Build A Workshop
Hang Those Tools
Every work bench has to have many tools within easy reach; the more the better. Here is a system that can accommodate a vast array of tools, is simple and inexpensive to put in place.
First, build a sturdy bench 42 inches or waist high, glued to the wall or otherwise rock solid. Cover the wall behind this with ¾” or 5/8” plywood, glued, screwed or nailed well. Paint white. Then make a tool board to hold all your pliers and screwdrivers. A ¾” or 1” board works best, 10 or 12” wide. Lay out rows of staggered holes and drill fully with a spade bit. The more holes the better. All sizes of drills should be used as scredrivers come in all sizes. The front row holes should be 5/8” or ¾” in diameter because many pliers have thick handles. Sand and paint well. Mount this 12 inches up above the rear of the workbench, with 4 strong brackets.
You will be surprised how many tools this board will hold. The blank area is for a small box made of cove molding that holds pencils and markers.
At the top of the plywood on the wall, also painted white, should be two shelves mounted so that you can reach up there, standing in front of the bench. In this case the shelves had to be rearranged for better reach convienience. In the picture below, the upper shelf was too high and had to be lowered to underneath the upper one.
Buy a large quantity of 3 inch finishing nails, – for the tool hanging. Start with the most often used, like the hammer. Imagine where you would like it to be when you need it . Hold it against the wall and mark the spots for the nails, move the tool, drive the nails and then hang the tool there. If you like where it is, draw around it with the marker, and move on to the next one. Group logical use tools near where you will use them. The ball pein hammer and hack saw need to be near the vice, and the claw hammer needs to be with the wood working tools like square, measuring tape and pencils. Soon the wall will begin to fill and the tool board holds your screwdrivers and pliers ready to grab. As you see, if you need more holes you can drill them. Ones I have used for years are riddled with holes, every one holding a tool, – ready to use. I have found that you can drill holes at a slight angle, between the pliers and put tweezers and small screwrivers in there. Above the tool shelf, keep hanging all the other hand tools you need, with finishing nails. Each time you come out to the shop, hang a few more tools.. If you don’t like the spot you choose, move it now because once you draw around the hanging tool with a magic marker and hang the next ones close by, they are harder to change. Now, when tools are down, you can see where the they go. Long nails accommodate more than one tool in that spot. I use 3” nails so 2 hammers and 4 sissors can be there, helping to control the pernicious, – lost tool phenomina.
Placement of tools should allow room for easy removal and return space.
Hang larger tools first, about the heaviest should be the pipe wrenches.
If the plywood is thick and well mounted, the nails will drive well and the other tools will not fall off the wall. About 3 solid hits are required, too little, the nail is weak, too much and it is shorter. Once all the tools are hung, you will be surprised how many are there. As time goes on you can fill in the spaces with smaller items that fit in the spaces between the large tools, like a plumbob or a string level. Use shorter finishing nails for these. Many tools need holes drilled in them for convienient hanging. Scrapers and file handles need holes, quarter inch is best.
Drawers under the workbench are a big advantage. Many bench related items like wires, tubing and string lend themselves well to drawer storage.
Locating outlets along the lower front edge of the bench makes plugging in power tools convienient. I keep all of these with their cords coiled on 2 big shelves under the bench so they are easy to reach as well. Make a place for each new tool right away. If you put them in the same spot every time you will know where to look. Keep companion parts in a marked small box or tray near the tool. Use plastic bag ties bought from a garden center in 6 inch lengths to tie up everything. Put a bag tie on each tool near the cord so that the coiled cord can be retained. This preserves the life of the cord and prevents tangling. There are many benefits to be had from a happy workbench space, these tips plus a dose of self dicipline can make maintainance and repair an adventure, rather than a chore.
Soon your bench will look like this. Millions of tools available in an instant and all ready to remove or put back. This is 20 years accumulation. Virtually any kind of repair or service can be done at this bench.
This is what a similar layout with a full length tool board looks like after 20 years use. Every imaginable kind of service or repair can be done here, from model building, to clock and radio repair. The secret of making your bench layout work for you is always putting the tools back as you use them, this way the work space is clear and you can concentrate on the project, then you don’t have to clean up as often. Cleaning up is aided by having a thick layer of newspapers on the benchtop. Once dirty, slide off two layers. Bright lights above the bench are important. Flourscents run parallel to the bench work well, with clip on spots placed where extra light is needed. Keep things neat and you will find yourself looking forward to more time at your bench!
