TOPIC: 1965 Ajax tilt trailer

Ok, so I figured this should probably go here since it is a restoration. Finally got warm enough to do the trailer. Don't have enough roomin the garage to do it so it's getting doen outsdie under a tarp, while the clipper resides on blocks in her shed.

Here are a few pics of her starting status. I will take more pics tomorrow of everything off of it and ready to be blasted. I plan on using POR 15. They say I can just blast, blow off the dust and paint, without having to do anything else. This way I dont' have to buy all the other prep stuff and I know there won't be any old paint chipping off from under the new stuff.

I went with the Gray since I will be topcoating in while to original color. Along with repainted Tan fenders and probably tan winch, even though it's closer to a bronze color now.

I also think I'll be replacing all of the rubber keel wheels. They still seem to roll fine but are very hard and the steel sleeves are very rusted.


I only have one guide on her for the pic. I already had them off when I realized I hadn't taken any before pics.




That's all for now. More pics tomorrow.

Bob

bob,i know it will look great when your done ,i cant wait to see it.

Ok back at it yesterday, here are some update pics.

Here's the rear roller

They all look like this so have to be replaced.


Here's the front tongue, main tube and guides removed.



Axle removed with the wheels on. You can see why the bearings and seals have to be replaced.


Here's the axle mounts for the trailer. Kind of interesting they can be moved forward and backward as necessary, depending on how much weight you'd like on the tongue, more or less. Very generic/versatile trailer.




They're actually held on by the fender bolts. I may mount them with seperate bolts as I plan on moving the fenders back a little to be over the wheels more. Also another view of why the wheel bearings and seals need to be replaced. Nice paint job with the grease hugh?


Ok here it is stripped, flipped and ready for blasting.


On a side note, got that 50lb portable media bucket from Harbor Freight real cheap. One of the write ups said he used play sand in it and it worked great, so I got one. Not to self, make sure the play sand is real damn dry before trying to use it!!!!!!!! It does work if the sand is dry but the sand I got, even though inside a barn, was still too damp, so I was trying to spread it on a tarp yesterday in the sun to dry it out. YEeah I know, NOW THAT'S CHEAP! WEll at $3.50 a 50lb bag why not try it right?

Well back to sand drying, bug spraying, lawnmowing etc. I may use some of that stripper I have left over from doing the inside of the boat. Need to use it up anyway and I can just blast where the rust is, we'll see

Bob

Looks like you got a lot done, go Bob go!

Well not too much done today. Had to hit the honey do list first.
Tried the play sand blaster concoction and it wasn't working so good, even though the sand was dry. i think maybe the sand granuals are too big. It did get all over the place when it did come out though. Good thing I'm doing it outside. Looks like using the stripper I had left over is working faster. I Guess I'll just use it, then blast the weld and rust areas. the leaf springs and some of the other bracket parts are definitely going to need the blasting.

Bob

I know a few people who have used Chassis Saver on their car frames, and swear by it.
It looks to be less expensive than Por-15, and both products seem to be pretty much the same. Don't know about choice od colors ?
Just a suggestion....

Thanks Chuck, I'll look into it. My uncle does body, car restoration etc and suggested it to me. He said they use it with great results, that's why I was thinking of that. Bought one quart of it for now but think I will need more. I look into it.

Bob

Looking great, bob!

When I did my trailers, I stripped 'em down to bare metal, but did it the real cheapskate way, with a wire knot cup on a grinder , took forever but it worked! I'd have loved to blast, but my compressor doesn't like to put out that much air at that high of a psi!

I do use a spot blaster, and I use Black magic coal slag in it when I do, since it's available locally. It's only like $7 for a 50 lb bag, they have it at northern tool and tractor supply. It is DRY right from the bag, and also more aggressive than sand, plus you can collect it and reuse it a couple of times.

That POR is supposed to be some great stuff! I have some here that I plan to use on the floors of my ford... It's pricey stuff, though!! I'm told to make sure you use it quickly once you open it, once moisture gets to it it is supposed to harden pretty fast!


I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of this!

