Author Topic: Atlas 7B shaper restoration  (Read 16784 times)

Offline vdubjunkie

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #30 on: April 10, 2019, 08:58:27 AM »
Here is where I started to get serious, breaking out the strong stuff!



The frame is all ready for the heavy chemical treatment :stir:, and even as I see that bottle of citristrip, I can't help but wonder if I could have saved myself a fair bit of nastiness with Simple Green.  I'm going to have to try that soon! :naughty:

Also, yes, that is Julian in the background either firing, or getting ready to fire a gun.  Trailer Park Boys has become my background while working on this restoration!   :cheers:



Maybe an unnecessary pic, but there will be little question which type, and length of screw went into this particular hole.

You can see the citristrip did a pretty darned good job of getting a vast majority of all paint/primer off the surface.  There will certainly be more finishing work to do before it's ready for paint, but compared to not using the stripper, I'm quite pleased!   :pinkelephant:



That is quite a lot of grime removal, and if I weren't refinishing the machine, I would have been quite happy with what the purple power did here.



Here's a decent little array of degreased parts all laid out.  I was very happy with the way they looked at this point.  Wait until you see how good they look after the next phase!   :LickLips:



After attacking most of the larger pieces, I started finding some of these brackets, and such.  There wound up being more than I had mentally prepared myself for, and I thought I was going in well prepared!  Oh well, maybe next time I'll get it right.   :embarassed:



This picture leaves you feeling like there would be very little room for improvement at this point.  I know I felt that way initially.  However, my OCD was let off the leash with these parts.   :Lol: :LittleDevil:

After the citristrip did most of the heavy lifting, I used one of those "Gator" wheels on my drill to take it down to super bare metal.  Where I couldn't get with that wheel, I wound up using rotary stones.



While the citristrip did a very good job all around, the aluminum belt guards wound up needing considerably more post strip attention than the iron, and steel.

I'm not sure if that could have been something to do with my setup for covering them while the orange goo did its thing, or if that is just what to expect on aluminum.   :shrug:



One can only expect so much from simply setting parts in purple power.  It was no surprise to me that the bearings needed extra attention.

Rather than press off the bearings, I decided I could do just as thorough a job with my pick set, and a tooth brush.  Looking back, I would do it this way again.



Remember earlier when I mentioned that I would eventually get out this gear?  Well, this doesn't illustrate the happy dance I did just before taking the picture.   :cartwheel:



I learned a cool trick when watching a basementshop guy video where he collaborated with another guy who was into restoring machines.

It worked one of two times here to cut in a slot so I could use a flat bladed screwdriver to remove the pin.  If you get in really close, you'll see that the pin has a spiral flute or "thread" on it.

I put a great deal of effort into cautiously getting this slot created, and even such, I slipped a couple of times.  The other one I wound up having to literally grind away the entire head.  Believe it or not, I actually got that one done with no mishap.

Since neither of these are through holes, I'll wind up needing to drill out the remainder of this shaft.



Here's a nice portrait of the interim on two of the larger pieces.  I still haven't gone all gangsta' OCD on them yet though!   :Jester:



I have a seemingly unlimited supply of interim pics I could share, but I don't see any of the rest of them providing anything "new" to the thread, so here is a picture of the ram that I think I took after I decided I was done with paint prep work.



I know that this is nothing more than a bracket, but I couldn't stop myself from trying to make the back of it fairly smooth and deliberate looking.  There was a fair bit of extraneous casting here before I gave it the business.   :zap:


I believe that is about all for now.  I've got a few pics "on the roll" I'll try to post soon.  I'm very close to applying some paint right now!

Thanks for following along, and I hope some of this might prove useful, or at least interesting to others.

Feel free to ask any questions, or ridicule me without mercy!

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” - Upton Sinclair

Offline cnr6400

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #31 on: April 10, 2019, 09:42:10 AM »
If you are shopping for new pins to hold the round name plate, google "type U drive screws". That is their name in industry.

Great job on the resto so far!  :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:
"I've cut that stock three times, and it's still too short!"

Offline Steamer5

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #32 on: April 10, 2019, 09:47:42 AM »
Coming along very nicely!

Cheers Kerrin
Get excited and make something!

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #33 on: April 10, 2019, 01:04:23 PM »
Nice job on getting it down to bare metal. Should make the painting much easier and look better in the end too.