Name That Boat
Name That Boat
by Howard P. Johnson Jr.
As a kid I helped my Dad refinish and maintain his boats, by the time I was a teenager he was letting me handle the bottom and the varnish but never use the boat. I finished my first more recent Chris Craft restoration in `94 and couldn’t come up with a good name. The transom was huge and finally I settled on GIFT FROM OUR PAST. Later I admired PASTIMES, on another person’s transom. Naming a boat well is an acquired skill. With practice I have gotten better at picking them. When I see a newly restored boat with no name on the transom, I know why it’s not there. It can be tough coming up with one you like.
Our fabulous ACBS Directory has an excellent alphabetized boat name listing. The amazing variety ranges as far and wide as the imagination of very creative people. These names tell the story of marriages and love affairs with people and boats, sentimental, historical, and financial. Admiration, desperation, perspiration, dismay and double entendre, all are characterized. There are trick names, famous names, dirty names and familiar names; people use song names, movie names, women’s names, drink names, foreign names, ship names and the stars and constellations. How about 4-CRUZIN or AHH-AHH, ALL SCREWED UP or BARREL ‘N BY. BLOOD SWEAT + YEARS, is catchy, BOATJOLAIS, is tricky, CHAOS, says much about the project; CHUGALUG 2 is refreshing. CLASSIC BLUNDER, tells a story while DEJA VROOM goes flashing by; EGGSTROIDINAIRE is gastronomical while EL STINKO might happen later. FIN-TASTIC describes styling, FOR SALE becomes a permanent condition, while HADA-HAVIT could have resolved the previous one. JET LAG seems strange on a boat while KNOT SO FAST seems appropriate, LUNA SEA is similar to LUNA-TIKI while MAY FLOTE seems hopeful. MY ERROR sounds like some I own, NIGHTMARE may be a bit extreme, SEA-DUCER is creative, SKI ANTIQUE combines some favorites while VARNISHING BREED describes us all. WOOD ‘N WORK is apt but if you can’t think of anything why not go with WHAT’S HER NAME.
Names beginning with THE were most numerous while names beginning with MISS came in second, you’ll see your friends boats in there and some famous ones you remember and who knows, find the name for that next boat you’ve been thinking about!
Automobile Tips
Automobile Tips
I enjoy every issue of your magazine. I have been restoring cars since 1960. I have come up with a great many tips I would like to share with your readers. I will write up a few and when they will fit, you can put them in.
Hello folks, I am Howard Johnson and I have been self employed since 1969 as the Antique Doctor, restoring cars, boats and furniture. Over the years I have invented and improved on many ways of dealing with all the problems old cars have and perhaps you will find them to be helpful to you and your project.
Lubricate with Tri-Flow
When cars are old one of the first things you notice is that everything on the whole car, especially the doors and windows need lubricating. At True Value Hardware, I buy a wonderful aerosol lubricant called Tri-Flow with Teflon. It has a snout which I glue on with Goop, a fabulous adhesive plastic in a tube. The snout is very important because it can be directed into all the areas that need lubrication without making a mess. When I get an old car that is dry and stiff, after the dust it off, I put a tiny shot on every door hinge, right in the moving area, at the top of the hinge pin and the bottom. Then the door lock mechanism, sometimes there are some holes near the lock catch and don’t forget the moving and sliding surfaces of the striker; or you can insert the snout in the corner of the window and aim it at the lock and the outside handle. Lube the outside door handle right where it moves, stick the snout in underneath and give a little shot. While the window is almost up you can bend the snout and stick it in the inner crack next to the fuzz, aim it at the regulator gear and sliders, wherever you think they are. In both corners of the window, spray the channel slides, with it down do the upper slides. Using a paper towel, protect the door panel and do the crank knob and escutcheon. Now do the vent latch and vent pivots. You will be amazed at the difference this effort makes. Everything will work better than ever, like new – very satisfying.