-Andrew

Thanks Andrew. Well went to Lowe's yesterday and found out they have "very fine" sand that's been dried. It's pretty fine and white but works much better in the 50lb jug blaster from Harbor freight. Probably should have splurged on the pressurized one, oh well. This will work. I may go to using the multi-tool with 120 grit on it, it may actually be faster then just blast the welds and creases. My compressor seems to need just a little more umph than it has. It works but will take a while. I actually think the stripper is working faster. Bigger areas at a time.

Bob

I stripped mine with a wire knot wheel- It went VERY fast- did it all in a day. I would have preferred blasting, but my compressor isn't quite powerful enough to be effective with anything but a spot blaster. I've found through research that you need to basically DOUBLE what harbor freight tells you will work with their blaster in order for it to be effective- you need a really high CFM at 90+ PSI, which requires a SERIOUS compressor.

Try the wire wheel on an angle grinder- I was amazed at how quick it was, although it was FILTHY.

-Andrew

Thanks Andrew, good to know. I'll have to see if the hardware store has the wheel, or maybe Lowe's, Can't be any dirtier than the blasting I'm doing, sand EVERYWHERE! The compressor I'm using is the 21gal 3hp 125psi oil type direct drive compressor from Harbor freight. I probably need to kick up the psi to 90 from 80. It will probably be short runs though, waiting for the refill.

Bob

Yeah, That won't cut it... Not for long blasting runs, anyways. I looked into it, and you REALLY need a massive amount of air!

They've got the wheels at hardware stores and lowes, but Harbor freight has decent ones for a lot less... You'll probably go through a few of them.

I shot a quick video when I was redoing the Tee-Nee-

Cool video, thanks. That does go pretty fast. The only thing I'm worried about is the trailer is C beam and it may be a pain in the butt trying to get inside in spots. Maybe I just use the blaster for the spots I can't get with the wire wheel.

Bob

Bob, well at least you picked a good week for the project. Seems like trailers always have a few nooks and cranies that are impossible to get at. I soaked the hard to get at places with stripeaze. Pretty agressive stuff and you have to wear the protective equipment but you can usually hand wirebrush the residue off easily and then wash it down with laquer thinner or something like that. The metal looks in good condition and not pitted from rust. Do you have any repair work to do? or just prime and paint.
Great job!
Cal

Andrew, Took your advice and got the wheel. It was only $11 at the local hardware store, it's two hours to the harbor freight and with the gas the price it is it was just easier to get it local for now. Went real fast with the grinder have. Sorry no new pics but will take some tomorrow since I'm bailing out at noon so i can work on it in the afternoon.

Cal, yeah it's been great here! Your right no real rust pits to speak of so far. The worst of it is actually on the winch tower. Should just be a POR 15 and paint, hopefully. If the hard to get areas are too much for the blaster, I'll try the stripper, since I have some. Thanks,

Bob

Glad it worked for you!

I'm lucky to have a harbor freight about 20 mins from me, comes in handy... I stock up on those wheels when I go there, because they're about $4 there. I keep a couple handy all the time! They make QUICK work of paint and rust removal.

Mine is near BWi airport so if I'm traveling for work, i make a list and try to come back in time to hit it on the way home or try to talk the wife into stopping when/if we head to Baltimore and see our daughter. I'll definitely have to add those to the list next time I go.

Bob

I was going to tell you your sand even though it seems to be dry is not or your air has too much in it. Clumping around the nozzle is a dead giveaway. There is nothing wrong with the wire brush. Just remember the heavier the wire brush the faster it will work. It can also destroy so keep a good eye open. I used to use a 9 inch grinder with a very heavy wire and it would send a ton of paint in all directions. It also gouged softer steel. So now I use a 4 inch grinder and 3 inch consumer quality wheel. The ones I used before were industrial.

Robert, thanks, yep I put a filter and drier in line to mauke sure the air stays dry. I can also use it for painting now. I got a Forney 4" whell and it worked great.

Here are pics of what got done today. Left work early and started at about 1:30pm. Stopped at 5:30pm




Tha axle isn't attached I'm just storing it under the trailer till I get to it. Keeps it all in ome place under the tarp that way.

Here are the problem areas where I'm probably going to have to blast. Shouldn't be too bad since it's small areas.