Bill

Offline vdubjunkie

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #34 on: April 11, 2019, 12:43:23 PM »
If you are shopping for new pins to hold the round name plate, google "type U drive screws". That is their name in industry.

Great job on the resto so far!  :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

Wow.  I didn't even have to ask yet, and I've already been assisted in finding the "type U drive screws" I'll be needing!   It was somewhere in the back of my mind to figure that out. :cheers:

Thanks everybody for the kind words.  It's been a long time since I've tried to paint anything but a wall, so this next part should be quite interesting.   :noidea:

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” - Upton Sinclair

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #35 on: April 11, 2019, 03:13:25 PM »
Wondering if powder coating might be a good alternative for this application?  Any powder coaters nearby you could check with? Or there is the option of doing it yourself though it might take a "big-ish" curing oven. Just thinking it might be more durable over time.

Bill

Offline Admiral_dk

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #36 on: April 11, 2019, 05:04:08 PM »
With powder coating you need a clean surface (same as normal paint), a dust free area, that will get big amounts of powder - I have used an empty cardboard box so far - a metal hanger connected to the gun + you should be able to use the same hanger to carry it into the oven and hang it there during curing. ABSOLUTELY no touching before it is out of the oven and cool again !!!!

Any holes that should be kept clear, are plugged with silicone plugs - can be bought on eBay.
Some engine parts are only painted on the outside - so they can lay on a "shelf" that goes into the oven so to speak. But here it is probably better to have a kind of paper or plastic between the part and the shelf wile applying the powder, slide it of the shelf in such a way that you can get it onto a clean shelf - perhaps with support so that the coat does not stick to the shelf ….

There are probably more to say, but my bad memory …..

Offline vdubjunkie

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #37 on: April 12, 2019, 03:25:43 AM »
Wow guys.  Powder coating.  I hadn't even thought of that.  Unfortunately, I don't see it happening for this project, if for no other reason than I've already spent money on the paint!  You do have me thinking though.

Ever since I first started buying VW Trends magazines as a kid, I was fascinated by the idea of powder coating car parts.  I don't know why it never occurred to me to apply it elsewhere.

With any luck, I'll be painting this weekend!   :whoohoo:

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” - Upton Sinclair

Offline vdubjunkie

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #38 on: April 13, 2019, 11:05:37 PM »
What a momentous occasion.  Today is a day of firsts.  Not only am I posting same day pics of my progress, but I've also delved into a fairly proper job of painting!   :cartwheel:

Being that this has been my first foray with "proper" painting, I was quite happy with the results thus far.

The paint is a "direct to metal" alkyd enamel.  I did a fair bit of research, and the overwhelming census was that an alkyd enamel is the most appropriate paint to be using for such an application.

However, I began looking for paint locally at Sherwin Williams, and I was quickly talked down.  My only alkyd enamel option required a minimum of 1 gallon, when I only needed a quart, and I was only presented with the single option of primer + paint.

I include this only in the hopes that it might help others.  Youtube user "BasementShopGuy" aka Brad was kind enough to offer a paint code for some Benjamin Moore DTM (direct to metal) paint, which I could purchase in a quart size.  Well, everything worked out here.

Then..  b.lindsey had to come along and suggest powder coating!   :hammerbash:

All kidding aside, I'm now infected with this notion of finding a place to try some powder coating.  Since I had already purchased paint, and worked myself into relative preparedness for painting, I decided to forge ahead!



I love these sawhorses, but I'll try not to run down a tangent.  I had a sheet of MDF, and some trash bags, and this was how my adventure began.



I began preparing the metal using acetone on mechanics shop towels.  However, it didn't take me long to realize this was leaving bits of towel behind, and possibly compromising the quality of the paint job.



The ram was apparently my first application, and I felt like it went really well.



While the overall finishing of some of these machines was less than perfect, the efforts made to create a beautiful form, while also being functional is all but lost in more modern machines.  Even as I recognize the benefits in having a bunch of squared off forms for full diversity of use, I can't help but appreciate the beauty of these older machines.

A shaper is such a wonderfully hypnotic device to behold in action, and the ram is the obvious focus of attention.  It matters that the ram is made to be beautiful.



By this time, I was feeling fairly confident in my procedure.  I enjoy seeing the contrast between the freshly painted, and unfinished, prepared metal.  As I review the images of the machine as I received it, I keep imagining side by side comparisons of the parts and assemblies.



