as it cools off I'll get back to work on mine.... The heat is brutal here.

IrishPatrol wrote:Nice work Robert. looks great. As soon as it cools off I'll get back to work on mine.... The heat is brutal here.

Lol, I have no idea what that is like....

Last night I did some work on my steering wheel -

we all saw the "before" picture from above- old, cracked, and faded:



The process I used to fill the cracks is similar to the one many have used -- here is a good "how to" video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isF_zDPCiwg

The only differences I made to the process from the video, is that instead of using POR15 Epoxy, I used the two-part plumbers putty (or Billy Mays "Mighty Putty" - the green stuff)

I sanded the center hub smooth, filled the cracks, and sanded them smooth.



For the topcoat, I used SEM color coat for the outer ring (it's flexible even after dry) and I used generic el-cheapo black enamel on the center hub.

then I wet sanded and buffed out the horn button using my "foggy headlight refinishing" kit- worked like a charm.

whole process took about 3 hours - and most of that was sanding, but the end result looks good enough for me- you can see the putty filler when you look close, but it way better than it was before.

Outstanding! I was waiting for this 'How To'.

Good work. When I "restored" my wheel I was a little enthusiastic and took off the protective coating on the spokes which have started to show a little rust now. I have been meaning to sand them back again and hit it with some clear to protect it... just a thought

miller wrote:Good work. When I "restored" my wheel I was a little enthusiastic and took off the protective coating on the spokes which have started to show a little rust now. I have been meaning to sand them back again and hit it with some clear to protect it... just a thought

Hey thanks Tim- you reminded me of something I didn't mention above-

My spokes were foggy and had some rust as well. I polished them with a product called "Blue Magic" I have used this stuff for 25 years, and it is the BEST hand finishing metal polish I have found- especially on aluminum and chrome. If you don't have a power-polishing DICO wheel, then a jar of Blue Magic belongs in your detailing kit . <-- shameless plug - I am not a stock holder in the Blue Magic company

Here is a vid of this product in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjPntkvWACQ


after the spokes were polished, I sprayed them with rustoleum clear enamel (I actually did this before I masked them with blue tape for the pic above)

I also forgot that I took a snap of the stuff I used on the outer ring:



This product is way cheaper than POR15 (the SEM stuff set me back 14 bucks a can), but provides the same kind of durable finish on softer resin based plastics, and this stuff is actually flexible enough that it can be used to re-color vinyl seats (I have used it on seats in the past and it really works great, and I may just be doing it again pretty soon... )

moore_rb wrote:

miller wrote:Good work. When I "restored" my wheel I was a little enthusiastic and took off the protective coating on the spokes which have started to show a little rust now. I have been meaning to sand them back again and hit it with some clear to protect it... just a thought

Hey thanks Tim- you reminded me of something I didn't mention above-

Ahh see I knew you'd be all over it!