rainy day project
Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 7:27 pm
we had a storm come up the east coast, and since i live on the coast i had to find something to door indoors.
i thought i try to improve on a flywheel cover that'll go on the engine i'm currently working on. the idea wasn't to make it look new but rather to clean it up and improve the lettering. here's how i went about it:
* first give the cover a good cleaning and allow to dry. make sure to get any grease or oil off.
*next mask off the areas near the lettering. you don't have to be exact.
*spray paint black in thin mist coats and let dry well in between. use just as many coats needed to get an opaque coating. the lettering is lightly stamped, don't try to fill up the recesses.
* allow to dry thoroughly - a light bulb placed nearby will speed drying.
*take a bit of fine grit wet/dry sandpaper. all i had was 400, but i think 600 grit would be better. wet the surface with water and rub the sandpaper LIGHTLY over the letters. go easy - soon enough you'll start to wear off the paint outside the recessed areas. don't apply pressure to the point where the paper dips into the recesses.
note: if you get a letter just about perfect STOP! use a toothpick or similar to remove the rest. don't use the sandpaper any more than necessary.
*when you get things looking as best you can fill in difficult areas with a fine point black marker.
* finish up with a coat of clear enamel.
the final product shown here still needs a bit of work (my fine point marker gave out with still some to do) but i think its an improvement and doesn't look too bad despite the "character" it shows from years of use.
i thought i try to improve on a flywheel cover that'll go on the engine i'm currently working on. the idea wasn't to make it look new but rather to clean it up and improve the lettering. here's how i went about it:
* first give the cover a good cleaning and allow to dry. make sure to get any grease or oil off.
*next mask off the areas near the lettering. you don't have to be exact.
*spray paint black in thin mist coats and let dry well in between. use just as many coats needed to get an opaque coating. the lettering is lightly stamped, don't try to fill up the recesses.
* allow to dry thoroughly - a light bulb placed nearby will speed drying.
*take a bit of fine grit wet/dry sandpaper. all i had was 400, but i think 600 grit would be better. wet the surface with water and rub the sandpaper LIGHTLY over the letters. go easy - soon enough you'll start to wear off the paint outside the recessed areas. don't apply pressure to the point where the paper dips into the recesses.
note: if you get a letter just about perfect STOP! use a toothpick or similar to remove the rest. don't use the sandpaper any more than necessary.
*when you get things looking as best you can fill in difficult areas with a fine point black marker.
* finish up with a coat of clear enamel.
the final product shown here still needs a bit of work (my fine point marker gave out with still some to do) but i think its an improvement and doesn't look too bad despite the "character" it shows from years of use.
- start
- 2.png (79.91 KiB) Viewed 896 times
- mask / paint
- 3.png (33.07 KiB) Viewed 896 times
- pulley needs work too
- 4.png (69.16 KiB) Viewed 896 times
- ...looking better
- final.png (237.75 KiB) Viewed 896 times
