What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)

[Rick W]

@Bgunner

Thanks. I tried the q-tip, and brushes, cloth pulled over a dowel, etc., you name it. Maybe it’s my shaky old hands, but impossible not to run down the side of the logo. By using the almost dry dowel and many taps (still only takes a couple minutes) I got the desired results. Keep in mind these logos are about the size of my pinky, so “painting” the top of the elevated logo is like trying to paint the edge of a piece of paper without rolling over to the faces.

These Lincoln logos were extras and I did them quickly (and sloppy). My focus was getting the lights to “glow” instead of looking like a dot behind a window. If you look at them laying on the table and then the one I have mounted, the excess cleaned up pretty easy with an exacto knife when the paint was dry.. If you look at the hub, slow and steady wins the race.

I have a 78 Lincoln Mark V 460 that is cherry except for a couple of minor defects, one being the silver/chrome at the edges of all the gauges is worn by knobs and such where it was touched a lot. Fixing it properly is a fortune, so I’ve been experimenting with this technique to touch up that dashboard. No extras laying around like these hubs and Town Car logos. I think I’ve got It now. Now I just have to search for the right paint to match the silver edging as close as possible. You poor guys are my guinea pigs in the QA department....

 

[Rick W]

Parked vehicle charger plugs. On the 87 one of the Chinese trickles looped on the linkage to keep it off the wet ground. I have outlets and/or cords everywhere. Most of the outlets in the wall aren’t wired in, they just have a pigtail plug on the inside I can plug in when I need it. Saves the Redhead from seeing cords everywhere (and saves me from hearing about it!)

Back in the day, before there were these great long lasting LED battery lights, I had a couple scrap back-up lights rigged to a little piece of wood hanger that I could plug-in to the same plug and use them if I had a problem on the side of the road or such.

 

[Shadowrider6661]

I don't know if this would work but, have you thought about trying the silver paint they use on pottery ? I know that the gold paint is actually gold, I'm fairly certain that they have silver thats actually silver. The idea came to me when I was reading your post, it might be stupid but, you never know.

 

[Rick W]

No stupid suggestions, only learning. & yes. I think I went through everything that they had at Hobby Lobby & Michaels over the years. But when you get to the tiny stuff that’s very visible, it’s technique and practice makes perfect. Right materials help. And like I said, I practice on less critical things, so when I do something that might be irreplaceable....

the tips of the Lincoln logos and gage needles, etc., it’s like painting the head of a pin

 

[Shadowrider6661]

I always wondered if you could use a type set ink roller to apply paint over raised parts ! From what I've seen, that type of roller has an extremely tight material to prevent the ink from bleeding over the lettering of the printing plates. One of these days I might actually try it and see if it works. Too many thoughts, not enough time !

 

[Rick W]

Amen. I actually thought of that too, but don’t have access to one. I did a little test with a desk address stamp, I’m thinking the same material. It has a very fine absorption ability, meaning very fine ink. Hence, the problem on the outside of the car is the first time you go through the car wash it washes off. If you try something thicker, it sits on the roller surface instead of absorbing in the rubber, and you get the blotting and the runoff. Indirectly, that’s what led me to the rounded off dowel. If you use the right kind of wood, it will absorb a little bit of something like Rustoleum, and if you blot off the excess, and tap it, voilà! And you can lay on the Rustoleum on pretty thick with that method (I love Rustoleum!).

I’ve been thinking about the paint pens all day. I think they might work out really well for something like my Lincoln logos, but the concern I would have with the dashboard is that the paint pen ink dries almost instantly, and I suspect the solvent you’d have to use to remove it, probably something like acetone, would also screw up the good part of the dashboard in a heartbeat.

But like always, I’m doing some homework, and I’m going to do some tests. I know some of the guys don’t like all my wind, but I’d rather spend my time bouncing ideas around here, and learning from the wise, than looking all over the world for another dashboard. I’m hoping and assume it also helps others and their projects. There’s a saying in engineering something like one test is worth 10,000 calculations, learned very well after the last Space Shuttle loss from the “light weight” foam...

 

[Rick W]

Did I say how much I LOVE Craigslist!!!

I scored eight sheets of 1/8 inch aluminum diamond plate for $75. Six are 42“ x 8‘, one is 42 x 5‘, and one is 42 x 6’. Three of them have a hole cut in for a duplex outlet. They are virtually brand new ($131/sheet) and they were used for a trade show display for two days. They are going to be the bed and the trailer deck for the 97 tractor trailer project. Woohoo!!

I had been grabbing every bed toolbox I could get for under $50 to cut up for the frame covers, got 5, but this’ll make it easy!

 

[Uncle Gump]

Dang... that's a good deal on the diamond plate. I would have bought it too.

 

[Rick W]

I scan Craigslist 3-4 times a day, starting with free stuff, and then systematically with my “visions” in mind. I end up with some crap I don’t need, but I’ve grabbed so much stuff like this that I’m way ahead

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Rebedlinered my grille guard.

 

[Dirtman]

Grills aren't beds!

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Been just driving the red one lately. Too cold to want to do anything that isn’t absolutely necessary. I did, however find a possible reason why there’s a noise from the front, apparently one of the front body mounts somehow lost the bottom piece of rubber

 

[Alan_nc]

Floyd (the light red) 94 got some fuel today. I'm continueing to use non-ethonal gas in Floyd as he sits sometimes for a week at a time with out being driven. Starts and runs fine each time he's driven so something is working right.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I'll say that the weather we've had for the last week or so has messed with Amazon delivery. My roof baskets should have been here on Thursday... now they're expected sometime in the next four days.

I was hoping to get out in the garage today and see what I had and start measuring/cutting and have it one piece before the wife got back in town. Now it looks as though I will have to explain the fact I needed TWO baskets and plan to cut BOTH of them up to make one basket.

 

[Curious Hound]

Now it looks as though I will have to explain the fact I needed TWO baskets and plan to cut BOTH of them up to make one basket.

Lay one upside down on top of the other and hinge them together at one end with loops of wire. Then tell her it’s one basket with a hinged lid to keep stuff from blowing out.