More progress

[manoa matt]

I was joking, you like to blast everything. Your new nickname will be: "Master Blaster" I'll soon be in the same boat though, I just finished my blast cabinet.

I think some diluted CLR and a stiff bristle brush will work the best on the cushions without destroying them. You can always go to the fabric store and buy a sheet of 1/2" foam and lay it on top of the cushion prior to installing the vinyl cover to give you some more padding and "lift"

[radiopilot]

Hey... I remember doing those rusted seat springs, I too removed the rust and primed the springs prior to using liquid vinyl over the frames to sealed them, they're never going to see oxygen ever again, even where I used hog rings I used heavy plastic to prevent the vinyl from rubbing/cutting...

Been following your thread and you're doing one hell of a job and documenting it as well... good for others to review, I bet your spider will be the envy of everyone after you're done.

I'm glad it's over for me... did two spiders and itching for another... maybe not a Fiat... looking for a 355 Ferrari convertible I can pick up for less than 40K in decent to workable restoration I can use my skills on.

Nick

[NJFIAT1981]

Hi Nick,
Bradys Fiat is already the ENVY of our group here in NJ and it's not done yet! George

[james124]

Hi Brady. Thanks for inspiring us with your Spider resto project. It has been both informative and humbling but mostly motivates us to reach for a higher bar.
Could you please tell me if you changed or repaired the shock tower, what this entails and amount of time required.

You did a tremendous job at rustproofing the car, however, I am wondering about inside the areas which are not visible such as the inside of the frame cavities. Our Canadian winters have given experience at rustproofing cars and the current norm is for oil rustproofing to be also shot in cavity areas and repeated as necessary. Have you considered this or would this be overkill?

[htchevyii]

I usually try to get inside the areas if I can and clean and paint with Master series, (doors, quarters, etc). Alot of parts weren't painted, (seat frames for one) and the floor braces and seat mounts were painted on the outside only after installation. These were full of scale rust, I drilled access holes, cleaned out the rust, used Metal Ready, then painted with Master Series. For the least accessible areas, I squirted the paint inside with a syringe. After good and dry I used the spray rust preventive, (wax or oil)? I don't want to deal with this stuff again.

[azygoustoyou]

Hi James,
Thanks for the compliments. Trey was the one that informed me on the product Master Series. He knows what he's talking about. That stuff is awesome. I personally would prefer Master Series over other products that I won't mention. Just for the ease and consistency.

[james124]

Hi Brady. I am still curious to know how you solved the problem of the rusted shock tower. DId you repair or replace it?
Briefly, what does this entail and how much time does it take? Thanks for the info. James

[azygoustoyou]

I'm sorry James I didn't answer you. I didn't have any problems with that issue. It's my other car that has those issues. I haven't addressed them yet.

[NJFIAT1981]

Hi Brady
Send me a pic of the heat shield when you get a chance. George

[azygoustoyou]

After seeing how cool Spiderrey's engine looked with the polished items. I decided to do the same. I have all the sanding done on the intake. Now all I have to do is polish it.

[launieg]

Brady, I too was impressed with Spiderrey's polishing. Yours is looking good. Since I am cleaning up a FI engine before reinstall, I'm thinking of the same look. Now, I think I recall that SpideyRey put some kind of clear coat on top, to keep it from tarnishing. Have you decided how to finish it up?

[azygoustoyou]

Well,
I have to look to see what clear is offered. I have a powder coating gun I haven't used yet. And a commercial pizza oven. I have to see if it works. I never checked it out since I bought it. So I just might powder coat the clear on. I'll let you know. It's so cold here. I might have to wait till the weather warms up. I should have it polished sometime this week. I'll show the results then.
In case your wondering of the tools I used:
I started out with a die grinder with a 3" pad (100 grit)- air tool
then 180 grit
medium fiber grinding wheel
fine fiber grinding wheel - this is where I'm at now.
I used a dremel tool to get into the small areas. (250 pc set for $20)
Everything from Harbor freight. Great place to buy sanding and polishing stuff. I have enough to do the valve covers and whatever else.

[azygoustoyou]

I'm done polishing the air intake and I painted my carb spacer red. I now really appreciate how hard it is to get a good shine.

[manoa matt]

You are going to kick yourself when you hear this. That chrome is not going to last a week. I got the same headers (due to a great deal I couldn't pass up) after a year of service I removed them so they could be blasted then ceramic coated. The chrome has to be blasted off because no coating will stick to it otherwise.

Keep your existing headers, buy some ceramic powder coat paint and do it yourself in your big pizza oven. When you are done, I'll send you mine to do.

I found out the following while calling around regarding refinshing and clear powder coating aluminum rims. A powder coat clear over polished aluminum is EXTREEMLY DIFFICULT to achieve without pinholes,holidays, and fisheyes. If a defect occurs the entire coating has to be blasted off and re-done. Blasting off the coating will also profile the surface resulting in the need to re-polish the part. Automotive rims that are polished use a conventional spray on liquid clear coating. If the surface is a matte finish a clear powder coat will not be a problem.

[azygoustoyou]