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Easy Rust Hole Repair
Rust holes in a car body can be very difficult to repair well. Here are a few tips that may help. Put newspaper under the bad spot and hammer on the area just hard enough to dislodge all the mud and rust. Use an impact tool or hammer a lot, get rid of all scale. Pick-up the bulk of the mess, lay out more sheets and blow everything off well with compressed air. If the hole area looks clean, bend in the raw edges of the hole about 1/8″ all the way around the hole; then apply any rust stabilizer. I use Chem Prime, or Ospho, that I get from a marine supply store; there are many kinds, they use strontium dioxide acid, to convert the active rust to an inert material. This stuff stops the rusting process, but it only works on surface rust, all scale must be gone. When the converter stuff is dry, disc sand the edges of the hole with a little 36 grit disc. Find the thickest sheet of white or clear polyethylene plastic and cut a piece 2 inches larger than the hole all the way around. Hold this up and mark the hole area with 1/8″ overlap all the way around, mark up and out also so that you don’t get mixed up later. Mix up enough Gorilla Hair, fiberglass reinforced polyester repair material, and apply this to the back of the plastic, and working with gloved hands, slap it up on the hole right away. Smooth it out and tape it in place or hold it flat for the 5+ minutes it takes to get hot and firm. Then slowly peel off the plastic and Voila!, a perfect repair and almost no sanding needed! You are a genius!
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Penetrate That Rust
There is a wonderful lubricant product called Tri-Flow with Teflon, made by Sherwin Williams, Co. and available in hardware stores. It has amazing penetrating power better than any other product I’ve found and I have tried many. Say you’re planning to remove the bumpers from your 50 year old car. The night before, go out and put on goggles hat and mask and wire brush all the threads. The better job you do, the more bolts you can reuse. Original bolts are exact, so I like to save them all. Wet each carefully, try to wet both sides of the nut. The next day give them all another shot before you put the wrench on. You will be amazed, many times they come right off!
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Removing Stubborn Nuts
Bolts and nuts on old cars can be very difficult to remove. I always wire brush the threads first. Most of the rust tries to go in my eye. Then I use the penetrant, hopefully overnight and again the next day. First I tighten the nut, if I can, give it a shot and then loosen. If it won’t move put the vice grips on as tight as you can, release and tighten even more, then release and move to a different flat, repeat, apply penetrant, again. The crushing pressure you apply with the vice grips enlarges the nut a little, allowing the lubricant to get in, then you can back it off. If it gets tight, go back on a ways, wire brush again, and back it off again. Impact tools speed this up a lot. Some times the nuts are hot when they come off but they’re still good.
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Keep everything in Order
No matter what you are going to disassemble, fresh newspapers and margarine tubs with tops and zip lock bags are very helpful. The newspapers help you to see and keep things clean. Put the parts in the containers and write on there what they are for. They stay clean and easy to figure out later. Bag ties are very helpful too. Use them where you would normally put a rubber band, they won’t break and fall off later. I have one on every hand tool to tie up the cord. Getting tools out is easier and the cords last longer. Bag ties that come on hoses are much stronger. I use these to tie coiled extension cords, they don’t get mixed up. I have a friend who can’t coil cords. He stuffs them into 5 gallon dry wall buckets – it works! I tie hoses with 12 or 14 gage romex wire stripped out from scraps, a foot or more works great. Just wrap it around one full circle and the hoses stay ready for you.
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Prolong hydraulic brake life!
Sometimes a brake rebuild only lasts 5 years because moisture enters the system and corrodes the lowest spot – the rear cylinders. When checking brake fluid levels use a turkey baster to withdraw the old fluid, suck it out and then squirt it back until the reservoir is clean and then take it all out – wipe up any spills instantly – and refill with fresh fluid. This procedure makes a big difference. wait until you see how dirty that old fluid was!
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Filling Tires – Say you have a low tire and no way to measure how much air you’re putting in. A low tire has about 10 lbs in it, as soon as the air starts going in, count the seconds starting at 10, when you reach 30 you’ll have 30lbs in a 15″ tire. Be careful with little trailer tires, they get hard real quick. Another way is to watch the vehicle rise, when it stops, the tire is right!
