Thread: '38 Ford deck lid vs 37 Ford deck lid

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Originally Posted by bluestang67

I am in agreement with all of the above . Keep working it and it will come . You are making progress so as we say at work don't set em back .

Your shrinking disc looks great , I wonder if the speed is a issue here ?

I just went a read on speed , they recommend 3000 to 6000 for the 9 inch disc and 10,000 to 13,000 rpm for the 4 1/2 disc . He says something of weight on old grinder so applying good pressure must be a technique also .


Q: What speed of grinder do I need for your shrinking discs?
A: For the 9" discs 3000-6000 rpm work great. I personally use an old heavy 6000 rpm grinder. For the 4 1/2"
discs, most small grinders run at 10,000-13,000 rpm. They will work great.


b

Thanks, Bobby! My machine runs 5000rpm, which according to your research, may not be fast enough. I also didn't apply very much pressure. I'll try again with more pressure and see what happens with the speed I have.

Let us know how it changes in progress , I may go ahead and make one my self . My electric grinder spins at 11,000 , speed is more surface contact and friction . I am itching to give one of these a whirl .

Originally Posted by bluestang67

Let us know how it changes in progress , I may go ahead and make one my self . My electric grinder spins at 11,000 , speed is more surface contact and friction . I am itching to give one of these a whirl .

I might be able to move the shrinking disc over to my 4"angle grinder which also spins at 11K. I wonder how much racket it's going to make?? The neighbors may not be too happy.....

Just wait till their in bed they may not hear it Randy .


b

Originally Posted by bluestang67

Just wait till their in bed they may not hear it Randy .


b

oh, man, I wish!!! They're light sleepers so that won't work.

I switched the disc over to my angle grinder today and tried a couple of spots. It was really, really loud but I think it's going to work much better. In fact, I think the disc will also work much better than the heat gun because the disc only heats up the high spots so you can control the shrinkage a little better. Will keep you posted.

My other neighbor has a shop nearby. He offered to let me go over there for the really noisy stuff. I think I'll take him up on it!

Nice to have the neighbor offer up . If the time allows now you will be able to put some time in on the parts . In his shop you can also just yell out loud to yell LOL .


b

Originally Posted by bluestang67

Nice to have the neighbor offer up . If the time allows now you will be able to put some time in on the parts . In his shop you can also just yell out loud to yell LOL .


b

Yeah, his shop is located in a little industrial park. There is a small body shop on one side, a paintless dent remover guy on the other plus a bunch of mechanics, welders and other fabricators there. A little more noise won't matter.

However, my other neighbor's noise-sensitive woman has just left town for a month so I might be able to get away with making a little noise in my own garage!

I was working with the shrinking disc some more today. It's really hard to get things as smooth as they look in the video! Not sure how much longer I'm going to tinker with it before I just shoot it with epoxy and skim coat it.....Even now, it will require way less skim coat than it had before! I think getting it smooth enough to require no filler is virtually impossible....for me, at least.....

Realistically, how smooth should I expect to get it before resort to a skim coat??

Just keep working it til you're happy with it Randy..... as long as the surface is prepped properly and you use a quality filler there's absolutely nothing wrong with a skim coat IMO. If it's that close, I use a couple coats of 2K Urethene hi build over the epoxy and block it. On the old sheet metal where you don't really know what's been on it in the past I let the epoxy primer cure out a few days before I put anything over it just in case there was any sort of residue on the metal that might pop out.....rather have it come through the primer then the paint!!!!! Again, I'm sure my methods aren't up to "production" standards, but I'm getting so old I don't have any 'hurry' left in me anyhow!!

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Just keep working it til you're happy with it Randy..... as long as the surface is prepped properly and you use a quality filler there's absolutely nothing wrong with a skim coat IMO. If it's that close, I use a couple coats of 2K Urethene hi build over the epoxy and block it. On the old sheet metal where you don't really know what's been on it in the past I let the epoxy primer cure out a few days before I put anything over it just in case there was any sort of residue on the metal that might pop out.....rather have it come through the primer then the paint!!!!! Again, I'm sure my methods aren't up to "production" standards, but I'm getting so old I don't have any 'hurry' left in me anyhow!!

