With any luck (and depending on our postal service) this little forty should be singing in the next few weeks.
Nudge nudge wink wink.
It's a time consuming task, but i like to use steel wool for cleaning aluminium parts along with a wire brush. The carb should come up quite well like this, although i think the original finish on these carbs was painted. If you decide on removing the inlet cowl from the carb, a little heat will help, so will a leather strap or an old belt from your trousers wrapped around a socket so you can use a ratchet to shift it. (oil filter removal tool with a steel band will work the same as long as it will clamp down that small)
Drive tubes on something as old as this nearly always will have some missing chrome. Par for the course with seagulls i'm afraid, although i have had some success using spray-on chrome effect paint. Not a very durable long term finish though. A good rub down with some "rip it to bits" sandpaper to get the bulk of the corrosion off the tube, then say a zinc primer (my favourite) then a few coats of your chosen paint over the top.
Alternatively re-chroming can work out to be eye- wateringly expensive, and depending on how good a job the platers end up doing can lead to some disappointment when it comes back.
Painting drive tubes is not such a bad way to go in my view, provided you can source a good colour to match the original finish. I've looked at various paints used for steel wheels on cars. Almost but not quite the right colour match but certainly a good durable finish which should last for quite a few years. Check to see if the paint is compatible with lacquers for that added shine. Some are, but a lot of wheel paints are'nt compatible with clear coats.
Hammerite smooth is ok (if a little bit on the grey side) but as a temporary solution just to tidy things up a bit it's not a bad choice. A good thing to remember with spray cans is to pre-heat the paint in a jug of warm water for 5 mins before you apply the paint, especially in colder temperatures along with a really good shake up. I've never had any problems using hammerite from a can before using this method. Little and often when you build up the layers of paint rather than just blast it on willy nilly. Leave for at least 24 hours before applying another coat.
Remember the 6 P's
If you've forgotten i'll remind you
Perfect Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Presentation
Jon
) anyway I wanted to test its cleaning power so I stuck the thrust block in a glass of water added a few tablespoons of powder and let it sit, it has really cleaned everything, the brass bolts are a lot brighter as are the nuts and washers (I took those out after an hour) I'm going to leave the block and bolts overnight, Tomorrow I'm going to try it on the float bowl and maybe give the whole Carb a dunk,I think it will clean up the outside really well and I don't think it will damage the Aluminium like caustic does but I will watch