With it being a C frame it's hard to get at all the corners with the wheel. WEll I have tomorrow off, the wife does too so I think we're going to Annapolis so probably no trailer work. It's suppose to be crappy now all weekend, figures! Oh well maybe I can swing by HArbor Freight on the way up or back and get a couple more wheels for cheaper.

Bob

Look'in good to me.

Thanks Robert.

Well as I was afraid of, nothing accomplished on the trailer today. Ended up spending the day in Annapolis and no side trip to Harbor Freight!! I did get a good deal at Sears though, package deal of 4" twisted wire wheel, 3" twisted wire cup and 4" 60 grit flap wheel all for $14.95! Now I'm ready for tomorrow if it doesn't rain.

Bob

Well I was able to work around the rain this weekend and get quite a but more done.
Here's the main section completely wire wheeled.
Rightside

Leftside with helper.

All I have to do is the spot blasting and the main will be ready for POR 15.

Here's what I got stripped while it was raining. Used the wire wheel on my grinder.

Also managed to get the rollers off their brackets so I can sand/wire wheel the brackets.


I know that last pic looks like organized chaos but I'm running out of room in the garage. I have to re-work the woodworking side and build cabinets to get stuff up higerh so I can rearrange and make it more usable.

I also have to start looking for the new rollers. They seem a little out of the ordinary from what I've been seeing on the web. Have to look a little harder I guess.

Bob

Great progress, glad to see someone at it. Dogone honey do list takes up valuable time. Cold weather is coming back so keep making hay while you can.
Cal

Well unfortunately not any new pics, hopefully tomorrow. Hard to make a lot of progress only on the weekend. Got quite a bit of spot blasting done. Hope to finish it tomorrow and then move it into the garage where I can start painting it during the week to get more done.

Bob

Finally got back to spot blasting. Was on no stress duty to ear problem again. Anyway back at it today after work and was able to flip it to get to the last corners. Should hopefully finish the blasting tomorrow after work. Got the metal prep and another quart of paint so I should be good to go. We'll see.

Bob

bob,your doing a great job buddy,i cant wait to see it painted!,john

Looking good- Those wire wheels work wonders, don't they? They seem to eat the paint right off.

I used POR on some truck parts for the first time, it's good stuff. It has great coverage, and brushes on fairly well. Once it's on there, I don't think you'll get it off anytime soon- And with it being a 'c' channel trailer you'll be able to treat the insides, too. That trailer will probably be around for a few more centuries.

Lots of satisfaction comes from making it better than new. The clocks tickin' on summer. Great job.
Cal

Thanks guys. Got out of work a couple hours early and got 90% blasted now. Just a few more corners in the back sections and the main will be done. Actually set the grinder stand outside and did double duty. While the compressor recovered I'd wire wheel bracket parts. Just have to blast the inside parts the wire can't reach. Should be able to treat then paint the main section over the weekend I hope. Will post some pice with progress soon. Worked til almost dark so couldn't take any today.

Bob

"Pic Warning" Bob! That's three posts in a row without any. Just kidding, sounds like you're making good progress buddy. Keep up the good work.

Yeah I know, blapshemy!!!!! Ok this should help some. I know it doesn't look like much but that spot blasting was taking forever.

Here it is blasted and metal preped. Should be able to start first coat of POR 15 tomorrow morning.
Sorry this one is a little washed out from the sun behind me.




If you look close you can see some of the zinc left behind by the metal prep. Cool stuff, just squirt it on, keep wet for 10-15 minutes and rinse off, dry and done. Have to make sure ti's "BONE DRY" before you paint it though, per manufacturer.

Here's the brackets pretty much done, with blasting included.

Ok, I lied the inside of the tilt bar bracket needs to be stripped yet.

I did get most of the main bar wired wheeled also but have to blast around the bracket for the jack. That was in the shed and didn't get a pic of it. Probably tomorrow.

Bob

Great job in the corners always the hardest part where a little cheating happens.

Thanks Cal.