Well, these will give you an idea what kind of material to expect from your admirer, Howard P. Johnson Jr., from Old Time World who has many more similar helpful hints ready for you. Mr. Johnson has been restoring cars, boats and valuables of all kinds, full time for 35 years and invites you to visit his website at Oldtimeworld.com.
Gas Tank Restoration
Gas Tank Restoration
So you have a filthy rusty gas tank and you want to use it. Many people say throw it away; nothing is more obnoxious and dangerous than gas tank restoration. It ranks right up or down there with septic tank work. I have been astounded at the degree of vile filth that can grow inside an abandoned tank. Every deterioration situation is different so the quality of varnish(not the finishing kind) and oxide varies. Gasoline apparently breaks down both by fungus and bacteria. When any tank is allowed to sit with old gas for three years, it begins to rot and stink. To improve our air quality, the EPA has had the Petroleum Companies remove the stabilizers, which were poisons and were burned, now gasoline rots in 6 months. Today everything must be run dry before being put away. Over and over I come along and find my mower or chain saw with bad gas and now the carburetor needs cleaning.
Rusting of the interior of the gas tank can act as a catalyst and speeds up the fuel breakdown rate. Rust causes problems of its own. An unlimited supply of fine rust can quickly ruin a new fuel filter. So all the inside of the tank must be completely clean. Steam cleaning works. If you have a local radiator or truck repair place that will steam out a tank, searching the Yellow Pages and calling around may turn up a solution.
Depending on the size of the tank I first spray the strongest cleaner I have into it while wearing rubber gloves and a mask. I collect gravel between 1/2″and 3/4″ in size and put in a good handful. Then I shake the tank a lot. The neighbors love this, I put on hearing protectors. Keep doing it much longer than you can stand. Use the garden hose to rinse out. Many tanks are difficult to drain completely and have to be sucked clean with a snout on a wet dry vac. I cut up a transmission fill funnel and use it as an adapter along with some stiff plastic tubing. Usually it takes several efforts to get the tank completely clean. I like marine bilge cleaner because it softens the stuff without being flammable. I use acetone for the next rinse.
I have had good luck with carburetor cleaner as well. Dump the waste on an old trash carpet, let it dry and roll it up and put it in the garbage. Many of the stones will come out with the waste or in the consecutive rinsings. If not, suck them up with your wet dry vac probe. Next dry the tank by placing it in the sun or running a reversed vacuum hose into it for an hour.
Most old Electrolux vacs allow you to put the hose in the exhaust and blow.
Once dry more loose particles will falloff a complete blasting with compressed air helps dislodge them. Greater blasting power can be obtained by putting both the blow end of the vac in one hole and the compressed air in the other. You can make a long snout for the air gun with brake line tubing. I put a sharp 90 degree curve near the end, it gets the air right to the surface. Make an inspection light by putting a long wire on a dashboard light socket with clips for a 12v battery. In a pinch a battery charger can be a power source. Vice Grips and spring clamps can hold a wire on a battery. You will be amazed how well you can see inside the tank, particularly if you wait until night to inspect. If you don’t have to work on it further, spray Ospho brand rust converter on as many surfaces as you can reach. Add extra and roll it around, coating the hidden areas. If you used too much it will be slow to dry and leave puddles. I have sucked Ospho up with the vac, but I washed it out right away and wore gloves (always) and activated charcoal respirator. The Ospho does a great job and keeps the inside stable. Many tanks are made of bare steel. When filled with gas very little rusting takes place, its when they are allowed to sit empty and collect condensation or the fuel is allowed to rot that they rust. Good luck to you and your new machine!
Winter Restoration
Winter Restoration
By James B. Holler
Hurry Home is the name that was painted on the side of a 1947 Ventnor raceboat as a gift for a son who was fighting in Korea. He activily raced the boat for a few years and stored it away in a barn where I found it in 1984, in need of restoration. Weldon Ferguson and I worked on it together for a year before it was ready to show. The boat has made a big hit wherever I take it and it has been featured in photos, videos and a calendar. I have enjoyed running it at many fresh water lakes and Raceboat Regatta, `92 through `96. It was up at Clayton, NY. in `94 that Howard helped me repair my broken engine mount bolts. Since then I stored my boat at his place and have seen many beautiful projects completed in his workshop.
