Olaf

fingers x'd. I found I'd missed some spots on the brake shields with the wet top coat (there's a dusting only). Hey ho, can do that another time. Was planning on cooling hose replacements, but unable to make it swing this week. Hopefully they're sound enough for the trip (top and bottom main hoses already replaced with genuine BMW). It's scheduled for tomorrow, we'll see if it's ready to rock by Friday arvo. I have a very kind offer of an alternate vehicle if Grey Thunder isn't ready. Well spotted on the other rubber. That's for the SS Commodore in a German Suit, will go on soon.

My god they’d look good on my car I reckon. Not sure my partner in life and crime would agree, won’t be chancing my arm there ?

Haerae Mai, hope you’re enjoying being back!

@nick496?

Though to be fair, what you see as “doing it wrong”, doesn’t register for many people who shoot with their phones for consumption on their phones. For them, this is “doing it right”.

Yep. We call this a “landscape fail”.

So what's the plan, John? GM V8 re-power? boosting? ? Great score.

Another observation: I think next time I'm using the Rust Converter, if a great finish is needed I'll use the spray-on product rather than the brush-on. Even though it's thin, the brush-marks show through on smooth surfaces.

Thanks mate. They were black and in reasonable nick when I started, though with thirty-odd years on them, there was an amount of rust. And as I stripped them back, there was a good amount of rust penetration beneath the coatings. One side more than the other, oddly. Most importantly, it was surface rust only. And nothing structural in the spring perches or bases. Hopefully my work is good enough to keep them in good shape for another twenty.

Sunday update. This morning I: Touched up a couple of marks in the topcoat on the ARBs Scuffed the primer with Scotch Brite, then top-coated the Rotor Shields Primed the Strut Housings This evening I: Top coated the Strut Housings. I didn't bother rubbing them down, scuffing them up... they're not meant to be pretty, they're meant to be protected. Hopefully the paint has enough time to cure before installation Weds/Thurs/Fri! Conclusion: The hot-water bath for the aerosols to pre-warm the paint, really does make a difference. The paint is easy to mix with the ball in the can, and the paint flows better, easier to get a good finish. Tomorrow night I'll clean the brake caliper pistons, clean the slider pin housings, and then assemble with new seals.

@Tom Delahunty

they look awesome

^ this.

So today I ran some errands. Bought rubber grease from BNT, more abrasives from Bunnings. and some other stuff. As it wasn't raining, I took Grey Thunder. After chilling a little this afternoon, I got stuck into it in the workshop. I was initially doing the tubes with the flap disc, and the cast iron with wire brush on the drill. It was slow going. After about 30 mins, I figured I needed something faster. It was time to try: The Cup Brush on my angle grinder. I just have a baby grinder, Black and Decker. A present from a friend years ago for helping him out with computer probs. When I'm buying my own kit I usually buy Bosch Blue, De Walt etc. I find the 'pro' tools have more power, more torque, do the job faster. I've been pretty impressed with this little grinder. I think going to the cup brush reduced time to complete by 2/3! So I've bare-metaled both front strut housings, and brushed on rust converter. As you can see above, the brush cup is pretty much shagged. And above: the beauty of CRC brush-on Rust Converter. Yeah I've left the cups on as I don't have a 3-jaw puller. Hints. Eg, if you're going to do this: - the cup brush produces little metal arrows that'll go through 3 layers of clothing and nick your skin. Overalls are a good idea, or better still, a leather metalworkers apron if you have one. - Make sure you use full PPE. This is not a rehearsal! I used 3M respirator with 2297 particulate filters; De Walt safety goggles, Peltor H7F Class 5 earmuffs (Ear Defenders, if you're from Blighty); and Welding Gauntlets. In case I slipped with the grinder, to protect my hands and wrists. We might not be doing this for a living, but the damage occurs just as quickly, and a trip to After Hours med centre or A&E to get stitched up or your eyes operated on is much more costly than some saftety gear! - Buy 2 cup brushes, you might go through one and not be finished. They're not expensive. 20 or 22mm spanner to tighten the 'Brumby' (from Bunnings) quick release into your grinder. Oh, and here's some pics of the rotor shields that I primed this morning before errands. Tomorrow I'll be painting.

dibs!