Thanks for the good words, Dave! I think "production standards" on these projects probably vary from person to person & shop to shop. On "Chop, Cut & Rebuild" (I think that's the right show) they were building a chopped '40 Merc custom and they slathered the bondo all over that thing but if they had taken the time to work each panel/weld to perfection so it didn't need filler, it would have taken years and the viewers probably would have been bored to tears!

I'm trying to build a show/driver here and also trying to learn a lot more about metal working than I knew when my dad and I built it the first time. I'm continually challenged by all the other master metal workers on this site to take it a few steps beyond what might be considered "good enough" but I also want to be able to drive it before I'm dead!!! So, for the sake of time, I'll probably spend a few more hours tweaking with it and call it good.....

As for epoxy primer, I primed the fenders with SPI epoxy and I'm amazed at how hard that stuff is and how well it sticks, yet it's pretty easy to sand. It gets rave reviews from many on this site & others plus we now have a jobber in SoCal who will deliver it for free. I'm really impressed with their dedication to quality, affordable products!

Thanks again to all you guys for all the help & support! Will keep you posted on the progress....

Randy for sure I don;t think we can repair the sheet metal all the way out but learning with the disc will get you closer each time .

I have some area's on the 31 I surly want to try this out on .


b

Have you tested out the new technique on warming and cooling the metal ? I think I will short cut and just order the 4 inch disk . I have a few spots I would like to test it on . If I can get half the results these other guys get I would be happy .

Originally Posted by bluestang67

Have you tested out the new technique on warming and cooling the metal ? I think I will short cut and just order the 4 inch disk . I have a few spots I would like to test it on . If I can get half the results these other guys get I would be happy .

Yeah, Bobby, I adapted the disc over to my angle grinder which spins way faster. I ran it on high spots & doused it with a wet rag. It does work. I haven't been able to make it perfect but the skim coat will definitely be way thinner than before!

Last week I treated the back side of the inner support with Rust Bullet, because I had some. I'm coating both the inside of the skin & support before I spot weld them back together then I'll shoot the whole thing with epoxy primer. Maybe I can get to it this weekend.

Randy something the size of the area would take a skilled guy with the disc and most likely a torch a while . I am glad to hear there was results though . When we see them work the steel they are only doing small areas also .

I have about the same size about 6 inch diameter at the largest .

I am working 12 hour days right now weird schedule 2 off - 3 on - 5 off - 4 on , I am walking with a tilt .


b

Well, the neighbors are out of town this weekend so I got to make a little extra noise...

I did all the straightening to the skin that I knew how to do. I think I mentioned before that I coated the inside of the skin & inner frame of the lid with Rust Bullet because I had some. I tacked the pieces back together. This lid came without a latch & handle so I need to decide if I'm going to patch the hole and go with the remote cable latch I have or find an original type.
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After I tacked the pieces together I applied the Rust Bullet to the inside lip, too because it had some pitting. The Rust Bullet is supposed to permanently seal & stop the rust plus it has some metalic that helps smooth out the pitting. We'll see how well it works over time. Now I need to shoot the whole thing with epoxy primer.
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While I was at it, I decided to cut out the tailpan and see what I'm going to have to do there. I used a spot-weld cutter for the welds on the bottom edge and a cut off wheel for the sides. This pan has been replaced sometime in the life of the car and it wasn't the smoothest installation and it's apparently been whacked a few times since....
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I'm not sure yet but I think the tool tray is in pretty good shape. I have to spend some more time with the heat gun to clean off all that undercoating and see what I have.
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Yeah, I know this looks like used tin foil but I'm going to play around with it a little before I give up and buy a new one. I don't really have $600 for a new one so if I can master a few more metal working skills, maybe I can make this one decent. If I accomplish that, perhaps I'll also be able to walk on water & turn water into wine! I'll definitely need some wine by then!! As always, ideas & input are always welcome...
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Well, I guess I'll be your cheerleader again 'cause that lid came out real nice considering what you started with! Your doin' great and I'm sure you can improve the condition of the lower piece(s)!

What is this Rust Bullet your using? Have you used it before?

Watching you has me considering doing my uncles 48 F-1.. it's not near the level of work your doing, that's why I'm thinking of giving it a go.. we'll see what happens.