Now yer talking. This is what I love doing too!! Would be interesting for you to comment on just what techniques you use to clean all the bare metal parts (those that won't be painted), such as the wheel adjusters, the engine cylinder fins, etc. I use a wire wheel on a grinder for a lot, have yet to figure out a way to clean the cylinder cooling fins satisfactorily.
Pretty much the same here. Some stuff gets wire wheeled, some sand paper or steel wool. After that I throw some polish (Mothers) at them. Most of the time the metal cleans up really nice, not perfect, but definitely presentable. I haven't really put any effort into the cylinder head. I have been toying with the idea of buying a media blasting set-up. That's probably the best route to effectively and efficiently clean a cylinder head. Plus, it would be a nice addition to use on the smaller parts. It definitely would save some time.
It doesn't look like it in the original picture, but the gas tank was really oxidized on this one. It had an obnoxious white tinge to it. In the past I have tried several different ways to remedy that . Usually with minimal success. This time I tried the technique with the razor blade and heat gun. I am a big fan of that. It was a bit time consuming, (little over an hour) but the results were great and I imagine will last for a long time.
Stripped the deck down to bare metal. 2 coats of filler primer, 2 cans of Grabber Green (Dupli-Color), 2 cans of auto-grade clear (Dupli-Color) New decals. Stripped and painted the wheels ( Chevy Orange) Replaced all but 3 of the bearings. Stripped and re-painted the shroud. New flywheel cover. Re-covered the handle with PVC shrink tube. Used the same razor blade and heat gun technique on the bail handle. With the new decal it looks really good too. Came back to the same shade of white as the new. New blade.
I still need to finish the muffler and the mounting plate. I am not going to do too much to the engine. The piston and rings are pristine. Still has 120 psi cold. Crankcase is sealed. It will clean up really good. I will put a new needle and seat in the carb and a new fuel line. I definitely think this one will turn out awesome.
Next up will be a 1014 edger. First one for me.
