Harman Magnum Stoker Restoration...

Ummm...
It is supposed to be Washing Soda...
Yellow box.
http://www.google.com/search?q=electrolite+rust+removal+washing+soda&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLG_en

CapeCoaler wrote:Ummm...
It is supposed to be Washing Soda...
Yellow box.
http://www.google.com/search?q=electrolite+rust+removal+washing+soda&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLG_en

Sodium Carbonate vs Sodium BiCarbonate... Either will work. I used what I had lying around the house.

I do intend to use citric acid or just plain vinegar for the smaller parts.

shapps1313 wrote:No I didn't drill thru the front, but I know it does happen. The casting is not the thickest in that region. Also if you are not quite centered on the old bolt it could skate off and you'd be drilling into a "softer" metal that the bolt is made of and viola more pressure into softer metal means faster cutting means a deeper hole means an ugly bolt sticking thru the front.

Although, you can move over about a half inch and drill and tap new holes. Also being careful with the depth of your hole. Just be sure to use a bottoming tap for your final step,you'll have the maximum amount threads that way.

Bill

I had the same issue on my Keystoker door glass clips. But, if you get a good sharp 135 degree split point drill bit set, you can drill right down the middle of the screw once you bust off the head, LOL. Keep working up in size until your last pass is the recommended tap drill size for 10-24 thread (or whatever you want to use). You'll find that at some point the rest of the old screw will come out of there. Since there's really no load on the screws, as long as you have some halfway decent threads, a new stainless screw with antisieze on it will do just fine.

Chris

Today I...

1. Wire wheel/sanded the inside
2. vacuumed out
3. spread a liberal amount of naval jelly on the inside
4. wiped down with water... this practically took all afternoon as the Naval Jelly leaves a white residue
5. lightly sanded again
6. wiped down with denatured alcohol
7. hit the inside with a heat gun to make sure it was dry
8. painted with VHT

The metal was pitted pretty badly in spots. I recall that Matthaus had painted the inside of a stove over rust after hitting it with a wire wheel on this post:

paint the inside of my new stove?

So I did the best I could on the inside and got to most (but not all) of the rust. We'll see how it holds up. I'm not done yet but I think this probably will have been the hardest/most difficult part of restoring the stove. It's a real pain to work inside the stove with an angle grinder (and I'm no spring chicken). Next time... (in another 20 years... ) I'm going to to purchase a bigger compressor so I can hit it with a sand blaster or a needle scaler.

Recall how it started...



Here are some pics prior to final sand, cleanup...





And after paint..






VHT isn't bad to work with but it's quite awkward working in that confined space. I'm happy but not thrilled with the finish. I might just lightly sand and do a second coat.

It was a LONG day... I wanted to prep and paint in one shot... It's been raining a lot and I didn't want to risk a having it prepped and running into several days of rain.

WOW! Beautiful job, you won't want to spoil that paint job by actually lighting the stoker.

Got to the doors and a couple of stoker parts today. Using 3 methods to remove rust: mechanical (wire wheel, sand), chemical (citric acid) and electrical(electrolysis )... but at some point... one realizes not all of the rust will come off. The reddish brown on the doors is the original paint (Harman Honey Brown). I am painting it stove brite satin black.








Think I might have had a bad can of stove brite... shook up well enough... the first 1/2 of the can came out nice and smooth but then the paint started to splatter and clump. Good thing I had moved to the feet at this point so I didn't mind the "powder coat" look.

I used VHT for the stoker parts and inside of the door.
My first burn to cure the paint will be outddoors (on my driveway). I don't think I'll install the door gaskets for the first burn. I don't want the paint to cure while the gasket is compressed against it.

VHT for the stoker... wonder how long it'll last?




Grates... Should I replace these? Or just buy the replacements for backup and use these this season?




I definitely got a bad batch of stove brite from northline express. I've gone through 2 cans and each can has about 1/2 the paint left when the aerosol propellant runs out. The spray is so weak that the paint is splattering. Checked the bottom of the cans and the date on them is Feb of 2007. 2-1/2 years old. I'm going to see if they'll take them back.