Well got hit with the "Honey Do" bomb again today. Yesterday started with washing her crossover my truck and change the oil in her cross over! Lucky I got done what I did yesterday. Today started with in house stuff, then get the lawn watered,(hasn't rained in over a month so far), do a commissary run (grocery store on base), then my stuff. The plan was to put a coat of POR 15 on, do commissary run, then put on secodn coat, first should be dry enough. Welllllllll, after getting the quart out of the first box that was shipped, I opened the can and what do I see, well nothing! It suppose to be Gray but it's CLEAR!!!! ARRRGGGHH. Opened the other can that came with the metal prep and it was right but since I haven't worked with this stuff before I dodn't know how far it goes so I didn't want to get the first coat on only to find I ned the second quart for other coat. I have to call a certain "Global" place and find out why the shipping slip says Gray and the can is Clear. Needless to say I did all the honey do crap then commensed blasting again.

Here's what I've gotten done.


The only thing left is finish baslting the main bar that can't be wheeled, the winch stand and the axle. The axle and winch stand should be fine with the wire wheel. Oh well, always somthing!!!

Bob

Well I liked to sya I'm alot further along than I am but lost of stuff going on during the week and the weekend wasn't any better. The only good day was Saturday, it rained that evening and all day Sunday. I did get two coats of POR 15 on the main part of the trailer though.
Here's a close up of some corners of the bottom and the support bar. Spreads pretty good I think.
Just a note to anyone wanting to use this stuff. It's great, very hard but not as thick as you'd think. It does gone on thin and will run so make sure ru run a brush along any edges or you'll get drips. Learned the hard way. After turning it over had a bunch that I had to take an exacto knife too. Also learned I should have done it in stages. Tried doing the whole thing at once. What a nightmare! Only do that if you have a rotissere to put it on. Decided on the second coat to let it dry and just do the sanding before the second coat. You can recoat before it dries but there was just too much to do so, leaning from the first coat, I flipped it coated all I could ofr the second and finished on Sunday for the parts I couldn't get on Saturday.

I did manage to get these all prepped for their POR 15 coats.
I know they probably don't look much different than the last pics of them but actually, they're done with blasting and have had their Metal Prep coating put on and ready to be painted. Not sure when I can get to those, another screwy week this week, working nights tonight and possibly tomorrow. I may not paint until Saturday so I can two coat all the pieces while the first coat is still tacky so to speak. Second coat sticks better that way.
Also going salvage the rollers, looking at new ones and they really don't look any different the the ones I have. They just need cleaning and the center metal buchings replaced. I've knocked the buchings out and I'm going to replace them with PVC. I have a lathe that I can trim down the outside of some schedule 40 and they'll fit snug as a bug and I won't have to worry about them rusting out again. Looks like dad replaced the rollers at some point because they still have a lot of bounce to them and aren't dry rotted or cracked. Well that's all for now.

I hope this is some help to folks. I'll try and take pics of the PVC trimming in action when I get to it.

Bob

its coming along great bob! and i really know what you mean by "honey do"lol,you can see it in nbr,lol.

Looks nice!

That POR is some great stuff... I was Amazed by its coverage. I also thought it would be thicker, but it goes on really well. I didn't use it on the trailer, but have used lots of it on the truck, in areas that I really want to protect like the radiator support, can floor, etc. once it dries, it is tough stuff!

Thanks John, the porch is looking Awesome!
Andrew, Thanks yeah it's some pretty hard stuff. my neighbor across the street used it on his Jeep CJ frame and hit it with a hammer once dried and it didn't do a darn thing!!! I bought the Tie-coat Primer to go along with it so I can paint it with the Rustoleum MArine WHite and Tan paints. Also go the ACME Formula 1 Enamel Hardener for the Rustoleum. Should be a bullet proof trailer once I'm done. Hope to get the rest of the metal parts POR 15''d this weekend. Suppose to rain all weekend, thank goodness I got all the parts into the garage now.

Bob

Well got quite a bit more done this weekend and this evening. Got most everything POR 15'd now.
Those broken laundry hangers with the cardboard on them make great parts hangers!

Also got the fenders stripped and metal prepped along with the axle but forgot to take a picture of the axle.

Now to get the fenders and axles POR 15'd, then primer then white and Tan paint. Also have to scrub the rollers yet. MAy do that tomorrow after work since it's suppose to rain so can't paint the axle, it's under a tarp outside.
It's getting closer but still taking a lot longer than I thought.

Bob

Looks great Bob.

looking great buddy,i have never used that stuff before,it looks like really good stuff.john