Using an Epoxy to Repair a Toy

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The A.C.Williams Cast Iron Truck Restoration

(Part 2)

     It turned out that the Lepage's Epoxy Steel dried much faster than I thought. Of course, I remember reading the instructions, but forgot. So I'm writing this instalment on Tuesday, for Wednesday! It even says on the label "Sets in 5 Minutes".

I.  The  Items Needed For The Repair 

1. A pair of scissors

 This is to cut the clear plastic  to hold the epoxy in place.

The epoxy is very viscous, but still will run or fall due to gravity.

I had to make a "sandwich of plastic" to keep the epoxy in place

2. A surface of heavy paper 

This is to avoid the epoxy from getting on a surface.

I used our kitchen table and if I got this epoxy on it, it would be the end of me and the table, if my wife saw me! 

3. Lepage's Steel Epoxy

I'm using this epoxy as a filler, rather than as a glue.

Please e-mail Lepage's for proper use or instruction!

4. A pair of latex gloves. 

This is to keep your finger oils from getting into the cast iron.

The oil from your hand will transfer to the cast iron. When this happens, the primer and paint will not adhere (stick) to the cast iron properly!

5. The clear plastic

This is to make a miniature "form"  as they do with concrete.

This is to prevent the epoxy from flowing where you don;t want it to, nd to of course, keep it where you want it to be.

6. A roll of masking tape

This is to hold the clear plastic in place.

I chose masking tape because it it paper based. I wasn't sure  how sticky the

glue would be. If I had to, grinding paper tape would be easier than plastic tape!

(I forgot to add the # 6 to the photo)

II.  Instructions

1. Remove the cap from the epoxy plunger.

2. Use a nail to  puncture each of the epoxy nozzles if they are clogged with dried glue.

3. Pour an amount of each half of the epoxy on to a small plastic surface.

4. Mix the 2 parts of the epoxy together until you get a uniform colour.

5. Place a piece of plastic on the inside of the repair (inside of the truck).

This will keep the glue in place from that position.

5. Use a small piece of plastic or even a nail to transfer the epoxy to the 

area needing to be repaired.

6. Once you have enough epoxy . use another piece of plastic

to "sandwich" the glue into position, and to keep it from running.

7. Wait 20 minutes for the glue to dry.

Better to wait longer than to have a problem with glue that is not yet dry!

8. Remove the masking tape and the plastic that held the epoxy in place. 

The epoxy is very smooth when it dries. That's what most likely made the removal of the plastic pieces holding the glue in place so easy to remove.

I'm going to let the glue dry overnight in order to ensure that it is totally dry through and through.

So that's it for today.

Thanks for visiting, and have a great morning, afternoon, or evening, wherever you may be.

An A.C.Williams Cast Iron Truck Restoration

Tuesday April 24, 2012

An A.C.Williams

Cast Iron Truck Restoration

(Part 1)

     I purchased the A.C. Williams Cast Iron truck last week with the intention of restoring it.  Fortunately, the price was very good, so I won't lose any sleep about the restoration. If you've been following this blog, you'll know that I go to Dunkin' Donuts often in the morning. Naturally, you meet people and you chat. I met a person who works at a large company where they recondition and repair train locomotives. His name is Steve, and the conversation naturally came to talking about  toys.  I asked Steve if he had access to a sandblaster at work, and sure enough he did. So I asked if he could sandblast this old toy truck and he said yes.

 Here's a composite photo of the truck before sandblasting.

For those who might not know what sandblasting is, here's a brief explanation. A fine silica sand is sprayed with a pressurized hose at objects needing to have rust removed.This is done inside a metal cabinet, with the hose and special gloves that are attached to the cabinet. An air filter on the machine filters small dust particles so that they don'y jam the compressor, nor escape form the cabinet. The cabinet has a light for you to see inside,  and a shatterproof glass windowpane for viewing what you are going.

 As you can see, Steve did a great job!

I told him to remove the wooden wheels and rubber tires in order to sandblast the tire wheel wells.

If I'm going to repaint the truck, I might as well do a very good job. I'll just have to replace the old axles with new ones, as Steve has to cut the axles.

 I noticed that there is more damage in the right rear area of the truck.

The damage most-likely was there already., but sandblasting might have done  some damage. However, if that's the case, then it's a good lesson learned for next time.

I wondered why the A.C.Williams company didn't decide to make the stake wall thicker, but then the proportions of the truck might not have been accurate had they did so.

 After I took the truck photos, I used the LePage's Steel Epoxy to fill in the missing part above, as well as to fill in the cracks and the open areas.  When the glue dries, I'll carefully use my high-speed Dremel to remove the excess glue. I placed a piece of plastic on the inside of the repair area in order to keep the glue from seeping down. I also placed another piece of plastic on the outside to act like a "sandwich". When everything cries I'll take some photos of the sandwich, and the subsequent machining of the holes. I just hope that the clear plastic holding the glue won't be hard to remove. That "Epoxy Steel" is the strongest glue I've ever found. I'm sure though that the epoxy on the Space Shuttle is even better, but I don't know if that's available to the public!

I hope the weather where you are is better than here in Montreal.  It's another cold day with some rain,sleet, and hail.

Thanks for dropping by, and wherever you may be, have a good morning, afternoon, or evening.