Post by toomanyprojects on Apr 28, 2021 8:37:41 GMT
Well last night's experimental cleaning test proved fruitful...
so I finished the other initial 4, 16 to go once they come out of the solution...
I need to locate some primer and then some silver paint, in the meantime I'm going to knock together a 'painting plank'... essentially a plank with holes in - you get the idea
Well last night's experimental cleaning test proved fruitful...
so I finished the other initial 4, 16 to go once they come out of the solution...
I need to locate some primer and then some silver paint, in the meantime I'm going to knock together a 'painting plank'... essentially a plank with holes in - you get the idea
The other way that I've used to good effect with motorbike bar ends etc. is to mount gently in the pillar drill on slow and dust the paint on as they spin - much easier than going for 360deg wrist action and gives a light even coating with little risk of runs or splatter
The other way that I've used to good effect with motorbike bar ends etc. is to mount gently in the pillar drill on slow and dust the paint on as they spin - much easier than going for 360deg wrist action and gives a light even coating with little risk of runs or splatter
Good call, although I'm not sure I can adjust the speed on our drill (think cheap aldi as a proof of concept) which might make for some interesting results might have to have a play with it later on.
Would plating be an option , cost/time wise to preserve them , or is that just me over-thinking things again?
Ordinarily I'd be tempted to go down that route, I have even considered one of those home plating kits which I've seen people use to various levels of success, but I think in this case I'll just do a quick tidy and see how they come up, especially as the want to get on with the other projects is growing now the various puzzle pieces are starting to appear.
I had some more time last night so carried on with the rest of the bolts
10 down...
I also put together my painting plank so once the rest are cleaned up they can get primed.
If twer me doing the shaky rattle shaky psssssht thing , i think i would mask the threads , tape a bendy wire hook on , don a chuck away luv glove on and do them one at a time and then hang to dry. Less chance of missing anywhere.
Post by toomanyprojects on May 5, 2021 13:33:29 GMT
Right where was I? ah yes, those pesky bolts.
Got there eventually
However I've still not had chance to get to the local motor factors to procure some paint, where for interest I might try a couple of the aforementioned approaches to see what works best.
In the meantime, I moved on to the second job while it was in the air and the wheels were off - a spot of arch cleaning.
I've seen worse but I think the results on the floor speak for themselves
On the whole it wasn't bad but definitely a job worth doing. Will give the rest a proper wipe down and treatment at the next visit.
As her ladyship was getting a bit grumpy that my 'sh*te' was everywhere and we had one of the A35 shells inbound, I decided to bolt the wheels back on and make a hasty exit from the main workshop. However one last job beckoned for now as I had replacements to hand
yup a spot of de-gingification - more for my sanity than anything else as I personally hate the 'fried egg' look.
Nothing else for it after that other than to take it for a drive
Bolt-gate will resume once I've moved a few things about as another delivery has meant a bit of a sort out and a swap around of vehicles, more on that in the workshop thread shortly.
Post by toomanyprojects on Sept 20, 2021 15:10:43 GMT
Not updated this for a while but the SL has been getting some love over the odd spare bit of time the last few weeks, namely in the roof department.
For my sins I've gone for the Renovo system, others may be simpler but friends who have used this said it's delivered excellent results if done correctly.
So here's what we were starting with - nothing too horrific but a little faded/patchy in places and not looking as sharp as it perhaps should compared to the rest of the car
On with dampening the canvas and giving a light scrub/clean with the supplied cleaner
After rinsing and then leaving to dry I've now started masking and carefully using car wrap for the areas around the roof I don't want dyed, which from what I can see, wasn't done last time it was treated!
I used the renovo kit last year... you are right to mask everything up , the dye is very runny! Be careful masking seals up though , i managed to peel away little patches of the surface of the roof to screen seal by using "ordinary" masking tape , i would advise a low tack. The roof on a SL is a good deal smaller so you should be ok but by the time i had got to the other side on the A4 the first had stared to dry and i did end up with a slightly darker steak in the middle. I havent been overly impressed by its longevity of finish though , or the protection given by the system to prevent the algae bloom deep in the weave recurring. Im looking at other brands of cleaners now but there seems very little choice in a dark blue dye.
Post by toomanyprojects on Oct 4, 2021 14:47:10 GMT
So D-day arrived last weekend for the next step on the roof of the SL and the Renovo three-stage process - 2. Dye time.
As has been mentioned, the dye is incredibly runny and will go everywhere, precaution was therefore employed in the form of low-tack masking tape and car wrap (albeit I was still caught out as once the roof was saturated it did run rather freely!)
No photos of the work in progress as frankly I was concentrating too much on ensuring the dye stayed in/on the roof. Easier said than done however though so you need to be on top of things (excuse the pun) and have plenty of wiping rags nearby to clean up any overspill.
Initial outcome looked promising with nice and even coverage
However a fair amount of rubbish was created
Being away for the rest of the weekend (see campervan thread) meant that I could leave the roof to properly dry and cure. The recommendation is that it may need a second coat to avoid any patchyness but will see what it looks like later on today.
If all ok then the final step will be to treat using the waterproofer.
Post by toomanyprojects on Oct 18, 2021 10:50:52 GMT
Good news and bad news on the SL... roof finally finished after two coats of proofing. Looks a heck of a lot better for it too.
Bad news is that the battery went flat, which on one of these is an absolute no, no. 😫
So despite SORN'ing the thing ready for tackling some of the bigger bodywork bits then tucking up, I now need to put it back on the road to get it to an independent who has the mercedes star software to clear the codes and add a new battery so I can put the hard top on. Oh and also hope the roof and roll hoop ecu has survived the ordeal.
Oh and to add to the fun, my nearly new battery charger seems to have bitten the dust. 🤬
There are times when this hobby just becomes a hassle. ☹
Post by toomanyprojects on Oct 18, 2021 15:15:48 GMT
Didn't jump it thankfully but put my low amp trickle charge on it which gave it just enough to start and move, alas the switches were already showing the solid red of doom.