Time had taken its toll on the fine work that Weldon did. This boat has become part of the family, now, and it needed sprucing up. In January I talked it over with Howard and we decided we would work on the boat together 2 nights a week and Saturdays. He pulled it in and we took the engine out and removed all the hardware. Then we went to work removing the deck screws, for some reason they were coming loose and poping up. We removed almost all the screws and lifted up the decks and put 5200 on the frames and then rescrewed using new silicon bronze. After both deck sides were done I decided we had better do all the topsides too; in all we replaced 1,200 screws. We puttied all the holes with epoxy putty and faired everything with Interlux epoxy fairing compound. One night when we thought we were done, Howard turned off all the lights in the shop and using a single 40 watt droplight we looked the boat over with the light at a low angle. I marked the high and low spots with chalk. When we were done, the boat was covered with marks!
The decks are only 1/4″ plywood and many places had hairline cracks which we filled with a Petit primer made for gelcoat cracks. The aircraft cloth tail needed special attention on hundreds of cracks, all painted with a tiny brush. Weeks later we were ready to prime the whole boat. Howard chose to use the Petit Polyester Primer. The boat was smooth as silk but all the red paint spots bled right through! We then bought Dupont Uro Activated Urethane Primer, two coats and it looked completely different and perfectly smooth. The first Dupont Centari topcoat color took us all day to apply. Four coats on an 18 ft. boat is a lot of painting! While she was drying we disassembled the engine and prepared all the parts for painting, black or red. We polished all the brass and clear coated with automotive 2 part urethane.
Three weeks later we worked several evenings taping the red trim on the boat. It was a shock when we first sprayed the rich liquid red over the beautiful antique white. But round and round we went, Howard spraying and me handling hoses. Later that day when we pulled off all that paper and tape she sat there shimmering in the sunlight and I knew that I could again be proud to show Hurry Home.
Now we are waiting for the sign painter to come paint on the name and that unforgettable eagle, on the deck. See you at the show!
What is my boat worth?
June 27, 2002
Dear Ginger,
What is my boat worth? If I restore it, will I ever get my money back?
People often ask me these questions. The answer varies according to the situation. First of all, I remind them that these boats went out of popularity back in the sixties when fiberglass came in. Now the market is weak because only nostalgic, retired folks that have time to fool around with varnish would want it. Advertising in the paper, it is often difficult to get $1,500.00 for a nice working wooden boat and motor on a trailer which would cost you 4 or 5,000.00 dollars to duplicate. On the other hand if you find someone who has money and is just dying to have the very boat you have and this is the model their dad had when they were a kid, suddenly your rig is much more valuable and you could be smiling all the way to the bank.
Restoration is an entirely different story. You have to pay a skilled American to labor away at your project or do it yourself. Either way, to do it right, it runs into thousands of hours and the most costly materials available. It is extremely unlikely that you will get your money back. Fine restoration is done for love. The love of the vessel, its history, the beautiful lines the draftsman drew, the quality materials they used and the craftsmanship of the men that lived through the depression and then won the war. Each treasure from the past has an old time look that reminds us of our past and suddenly we are young again. If that is something you love then you can derive the satisfaction of seeing it all come back a step at a time under the guidance of someone who has skills similar to those that built it in the first place. Dreaming of using your restored boat, and watching the progress can add a measure of excitement to life that is comparable to dating your first love. There’s a lot more to this than just the money! When you’re done you have something unique that everyone enjoys and treasures that always is a joy to look upon and makes every boating trip into a special, fabulous event. People stop, everywhere you go, just to see your special beauty, how could you top this? You may never get your money out of it but you will always be happy that you made an investment in something that enriched your life.
Sincerely, Your Friend,
Howard P. Johnson Jr.
Hardware and Gages
Hardware and Gages
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us for this National Boating History Conference.
I think everyone here would agree that few things are as pleasing as a gorgeous mahogany boat. The beautiful varnished wood is enhanced by fabulous chrome plated hardware. What makes this hardware so beautiful? The outstanding chrome plating.
In the teens and twenties marine hardware was bare brass or nickel. Both would become dull with age. Around 1932 Chrome plating became available, to keep the nickel bright. It is a complicated and unpleasant process; to find out more about it I visited Bob Maerisch, of Annapolis Plating and Polishing in Maryland; he walked me through his process.
