Hi all, So I have stripped down 2 14” 45s and awaiting being sent to blaster, is there any list anywhere as to what to get blasted, obviously deck, catcher, chain cover. What about roller front and rear? I wasn’t going to paint these but is it worth blasting I was thinking rub down only?! I also have 1 set of in polishable handlebars would it be worth a blast and paint? Then painted bearing carriers still usable but would you replace or restore?
I am sure I will have many more questions as I go along so thanks in advance!
Oh and reel and bed knife! On the subject of bed knife they are the only stubborn bolts on the whole strip down of both machines!! What is the best option I have tried a wd soak next is heat is it worth just drilling and replacing as obviously rusty? Cheers
Don't try and removed the countersunk screws in the bedknife, leave that to the engineer who's going to do the replacement of the blade itself. Who do you intend to do that part of the job for you ?
Also don't blast the bearing carriers as there'll be nothing left of them. They can only be bead blaster if at all done. Just strip them with petrol and then use a brass wire brush and brush them and they'll look like new.
The rear rollers I've never painted as in no time they will look ratty. I just use a rotary wire brush on a drill and clean them. After that nothing that a bit of oil wiped on with a rag and not left in a damp place. They stay rather clean and tidy without any major maintenance.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Cool I did think they seamed to be a much softer metal! Yeah I had read on here about rear rollers and it makes sense not to bother with painting would that be the same with the front? I have not thought about who I will get to do bedknife and grind the bloke down research road more than likely! Would you get the bedknife and holder blasted before hand?
Congrats on your choice of weapon and best of luck in getting it to where you want to be.
For me, it all depends on how you want to go about the restoration. You can read and read on how others have done it and then apply the knowledge or just get in there guns blazing and make it up as you go. I think I've done a mix of these on my own in progress... What really helped me was a post by a wonderful young lady "emk3" and her journey.
I think you should post some photos for others to comment on. That way, the parts can be properly assessed and the "Masters" on here will give you a no BS path forward.
The bed knife bolts are amazingly tight and of course you have a few options. Heat can work, or just take the unit to your sharpening engineer and let them do it. If you attempt this yourself just be very aware the cast iron sole plate is brittle when handled improperly and quite expensive to replace. When my old machine was being torn down we had to use the tool below with a precision strike. Think of it like a manual impact driver.
Bonnar_Bloke offered me the following link when talking about the front roller and that's how I'll go. He's a great resource of knowledge and I'm amazed at how patient he is with responses and he never misses a chance to add to the discussion. I see you are geographically matched too.
The rear roller is another story. If you have any hard surfaces between its storage place and the lawn, they're going to scratch any paintwork you try. I'm trying a different approach over the weekend and hope to report next week.
Best of luck with it and keep the updates flowing.
Here are some pics of my rollers. Front roller is the stainless intercooler pipe linked above and is cheaper in time and money than cleaning and painting the old one. This is the only option in stainless unless ordering a custom roller online that will set you back hundreds of dollars. I also like the original roller look with the black plastic end caps compared to the aftermarket custom made ones.
Rear roller I cleaned up and primed then painted with a cheap tin of silver metal enamel you buy from Aldi for $10.00 ( which isn't really silver but Gray) I brushed it on so you can get inside all the nooks inside the roller. Notice I primed the outside of roller in grey primer so if the enamel chips you don't see the red oxide primer underneath which I used inside. If my rear roller starts to chip I will just Jack it up and brush a quick coat every so often as routine maintanence, but I went one step further and made a transport trolley not just to save the paint but to stop the rear roller groves from turning into slicks over time and to keep that stainless front roller smooth and shinny.
The screws in the sole plate are a nail bitter and gave me alot of anxiety as I dident want to crack the sole plate or strip the screw heads, some will probably be more rusted and seized than others so be carefull. I clamped my sole plate gently but secure on a carpenters vice (screws facing up) and with the biggest flat head screw driver I had used my body weight to push down on the screw driver and with a long handled shifter clamped at the bottom of the screw driver I give it some light back and forth force to crack the thread free. You will need to clean the dirt and rust around the screws first and soak some penetrating oil around the threads, I might of used a heat gun as well to heat the screws up a bit but can't remember.
Thanks for all the hints and tips fellas, I wish I took some photos before I started all I have is pics I have been sent for purchase! Yeah I have gone in all guns blazing didn’t take any photos during tear down of both mowers but I think they are surprisingly simple machines! First 1 took me about 3hrs and second took 1 1/2, Will try take some photos before and after blasting/painting!