Ok to use those grates if they aren't warped and they line up properly. Mine get sealed in place with a bead of Furnace cement.

eelhc wrote:I definitely got a bad batch of stove brite from northline express. I've gone through 2 cans and each can has about 1/2 the paint left when the aerosol propellant runs out. The spray is so weak that the paint is splattering. Checked the bottom of the cans and the date on them is Feb of 2007. 2-1/2 years old. I'm going to see if they'll take them back.

emailed Northline Express today and they are having the manufacturer send me 4 new cans. Apparently they are checking their stock as well. Has anyone else have a problem with Stove Bright paint that's too old?

eelhc wrote:emailed Northline Express today and they are having the manufacturer send me 4 new cans. Apparently they are checking their stock as well. Has anyone else have a problem with Stove Bright paint that's too old?

Not Stove Brite specifically, but definitely issues with "old" aerosol paints in general. I did just repaint the stock muffler on my Buell this past weekend with a can of basic black Stove Brite and it started to peter out and spatter with about 1/4 of the can left. I've had it kicking around a few years. I was thinking WTF!!??!?!?! but after wiping off the spray tip and shaking the snot out of it, it resumed normal spraying until it was empty. I've not been so lucky with many other "spray bombs" over the years where they will just pack up and quit - end of discussion - nada - bupkis - finito - nien - nyet - negatory - BOHICA - FUBAR - etc.

Chris

Below is the response from the Forrest paint company. So... lesson learned is check the date on the bottom of the can before using the paint.

I understand you are concerned about the paint that you purchased from Northline express. We typically say that an aerosol has a 1 year shelf life. This does not mean that the product is bad. In fact I have seen products work well after 3 years. The yellow gummy substance is some material that has dried in the pick up tube of the aerosol can. When you shake the can the paint gets mixed up well, however the "stuff" in the tube does not get mixed in, so it will come out looking different than the paint. If you can get the "stuff" to clear out of the tube, which sometimes takes turning the can upside down and spraying for a second, then turning the can right side up and spraying for a second, and repeating till you have paint spraying out, you should have good usable paint in the can still. This is just a process I have learned while dealing with older cans of paint.

Now you say that there is not enough propellant to spray the paint out of the can. Only about half of the can is usable. When the can stops spraying can you squeeze the sides of the can and it dents in? If not, it may just have a clogged spray tip, which again is another thing older spray cans can do. If the sides are still real solid, you may be able to do the same trick as above to clear out the clog. Or you can just take a tip off of one that is working and place it on the one that has stopped to check. I would be happy to send you some replacement tips if needed.

I am sorry that you received some older paint from the online source. We sell only to distributors, and they must purchase from one of them. I hope some of these tricks will help to get you working. Please let me know how things work out, as I would be happy to help further if needed.

Sincerely,

Michael T. Jackson
Forrest Paint Co.

Forrest Paint Submission
Form Name: Contact Us
Date of Submission: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:35:20 -0700
URL of page containing form:
http://forrestpaint.com/index.php?page=contact-us

I was just going to mention what the paint company just said.

Most of the problems with using old paint are in the nozzle. I habitually remove them when I toss any aerosol can, & have a small stockpile of various types. I painted a storm door recently with some 13 year old paint. Had to chuck the nozzle after 2 minutes. The second nozzle didn't fare much better, so I used carburetor cleaner & compressed air to clean it. Had to continuously do this until the can was empty (then squeeze the sides in to get every drop). Was a total pain in the ass & took forever, but I painted an entire door, both sides with 3 coats, on a can I paid for when I was in my early 20's.

Before I shelf a half-empty can I was just using, I turn it up-side-down, and squeeze it until all the paint in the drop-tube has blown out. Less likely to clog the next time I use it.

I never updated on my first electrolytic rust removal post... Just buzzing through the restoration too fast for documentation. So here's another shot at it... This time with the ash pan:


Bright reflection through the middle of the tub (wheelbarrow) is a florescent light fixture.



The ash pan has a considerable amount of rust on it. it's light gauge sheet metal and I don't want to sand/grind off too much of it, citric acid begins to etch and eat away the metal and Naval Jelly is pretty nasty stuff.... this is the ideal method for me.

Recall how it started...


Here it is just before I took it out (bubbles slow down or stop when ready).


Here it is after a rinse and some scrubbing with a brillo pad (the process leaves a black oxide residue). The "rust" on the corners is actually hardened ash (stuff's like epoxy) that's rust color stained.... nasty stuff.. it's like hardened epoxy.


After rubbing with some steel wool.


The receipient cathode (the rust really sticks to it).


And what came off of the recipient cathode (I scraped off and let it dry).


It's been quicker with a wire wheel but like I said... what fun is that? This method also removes less material and is really good for intricate pieces with small crevices.