Once your parts are received, photographed and logged in, they are separated according to the base metal and what processes are required. Then they are placed on shelves to wait their turn. First your parts are scraped clean on the bottom and dipped in muriatic acid. Then they are moved to a sulfuric bath where they dangle from wires and a 6 volt D.C., 1500 ampere current removes the plating, which falls to the bottom of the bath, in the form of sludge. This thick heavy mix must be removed every month when he renews the bath and taken to a recycler. The parts have to be checked regularly and gasses vented away.
The rinsed parts are inspected and moved to the polishing room. Here, masked men put the part through a rigorous series of polishing steps, against three different grits of polishing compounds and wheel sizes as varied as the contour of your part. Dust and metal powder flies everywhere. The part is inspected again and washed in an ultrasound bath, then dipped in a pickling acid, rinsed and taken to the cyanide copper bath. Here, it is a cathode, dangled from a wire and receives electrical energy in the bath for about 15 seconds, as only a thin coat is required. It is removed, rinsed and taken to the acid copper bath. The cyanide copper plating protects the part from the acid copper which is corrosive and would eat the part. The part is washed, pickled in acid and rinsed again, then hung in the acid copper bath, which is agitated by bubbles. The acid copper can be plated on as thickly as needed to fill any pits or grind marks. The copper anodes hang in little bags suspended in the acid solution. The operator times the plating and can leave it in there for hours, if heavy plating is required. Then the part is rinsed and taken to the polishing room for final polishing with rouge and wheels. This work is critical as any flaws will be seen on the finished part. Then a wash, pickle, rinse again and the part is hooked up to the nickel tank, cathode bar which moves back and forth for agitation. Green nickel sulfate crystals, mixed with water, conduct metal, from nickel nuggets, hanging in bags, around the perimeter of the tank, which is 300 gallons, so it can hold a 6′ long part. They hang there for about 20 minutes, are removed, inspected, washed, pickled, rinsed, and placed in the Chrome tank. Parts here are suspended in Chrome sulfate, bubbles agitate the mix and higher power is required, 100 amps per square foot, for only two minutes. The Chromium deposit is so thin it just preserves the shine on the nickel and is very hard. Parts left in the chrome bath too long look gray and have to be stripped! If all goes well the beauty we want is achieved.
The work and problems go far beyond what we have heard so far. The ph. of the baths have to be checked every day. They have to be cleaned and recharged every month. All water must be kept in house and cleaned. Heavy metal waste goes to a recycler and the EPA and OSHA come once a year. All employees wear a lot of protective gear, buffers and polishers must be renewed frequently. Chemicals, equipment and electricity bills are high.
I came away from my visit deeply impressed with all I saw and far more understanding of the prices!
We could talk quite a bit more about hardware but right now I would like to discuss gages and things you can do at home to improve them.
Most of our gages are similar to this one out of a Chris Craft. On inspection one of the first things you usually notice is that the gaskets are dried out and the glass is loose. Many times the face is soiled and the numbers have become rusty or fallen off. Looking at the gage from the back you will see six dents in the rim that holds the glass onto the cup. Using an electricians screwdriver, with the gage face down on newspaper, gently but strongly twist it and move ahead 1/32″ and twist again, Urging the dent out. Do not slip or you will spoil the rim. Carefully unbend each dent. Then the rim will easily come off. In the case of gages with a rolled edge, a million tiny twists are required to urge the rolled edge out enough that the rim can be removed. Many times the rim and trim ring are dull and must be sent out to be chromed. If the face and works are severely rusty, the boat was under and you need other gages or must send them away to California Classic Boats, Mark Clawson, or Pat Powell for restoration. If the numbers look rusty, they can be brought back by using Zud, a cleanser for rusty sinks, found in many grocery stores. Make a thick paste with water and heavily paint this on and let it sit until dry. Rinse without getting the Zud in the works. After painting the needle white you can give the face a coat of clear lacquer or pledge. Pledge is a clear furniture wax that is quite handy for shining things. By now you probably know if this gage works or not. I sometimes wash the works with Brakekleen solvent, blow off with air and lubricate with Tri-Flow. Tri-Flow is great for everything that moves, I even use it as penetrating oil. In the case of temperature gages, the borden tube may be broken and the alcohol that makes it work is gone. You can find places that repair these in Hemmings Motor News under Services Offered. Truck repair firms found in the yellow pages offer tachometer service and cable replacement. Clean the cup and repair cracks with goop.
