Thread: The restoration of Wombat

Remember that suspension bush I was whinging about? Got the brute out
Having been trained to use the correct tool for the purpose it was designed, I used a small screwdriver as a chisel to chew out bits of rubber from both sides. Once I'd removed a bit, I was able to bash the tube through a bit further, then chew out a bit more, then bash, etc. Once I had the tube about 1cm clear, I grabbed it with a pair of huge multi-grips and started to twist it until the tube turned sort of easily. Then it was just a repetition of chew and bash until the tube admitted defeat and popped out the other side. After that, I simply had to get the remaining rubber out (using another screwdriver )

Sweat pouring off my shaking body, I turned my attention scrubbing off some rust and paint. I'd been to Bloodies... er... Bunnies earlier in the day and picked up three tools of destruction - one of those discs for the angle grinder composed of a lot of pieces of sand paper laid one over another, one of those red nylon wheels (sames as a wire brush only nylon) for the drill and another gadget for the drill, a 2cm thick pad of blue nylon that looks a bit like open weave foam.
I went for the blue brute first and it works really well. Rust and paint just scrubs away. The only complication is irregular surfaces (such as welds and dents) because you actually have to get the wheel onto something to scrub it, and deeper rust pits.



The silver bits are actually bright metal and the brown, rusty chassis looks much worse than it does in the photo.

If you look closely, you can see grey areas which are areas of rust that are lower than the surrounding metal (pits in other words). I hit some with the flap wheel on the angle grinder but to remove them, you were just removing surrounding metal. Interestingly, that flap wheel was nowhere near as effective at taking off the rust and paint.

The red nylon brush works but after the blue wheel, I'm not tempted to use it except in tight spots maybe.

So that blue wheel is the way to go. It won't be fast but it won't take forever either, and it's darned effective. The worst part is that the saw horses aren't quite high enough and the slight crouch is hard on the back after a while.

The interesting thing is that if you look at the chassis, it looks like it's covered with surface rust - even if you look at it up close and in person. But when you start rubbing it back, there's a layer of yellow primer under that

A question for those that have gone this route. I'll be putting rust converter over this (mainly to kill those pits) - how long do I leave the clean metal before doing so? Same day? Do a day or two of scrubbing then catch up? I've got the week off so hope to work every day.

Originally Posted by crackers

A question for those that have gone this route. I'll be putting rust converter over this (mainly to kill those pits) - how long do I leave the clean metal before doing so? Same day? Do a day or two of scrubbing then catch up? I've got the week off so hope to work every day.

I would scrub all day, clean it down at the end of the day, paint on the rust killer and let it dry overnight.

Originally Posted by klonk

I would scrub all day, clean it down at the end of the day, paint on the rust killer and let it dry overnight.

What'd you use to get into the tight areas such as around the shackle mounts? Those red nylon things (the cone shaped brush and the wheel) are near enough to useless

I'm about to go out and buy some wire brushes though I don't expect them to be much better.

Hi Crackers,

I use the red nylon wheel (not the cone) and find them great. I found that the blue ones break up really quickly. Maybe I am using my drill on a slower (or faster) speed? Admittedly the red nylon wheel (about $15 for a large one) only lasts 4-5 hours, but I've always found them to work well..

I have bought them from both Bunnings and Mitre 10... Maybe we aren't talking about the same thing? Here are the ones I use:



I find that they work better than wire wheels - and I've tried all kinds of wire wheels (cones, wheels, pointy doo-dads).

One trick - once you have started using the wheel, make sure that you always use the drill in the same direction. Eg - If you are using the drill in forward, don't put it in reverse by accident - it kills the little red nylon fingers quite quickly..

Good luck with the hours of fun in front of you...!

Sandpaper flapper wheels, they do wear but are effective on steel.

Cut a couple of wooden packers, 4"x2" or if you can find someone that is getting a new fence there will be post off cuts 6"x4" or the old fence posts. Use them on top of your sawhorse to raise your work piece.

Those red wheels are the nylon units I'm using but I find they aren't as effective as the solid blue wheel, still effective but not as much (50% maybe). see post 409 below

Were you able to get them into really tight places? I'm thinking around the shackle mounts, that being where I'm working at the moment, though I'll have to get into the outriggers too (obviously not all the way, just the open bits where I can get a drill). I've been using the cone in there but maybe I should just stick with the wheel.

Sadly, your thoughts on the wire brushes mesh with mine but I've just bought some to remind myself.

I don't mind spending hours doing a job, it's when your efforts appear fruitless that it gets annoying.

Originally Posted by slug_burner

Sandpaper flapper wheels, they do wear but are effective on steel.

Cut a couple of wooden packers, 4"x2" or if you can find someone that is getting a new fence there will be post off cuts 6"x4" or the old fence posts. Use them on top of your sawhorse to raise your work piece.

Everything wears on steel

Didn't think of simply adding something to the top of my saw horses

Just spent a 'happy' hour cleaning up a rear shackle mount. Now I'm knackered so I'm inside attempting to re-hydrate a little.

The wire cone and cup shaped brushes worked well for getting into tight spaces, better than I expected, but typically, you do find yourself just polishing stuff.

The real hero was the red nylon wheel - yes, the one I was rude about earlier. The flexibility of the nylon allows it to get into 90 degree corners and over compound curves. It also did well on some flat, open bits I worked on. It'll get used a lot more.

The only real problem area is where you've a tight corner similar to the join between two walls and the floor in your house. The cones get in there and you work out with the other weapons.

Really though, it was a case of repeatedly changing weapons to achieve the desired effect - sometimes because it was needed, sometimes because the other one wasn't work so you'd might was well try something else

The tip seems to be to have a variety of scrubbing tools. Change them as necessary for access remembering that even in the same spot, different tools take off different stuff. Learn to hold the drill back handed, right and left handed because sometimes the direction of rotation of the tool is as important as the tool itself - I'm mindful of the Grey-ghosts advice to only run them in the same direction (makes sense when you watch the wheel).

And what with me wearing a dust mask, face shield, leather gloves, overalls and shoes, Dark would indeed be pleased... but what am I wearing under the overalls