B'Port clone rebuild begins

[Investigator]

I tried to resist.....
My clone was dirty, oily and had some dings and chips, mainly on the base. I had decided to clean, leave the good paint intact, and fill any chips or dings and then roll on some Rustoleum. Cleaning the very lower portion just didn't work. I ended up stripping to almost bare to get the oil and grease off the paint.

Here it is after a second bondo session.

This will take a while.

 

[Nutfarmer]

That is going to be a project. Keep us up dated. Are you going to scrape the ways back in? Thanks for the picture. We love pictures. Good luck on the project.

 

[Janderso]

I tried to resist.....
My clone was dirty, oily and had some dings and chips, mainly on the base. I had decided to clean, leave the good paint intact, and fill any chips or dings and then roll on some Rustoleum. Cleaning the very lower portion just didn't work. I ended up stripping to almost bare to get the oil and grease off the paint.

Here it is after a second bondo session.

This will take a while.
View attachment 409255

Big job! Like Steve said, keep us along for the ride

 

[markba633csi]

Watching with interest- off to a good start!
-M

 

[Investigator]

That is going to be a project. Keep us up dated. Are you going to scrape the ways back in? Thanks for the picture. We love pictures. Good luck on the project.

Short answer no.
I don't have the equipment or the know how to do scraping, and I don't have the budget to learn them. I'm pretty sure this machine is in decent shape. I think it will take quite some time for my abilities to exceed the machines.

My plans, prior to this point, were simply a good cleaning and a quick 'fluff and buff'. I know I will replace the spindle bearings, and had already planned on going through the head to clean and repaint.

I'm not planning on any one single major repair, but it seems lots of little minor jobs are going to add up.

 

[Liljoebrshooter]

Mission creep. Yep, been there and done that.
You will be thankful for doing it.
Joe

 

[markba633csi]

I'm a proponent of the fluff and buff approach also

 

[Investigator]

Primed, so I can see any other imperfections I need to address.

 

[Investigator]

And the first coat of paint.

 

[Investigator]

And the second, of a planned 2 coats:


For those who might be interested now or later, I'm using Rustoleum 'Smoke Grey'. I'm adding just a touch of acetone to help it flow , and adding the Majic brand hardener from our area Tractor Supply store. This was rolled on fairly heavy with a 4 inch foam roller and a cheap foam "brush" for the tight spots.

I don't remember who said it, I think it was here, but some really great advice bears repeating; "paint it, get it covered (with paint) and then leave it alone". I found myself wanting to keep going back and touching up areas...don't.