Any colour you like...

My poorly eye is now free from all rusty particles and recovering well.

Back to it then... all recently sandblasted parts were cleaned up as per the usual process (described in previous posts). On this occasion I shall let the photos do the talking:

After a couple of liberal coats and with the masking removed:

Rust Removal (the kind 'eye' despise)

As you may have gathered from the tabloid-worthy pun, I have once again found myself with a small piece of shrapnel embedded in my eye! 

I am pretty down on myself for not following my own advice and allowing this to happen once again. Readers, please, always wear eye protection when doing metal work. Those minuscule metal filings will find a way to target in on your ballseye if you risk even the smallest task it without adequate PPE.

So, off to the eye hospital I went. The assessment swiftly concluded that I had a flake of metal just on the outside of my iris on my left eye. Anesthetic eyedrops administered, the doctor set about scrapping it out with a needle. It wasn't the vibrating one this time around, but still unpleasant nonetheless as you literally see everything:

Still have a follow up appointment tomorrow to pick out the remaining rust once the ointment helps move it all towards the surface. I appreciated the irony in the reason the doctor wrote on the appointment card 'rust removal':

Back on topic, and I shall give a little update on the endeavour that led to my unexpected trip to the emergency department... 

Mounted the spring clips into the brake backing plates by lightly filing away one edge to allow them to slip under the crimped points:

Added some 'weld through' zinc primer in between the surfaces to help mitigate against rust developing in between:

I was then able to plug weld them into position:

Using the Dremmel I dressed the welds flat (hello stupid metal filing!) and then ran them back through the shot blast cabinet to clean and key ready for paint:

Grease caps and front brake parts cleaned

Dug out the crusty front brake parts and split out into individual components ready for cleaning: 

Excavated the bits embedded within the compacted gunk inside the grease caps:  

Gave everything a thorough clean with the ultrasonic cleaner: 

Bearing thrust washers (top) and lock washers (bottom) were not in the best state:

These will be replaced along with the brake shoe retaining pins. However, everything else was in serviceable condition.

The forgotten face of Señor Framehead

Whilst in blast-and-repaint mode (which, in part, is being driven by a race against the encrouching autumnal UK weather), I repositioned the chassis in the garage to get access to to the front of the framehead:

This section was not originally painted with the rest of the chassis due to it being obscured by the mounting point of the rotisseree. However, it did have a protective layer of grey primer slapped on years ago to prevent corrosion (although I now know that primer is awful for this application due to it being pourous).

 

I was initially confused by 3 extra holes that had no discernible fuction and were suspiciously asymetrical. I thought for sure that they had been drilled out sometime in the past and was about to break out the welder to plug them when I figured I should probably do some research to establish if they were factory or not: 

 

 

So, for anyone reading in the future pondering the same thing; I can catagorically confirm that yes, they are vw drilled holes. Here is a picture from my official workshop manual that shows them (ignore the fact that it is butchered by an Oxyacetylene torch):

 

I also found other restoration threads that showed the mystery holes in the same place, so I was reassured that no action was required.  

Masked up the holes and then blasted it all clean using the blasting drape to contain the mess:

 Now to get this into paint before it rapidly rusts over again...

Ultrasonic cleaning and blasting brake parts

Ran the internal components of the rear brake drums through my ultrasonic cleaner (with the exception of the wheel cylinders and shoes, which will be replaced with new items). Used a dilution of UltraFX degreaser to help things along:

This was effective at getting the worst of the loose crud off and allowed me to to assess the serviceability of the individual parts. My conclusion was that most of the components could be reused; the pull-off springs, star adjusters and fasterners were in good order. I remember renewing some parts in yesteryear, so although they may be reasonably old I know that they haven't had that much road use. Other bits with light surface rust could be blasted and repainted as per standard:

Further dismantled the rear axle bearing covers by tapping out the oil seals and washers:

I could then mask the bearing covers in a uniquely 'creative' way; using recycled jar lids and felt-tip pen lids for the perfect fit:

...and gave them a blast along with a few other parts that were looking forlorn:

More glorious paint

As predicted, I got all of the recently blased chassis parts into paint. It is worth noting that because these parts were blasted at different times, some flash rusting started to emerge in some of the areas with heavy pitting. It goes to show how fast atmospheric humidity gets to work on bare steel; 'rust never sleeps' is a truism of classic car ownership! I swiftly remedied this by throwing the parts back in the cabinet for a quick once over with the blast gun, so that everything was equally immaculate before paint. Followed up with a careful bit of re-masking on some key parts and I was good to go:

Pretty happy with the results this time round (plus, I got this portable spray booth for a bargain):

Yes, I do believe that I have found the sweet spot in terms of gun settings and paint viscosity:  

A close up detail of one of the axle tubes with the masking removed. The transition lines were as sharp as I could have hoped for: 

Whilst I am in the flow of praising my own craftsmanship, I will also highlight that the crisp factory stampings are still perfectly legible after a couple of liberal coats: 

Gearbox axle tubes get a blast

A little more chassis work progress over the past week; this time focusing on the scabby rear axle tubes. Cleaned the loose muck off manually:

Then masked off the areas which were to be left as bare steel using gaffer tape. This was to protect against abrasion when blasting the rest:

One down, one to go:

Both spotlessly clean and ready for paint;

I also cleaned up the the 'exposed-to-elements' bottom section of the steering column as there was significant rust pitting:

You can bet that next week's update will feature a lot of black paint!

Yet more chassis parts blasted

Sadly, my old trusty blue vacuum gave up the ghost with a high pitched squeal and dramatically coughed out a dense dust cloud all of the workshop. Damn, me and that suction box go way back! Not one to lament the passing of a domestic appliance, I duly replaced it with something a bit more suitable. Introducing my new dedicated shop vac:

Once everything was hooked up to the cabinet, blasting could finally resume. Here is one of the track rods I disassembled last week getting the royal treatment:

...and a new batch of parts now awaiting an obligatory coat of Mastic 121:

The keenest of observers may notice that most of these parts were previously blasted and painted years ago, but at the time I applied the paint using a 1" decorators brush in the misplaced belief that the paint would self-level to an impeccable finish. Well, it didn't exactly do that and it's been bothering me every time I look at these parts to see all the blatant brush marks. I know these will look far better when sprayed and my mind will be at peace!

Finish is better than perfect

Got the blasted chassis parts into paint this week:

Wasn't sure if my old half used tins of Mastic 121 would still be usable; haven't touched the paint in almost 5 years. I asked Rustbuster (the manufacturer) and they could only guarantee it would remain good for one year. Although exterior of the tins were scabby, the paint components were still looking alright on the inside upon vigorous stirring. 

Top tip: this miraculous preservation could be down to the fact that I covered the remaining paint with cling film when it was last used. Literally laid it directly on the paint surface inside the tin to create a barrier between the paint and air.

I was a bit frustrated at first as the paint mix and gun settings were off and as a result too much paint was being let through and affecting the finish. Also, although it had been thinned to the recommended 20% the paint was quite 'splattery' on application. It was a passable finish, but not as good as I hoped. I let it cure for a couple of days and then applied a second coat, this time I thinned the paint down to somewhere in the region of 25 - 30% and that really helped with the flow. Also, I took my time dialling in the gun settings that gave me pretty decent control and reduced the amount of paint flowing out of the gun. 

For the most part the second and third coats helped to reduce the sins of the haphazard base coat and left a result that I was satisfied with. It goes to show that a few small adjustments can yield far better results.