I have 2 different front rollers one has the plastic end caps the other is all metal! Also wasn’t going to take rear roller fully apart unless was going to blast! Just split and clean I think as not going to change or improve the function! Is it worth opening up and painting?
This resto is for a machine to use on my new lawn I am going to put down in spring. And prepare me for a full resto on the unicorn I picked up!
Up to you if you split the roller open mine had 40 years of dirt and grass and a few redback eggs. Depends how far you want to go with the rebuild, mine was pretty rusty inside from being left outside, so I have peace of mind that it should last another 40 years or longer with it being painted. Also you can get all the old crusty grease out and re lubricate it with out it getting contaminated.
I have split roller 1/2s from the shaft, but wasn’t sure whether to break down each 1/2! I will remove the egg sacks defo a spider paradise!!! Had a funky black thing run out of it! Pretty clean otherwise!
Also have a bearing stuck on reel on the shorter side I assume it is meant to come off just it is stuck on both reels? The only thing I can’t remove easy!
As far as painting is concerned all sorts of stuff has been used in the past. It really depends on what you are chasing, quick flippin stuff or long lasting. The quality depends very much on price willing to be spent.
For handle bars I would be using a 2 pack enamel type paint and not "Export" brand rubbish.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Love the twin rail, it's like mine with the black wrinkle chain case and head badge, but it kinda looks like a few parts have been thrown together on that one as one clutch half looks replaced and so does the catcher. All in all it won't make any difference once its painted as no one will know.
Did you use purple polish for those handles or polishing bars with a mop? It looks pretty good.
As for paint something I have always wanted to try but never done is liquid chrome paint, if chroming was going to be to expensive when I did mine I would have tried this idea. The YouTube videos look amazing as you simply spray it on and it looks like chrome with a polished mirror finish that even reflects like a mirror. I'm not sure on brands to recommend but there are some products at Supercheap in a can for $20.00 ( no idea if they work like the YouTube videos). can any one recommend or has used liquid chrome as I would also love to know if it's as good as it looks and sounds.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qUc8QsLjS1s
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KBtdU10PIcE
Imagine spraying the whole machine in this chrome paint? Your would have to mow with sunnies on
I used just a craftright polishing kit with a polish wheel on a drill with a cutting compound followed with autosol. While I will be selling the twin I don’t want to paint with something that is not going to have longevity! Is there a home use 2 pack paint that’s usable I have seen the duramax stuff anyone used it? Any good? I have used the chrome paints before back in the uk on some bike parts I found it chipped very easy and was a pain to spray many thin coats required! Was thinking black, don’t think I am a fan of the funky colours machines I keep seeing on Facebook!
I've used epoxy enamel spray cans for my reno and I get the feeling it can take a little rough and tumble - apart from the familiar love-taps against brick borders and the like. I guess that's enough motivation to get some mowing edges sorted before next Spring.
Two coats of etch primer and then 3 top coats on my 45. At best guess, I would have used 2 cans of each, so about $50.. With the inclement weather closing in it will be much harder to utilise the great outdoors to harden up the finish.
As TC suggested now is definitely not the time to be painting anything as we are both in Adelaide and the weather is rather wet and damp. This is not conducive to hardening of paint.
This is why I can't get anything done at the moment as that's the part of the process I'm up to and all I now need to do is the chassis itself as all the other bits I've already done.
As TC alluded to, Epoxy Enamels are probably the best in the domestic field at the present point in time. Anything with a catalyst hardener is really very pricey and needs a compressor / spray gun outfit to use.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
You damn right about the weather, it's been summer right up untill last week here and I'm glad I got all my chassis done while the weather was warm now its starting to feel like winter is on the way I'm still planning on painting the engine during winter as I have my secrete weapon in the garage and my bakers hat ready to go. I'm finding the epoxy enamel pretty good just make sure you get a decent recomended brand as I got talked into buying the SCA brand at supercheap as the guy said it was made by wattle Killrust. First coat went on beautiful problem was after when you recoat as instructed on the can the paint cracked and peeled like paint stripper. I threw it in the bin and bought Dulux epoxy enamel which was cheaper than the SCA and had no problems. I highly recommend using hi temp engine enamel when doing the engine as when it cures it is oil and petrol resistant so your paint won't thin if you spill your fill or have a leak plus it's designed to get hot as it has a ceramic formula in the paint