Replace light windows with scotch tape. Clean glass with four ought steel wool and windex. Sand and paint spacer rings with flat black.
When you go to assemble your cleaned and lubricated gage, the old seals are completely dried up. Make a tiny applicator tip for your silicone tube. After you are sure you have everything installed in the correct order, fill the bump in the rim that fits against the glass with black silicone. Don’t worry about the extra that squeezes out; you can clean this off tomorrow with a razor blade. You can gently remash the dent spots or use tiny gobs of goop to retain the ring.
Much of this you can learn by puzzling over it yourself, I am always tickled when I don’t have to go to someone else for help. Now,- Don and I will be glad to take your questions.
Polishing Chrome
Polishing Chrome
This is the time of year to spruce up the boat for the season. Even the best chrome needs going over after a few months around salt water. The dull haze that accumulates, is made up of oxides of the base metal, that leak out of tiny microscopic holes in the plated surface. This electrolisis is a natural phenomena that plays a part in the breakdown of all dissimilar metals. To restore the original shine, the dull film must be removed with as little scratching of the surface as possible. There are many different liquid chrome polishes, available today, almost all provide about the same things; a mild acid, to melt the oxide and a mild abrasive to help rub it away. Directions generally say, apply, rub, polish with a clean cloth. Problems crop up right away. The worst dull areas are next to the vulnerable varnish.
The acid and the abrasive both, will dull the area around the hardware, so take off parts that are easily removed. Use a table with a light and some newspaper; put on rubber gloves and instead of using a dry rag that sops up the cleaner, use an old damp sponge. Shake the can well, remove the cap and cover the hole with the sponge, tilt the can and apply polish to all the areas to be cleaned. It is preferable to disolve the oxidation so keep re-wetting until everything wipes clean easily. You could rub the chrome with 4 ought steel wool, but this can permanently scratch the chrome and make it easier for it to deteriorate next year. Rub and re-dampen all the surfaces until the part feels slippery, then take an old towel, dry and wipe it clean. Look for dull areas near the edges or spots that need more work.
Go over these again, if need be, choose a fresh spot on the sponge. The oxide removed, and tiny pieces of chrome, get on the sponge and make the cleaner more abrasive, so changing spots saves the shine. When the part looks uniformly bright, get out a scrap of t-shirt and your best auto polish and wax the part. Wipe off where it was and put it back on the boat. Big improvement!
All the tarnished parts can be removed at once and a production line set up, on the bench. Lay out a sheet of plastic, apply polish to all the parts; the first are dry when the last are done, spray lightly with water in an old spray bottle to keep the disolving action going. Rust and heavy brass oxide can be quickly removed by gentle scraping, with a dull pen knife or scraper.
Chrome steering collumns are often rusted on the surface, prep these by gently scraping all the badly rusted areas first. By experimenting with knives of just the right dullness you can remove the oxide without scratching the surface. Chrome is very hard. This scraping technique can also be used to pre-clean cracks and detail areas. It can be difficult to polish down into valleys and convolutions, on some parts. Tooth brushes come in handy, both for polishing and for removing the white accumulated polish. All the cracks have to be cleaned and done with wax. It would be great if there was another protectant for bright parts. Imron and acrylic finishes are successful on brass but chrome is slippery and easily looks yellow, so wax is still best.
Polishes and waxes all differ in contents and performance. most white liquid chrome polishes are similar. Never Dull and Brasso require more effort. Some auto waxes are better than others and the finish coating or sealer types last longest.
When parts can’t be removed masking with coffee can plastic lids works.
Polyethelene plastic can be cut to fit around the part or slipped under it.
Work on a towel or carpet. Put a baking pan under the can. Murphy’s Law says, The polish wants to spill on the deck and run into a crack that was not noticible before! Clean up white residue with a tooth brush and water in a spray bottle, dry with old toweling while wet. Fresh looking chrome really makes the boat look sharp. See you at the show!