Your landlord is clearly a cool and benevolent dude! That man is a professional, just look at his martial arts stance. Gun clean as a whistle. I'm very inspred to do the same to my bumpers. And, I have a confession. I covet your 15" baskets. They are things of beauty. PS: neat wedding photos!

thanks, Cam! I was about to break it down for the recycling, suddenly thought 'oh, that'll be good for the brake dust shields!'. May even get the strut housings in. We'll see.

Welcome back, John!

After work today, I degreased both struts (SIMPLE GREEN) and removed all the stones, unblocked the drains. And degreased the brake rotor shields. I stripped the brake rotor shields with the flap disk followed by drill+wire brush. After a go-over with wax remover, I gave them a good dose of Rust Converter. That was enough for tonight. So I'm a little behind schedule. I'll catch up by Sunday morning.

I mentioned Wordy Rappinghood earlier. And because it’s Friday, and there’s been a lot of paint splashed about, it’s time for a musical interlude from the 80’s... to match the e30. Yeah, an obvious pun with the second track.

Mission accomplished this evening. Built my spray booth for the calipers. I wanted to limit overspray, but I needed to be able to turn the workpiece while I was painting. I used an old plastic storage box that was destined for recycling, I up-ended it, clamped it to my workmate, and made a hole in the top edge. I wanted light transmission rather than shading; this would be ideal. I prepped and masked the second caliper. Those foam earplugs are great for plugging the holes. I trimmed and bent stiff wire to suspend the caliper parts from, and devised an in-booth (exo) support from a broken rake handle (thanks kids, I knew that would come in handy!). Paint a piece, turn it, paint some more. Support workpiece with left hand, turn. Repeat. Squat down, spray underside. Lift, turn, spray more. Support workpiece with left hand, remove rake handle, carefully remove workpiece and hang away from your booth. Install next piece, rinse and repeat.. This time I set up a tub of hot water to warm the spray cans before I shook them. 3 coats of VHT caliper paint, ten mins apart. Two thin coats, then a medium wet coat. Shake can 10 secs after every minute it's been in use. I found the VHT caliper paint flows well. Perhaps the warming helped. And painting onto a porous surface makes it easier. No runs that I could detect. Above: the caliper frames hanging after 3 coats, while our neglected 90's hardtail race MTB's hang in the background. My wife's '96 Gary Fisher Supercaliber, my modded '96 Supercaliber, and my custom '96 GT Zaskar LE. I reckon I need to start pedalling again. Perhaps when the e30 is sorted. And after pausing to appreciate my work, I really pushed out the boat with Rustoleum “universal advanced formula” Gloss Black on the bars, one clamped in each vice. The Rustoleum paint is just great. You can twist the nozzle to get a vertical or horizontal spray patterm, and it flows out great. A thin dusting coat, let it flash off, then a wet coat and it flows out nicely.

Tells great time, too. It’s Beer O’clock!

You can buy the wiring kit to add multifunction wheel onto the vehicle for e46. I have part number in a spreadsheet, let me know if you need it. Last time I looked it was under USD30.

As planned, I got a little time in the workshop tonight. Laid down primer on the front ARB, and touched up the rear ARB. I used 600 W&D - dry - as I was not keen on water this evening, sh*t it's cold! Not so bad in the workshop. I thinned the runs, took off the nips, and gave it all a light scuff. I thought 'that looks like a reasonable surface, I'll get a good finish on that'. I then used grease and wax remover. That was probably a mistake. I think the paint has reacted with it. So I'm calling it 'Wrinkle Finish'. Bummer. Hey ho. Not Koni Yellow, Wrinkle Finish. Some people buy special cans of paint for that, and pay extra! "Do a blind man's eyesight good" as my Dad used to say. Tomorrow night: Brake Calipers, and painting the bars with gloss black.

That’s what she said ?