With the frame, I had some concerns about the paint around the brass bushings on each side at the base.  I used the hanger (S7-21A) to prop up each side, while I detailed the bottom several inches of paint.

Since I hadn't yet put paint near the top, I was able to move the hanger from one side to the other without incident, rocking the frame gently to achieve the necessary orientation.

The one issue I did run into here was that the paint was a bit too tacky on the one side by the time I worked myself back round to it.  In the future, if I suspect it will be several minutes before I return to an area, I'll want to go back and at least fill in a little bit.

This is definitely very new to me.  However, despite this little issue, I still feel the overall result was good.  Also, being my first coat, I can still resolve any major concerns before the product is complete.



The front of the frame will generally be obscured by the knee, and cross rail.  However, it is still worth putting all the effort into it as I will the rest of the machine. 



The flange was the first quick part, and it is such a unique shape.  With all of the unpainted sections, I'm really looking forward to the time where I remove the tape, and see the completed work.   :smokin2:



The cross rail is another fun part with plenty of curves, and shapes.  Ok, so maybe most of the parts have something interesting about them.  I guess I'm just enjoying the experience of figuring out how to deal with each unique piece.



The cover is especially fun due to the embossed "Atlas" font.  I spent a fair bit of time preparing the letters, and surrounding areas.  This will certainly be an exciting detail for the machine as it gets reassembled.



Here it is after a bit of drying time.  I think the paint has setled a bit, and maybe fewer obvious brush marks.



Ok, I'll spare you a run down on each and every part I painted.  Here is a final picture from the day's efforts.

However, even as I was typing this, my wife got home with my daughter from a little shopping, and rain made its way down onto some of the pieces to the far outside.

So, I spent a few minutes with a hair dryer on medium heat, high fan, getting all of the water off.  It did not seem to affect the paint from what I can tell.

Tomorrow, I'll have a better idea how my efforts came together.

I believe I'll apply a second coat, and be able to get a really good look Monday evening.  They say 24 hours dry time.  I'm not certain about full cure.

Now I have to watch "The Book Thief" again with my girls.  I don't think I'll ever get tired of that movie.   :popcorn:

« Last Edit: April 13, 2019, 11:13:04 PM by vdubjunkie »
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” - Upton Sinclair

Online crueby

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #39 on: April 13, 2019, 11:41:28 PM »
Looks great!   :ThumbsUp:


Do you think that paint would go on thin enough for smaller model parts?

Offline cnr6400

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #40 on: April 14, 2019, 12:21:25 AM »
Great paint job! it will look terrific when assembled.  :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp:  :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

Do be patient  :smokin2:  :smokin2:  :smokin2:  and let the paint FULLY dry before handling it. It takes a while especially if weather has been wet as you mentioned. I'd leave it a week (seriously, a week at least) otherwise you may get the dreaded fingerprint. Don't ask me how I know.  :old: :shrug:
"I've cut that stock three times, and it's still too short!"

Offline vdubjunkie

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #41 on: April 14, 2019, 12:58:19 AM »
Looks great!   :ThumbsUp:


Do you think that paint would go on thin enough for smaller model parts?

I do believe this paint would need to be thinned to work well on smaller model parts.  I know very little about painting, but based on things I've read, and my experience with it today, I think thinning would certainly be in order.

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” - Upton Sinclair

Offline vdubjunkie

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #42 on: April 14, 2019, 01:00:41 AM »
Great paint job! it will look terrific when assembled.  :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp:  :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

Do be patient  :smokin2:  :smokin2:  :smokin2:  and let the paint FULLY dry before handling it. It takes a while especially if weather has been wet as you mentioned. I'd leave it a week (seriously, a week at least) otherwise you may get the dreaded fingerprint. Don't ask me how I know.  :old: :shrug:

Thank you very much for the kind words.  I'm hoping it will all show well in the end.  I just had to rescue the parts from rain dripping from my garage door again.  I decided to very carefully relocate the parts on the end, which are prone to being dripped on.

Are you suggesting a week in between coats?  I've developed the patience for that, I'm just wondering.  I'm about 9 hours into "drying" now, and I can tell it is still tacky, so it wouldn't surprise me!   :old:

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” - Upton Sinclair

Online Dave Otto

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #43 on: April 14, 2019, 01:41:01 AM »
Wow everything looks great!
Nice work.


Dave

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #44 on: April 14, 2019, 01:43:14 PM »
Wonderful job so far. It's going to look great when done!!

Bill

 

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