Mini Projects - It's all in the detail

With the recent arrival of our first child, along with a very busy period at work, and the commencement of construction on our house extension, to say I have been time poor is an understatement.

Unable to commit to hours on end to tackle some of Leif's larger issues, I have turned my attention to working on small parts that I can do in drips and drabs; mini projects that will all come together to make the master project the best it can be.

In addition to this I have found myself trolling Ebay and Gumtree at an unhealthy bi-hourly rate seeing what parts are out there, thankfully most things seem to be readily available, so I haven't bought too much yet….YET, haha.

The first "mini-project" I have tackled is the rejuvenation of Leif's weather worn badges.

Badges as they were

The badges have been touched up before using a brush, but I wanted to approach the project differently using spray paint.

The rear badges had been moved to the back door as a water tap has been installed in their original location.  From the amount of dirt and dust behind them I guess they have been there for quite a while!

With all the badges removed, and a spare one bought to experiment with, I gave them a good wash followed by a good going over with some wire wool.

I am pretty sure that the badges are all pressed aluminium, so I hit them with three coats of etch primer.......

Then several coats of gloss black car paint.

Ooops!  I managed to get a run in the paint so I had to sand it off and try again.

With the paint left to dry, it was a few days before I returned to them.  I was pretty happy with the black coverage, but now the tricky bit started, removing the paint from the lettering.

I planned to use fine sand paper to remove the paint, so starting with P240 the paint came off easily, but care was needed to ensure the soft aluminium below didn't get too scratched.  I changed to P400 paper which didn't scratch the soft metal.

With the badges being so small, it was tricky to sand only the required areas without scratching the paint elsewhere.  After a few failed attempts and some repainting, I decided to cover the areas I wanted to protect with masking tape.

Outer edge sanding commences once masking tape is in place

Outer edge sanding complete

Moving onto the lettering, so the masking tape was removed and reapplied

Lettering complete and ready for the grand unveiling

Not bad even if I do say so myself. Now onto the rest of the badges

A work in progress.  Then onto the next one, who knows when that will be finished!

Until I get the badges finished I figured I may as well have a laugh in the meantime.

G-Wagon Prototype perhaps?

Ready for the weekend

Following last week's exciting parts find, I am returning to the same place tomorrow to dig a bit deeper and see what else I can find.

Before bringing more parts home, I thought it was best to reduce the mounting pile residing on my verandah, which several days ago copped the disapproving comment of ".... are you starting a salvage yard?" from my Father in Law.  Honestly, some people have no appreciation of historical artefacts, haha!

Last weekend's "Historical Artefacts" after a good wash and dead bug removal 

So, in keeping with the saying "a picture says a thousand words", here is a photo diary of Leif's replacement door install.  I will admit the colour match is off a bit, and the hinges still need aligning, but I will sort that out when the hinge repair kits I have ordered arrive from the UK.

"Beauty is only skin deep." This was certainly true for Leif's passenger door.  The external skin was relatively crease and blemish free, but the frame behind it was in a terrible state.

Yuk...

...YUK...

...YUKIER...

...YUKIST!!!

This is supposed to be the sliding window channel!

Off with her head! Well, door top to start with

Door bottom removed, and pre-owned door is ready to be installed

Pre-owned panels installed and working.  

Paint will come later, probably in line with the time I win Lotto, haha

This simple process has made me realise that I need to correct my terminology.  Previously I have referred to Leif as a "restoration" project, perhaps "renovation" may be more fitting as she will not be returned to her former glory, rather she will be given a new lease of life.  

Further to this, I have had several Tyrobenz followers ask why I refer to Leif as a "she" considering the masculinity of the vehicle and the origins of the name.  I had always thought all modes of transport were female as they are in the french language, but to keep the peace I have done some research and it's time for Leif to have a sex-change.  From here on she will be a he, and he will be a renovation project!

Click here to find out the origin of the name Leif

Have a great weekend everyone!