Looks like a handy set of tools to have, where did you get those ones?

The socket things were from Screwfix for £12. There is a link on the previous page I think.

I used them to undo the nut on the ARB link (top picture) and it came off smoothly with no damage. Definitely worth getting although the size range is limited.

Why don't they make all sockets work this way?

Suddenly I might be running out of time. I have two separate pre-ops appointments tomorrow and apparently turning up greasy, dusty and generally manky is not considered good form so that is most of tomorrow written off. I hope to get the rear ARB off though in the gaps. Next work tell me I might be in Zurich on Friday and if I am then I will be back again Monday - Wednesday ready to return for the op on Thursday.

Busy weekend ahead I guess. Let's pray for sunshine.

Knocked off work early for some pre-op stuff at the hospital which finished in time for me to play some more.

The sun was shining, or at least it wasn't raining so I blasted the rear ARB with the angle grinder as it was pretty crappy before.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4705/...fbd956be_c.jpg20180125_145857 by WCA!, on Flickr

I was a bit worried about how much metal I was removing but when I removed the old bush to revela clean metal you can see that the rust is raised up and when I remove it I am going back to almost the same level as the original was
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4701/...54a10a70_c.jpg20180125_150119 by WCA!, on Flickr

Balls of steel and pubes of bronze. Cheap wire wheels grrr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4678/...65cdfd30_c.jpg20180125_151054 by WCA!, on Flickr

All the brackets cleaned up okay too
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4760/...90f339ab_c.jpg20180125_153509 by WCA!, on Flickr

I had bought this heavy duty cleaner to degrease.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4715/...15f137e6_c.jpg20180125_153910 by WCA!, on Flickr

A little bit came out ot the bottle top when I decanted it and my hand went from ground in grease and dirt to clean in seconds. Gulp. Waer gloves when using it.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4754/...96ded1bc_c.jpg20180125_154137 by WCA!, on Flickr

Chuck everything in an old wheel barrow and spray liberally
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4708/...dee70c49_c.jpg20180125_154338 by WCA!, on Flickr

Decide to clean the mucky Workmate too
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4754/...40ae82d0_c.jpg20180125_155046 by WCA!, on Flickr

Clean and ready to put the bits on
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4723/...843bfa0f_c.jpg20180125_155340 by WCA!, on Flickr

Heat gun speeds the drying process before MetalPrep and the bits look really quite good
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4610/...519362cf_c.jpg20180125_160114 by WCA!, on Flickr

Spray with MetalPrep and keep wet for 30 minutes
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4748/...982ac404_c.jpg20180125_160709 by WCA!, on Flickr

Washed off the MetalPrep and resting overnight in the garage.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4741/...caeec3ae_c.jpg20180125_162949 by WCA!, on Flickr

Close up to see if anything changes overnight
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4721/...5bf5f6f9_c.jpg20180125_163000 by WCA!, on Flickr

TFR is traffic film remover, ideal for washing down lorries, I don't think it is really designed to be used as a degreaser.

TFR is traffic film remover

I agree but is also is a very effective de-greaser when diluted less and washes off easily.

My take on degreasing is to use the thinners relating to the next coat of primer/paint.

Well the degreaser was all washed off and then MetalPrep applied so hopefully it will all be okay.

Here is what it looks like the morning after being MetyalPrepped.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4668/...f175bbd5_c.jpg20180126_110823 by WCA!, on Flickr

The various brackets ready for paint. The POR15 carefully stirred, not shaken, and then tape applied around the top of the tin. The idea is that no paint will get trapped around the lid rim as that can 'weld' the lids on. I will see if it worked this afternoon.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4694/...4427368f_c.jpg20180126_111328 by WCA!, on Flickr

All painted. POR15 is very thin and a little goes a long way, you can see the puddles where it has dripped off the metal.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4755/...32e019fd_c.jpg20180126_114520 by WCA!, on Flickr

ARB hanging from the rafters. Now I just wait a few houirs before putting a second coat on, assuming the tape on the tin trick will allow me to reopen the paint.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4664/...20ed7b09_c.jpg20180126_114539 by WCA!, on Flickr

A second coat applied once the first had dried to just slightly tacky gave a much more solid silver look to everything. Now I just leave it until tomorrow for the top coat.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4676/...78838bd0_c.jpg20180126_141838 by WCA!, on Flickr

Tomorrow is planned as a dirty day special. I will be using my new softer wire wheels on the angle grinder to clear everything I can from under the car.

Big fan at one end of the car and open garage door at the other will hopefully stop me dying. The degreaser and wash off should finish me off though

That paint looks very thin, not wanting to teach you how to suck eggs but have you stirred it with a screwdriver to make sure it hasn't settled. Even new tins can settle.

I agree the paint is very thin. I a happy for you to point this out as I am quite good at over looking the obvious but this time I was okay. The paint was well stirred in advance. This was definately necessary as there was much thick gloop at the bottom of the tin and it took a fair bit of stirring to get it mixed properly.

Please continue to question my methods as I am posting all this so you don't need to make any of the mistakes I do but can benefit from anything I learn.

Currently I am nursing a cup of coffee trying to raise the enthusiasm to go under the car with the angle grinder...

IMPORTANT UPDATE : Ignore most of what I previously posted about cleaning the underside of the car.

What you need is a big fan to blow the dust out towards the garage door, and angle grinder and a soft wire brush for it. They wear out pretty quick but they are only £4 at Screwfix.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4621/...7ed1a3d8_c.jpg20180127_102137 by WCA!, on Flickr

Before (which is actually after cleaning it with the hand drill)
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4622/...b30df57e_c.jpg20180127_100714 by WCA!, on Flickr

After - about 5 minutes later
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4613/...3c9e7696_c.jpg20180127_103325 by WCA!, on Flickr

The wire brush and angle grinder can be a bit hard to control in the small space and you still get covered in crap but it makes the job so much quicker and better. I was a bit worried about going over brake pipes and the like in case it broke them but after running them over by mistake and suffering no damage I gave them the once over and they cleaned up nicely.

Once I have picked up a couple of new wire brushes I shall finish the job ready for clean, prep and paint.

I did the rest of under the car. When cleaning the front end I popped the bonnet to get some light and spotted a couple of rust spots on the slam panel so blipped them with the wire brush too.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4754/...44357f54_c.jpg20180127_112709 by WCA!, on Flickr

I sprayed degreaser all over the underneath and left for 20 minutes before washing off with a pressure washer. It would have been really convenient if the guy who laid the floor had sloped it towards the opening instead of the back left corner by my beer fridge.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4748/...7da874b8_c.jpg20180127_114449 by WCA!, on Flickr

Fan and heater blowing for the rest of today to hopefully dry it all ready for metal prep tomorrow which will mean I have to flood the bloody garage again to wash that off. Grrr,,

Anyway, I will now top coat the components I POR15'd yesterday

I thought I would show what happens if you apply POR15 without properly preparing the metal first.

This is the bit of metal I used to stir the POR15 yesterday. The POR15 just flaked off the metal.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4723/...7126b314_c.jpg20180127_125223 by WCA!, on Flickr

The paint was very glossy black. It didn't stick to the POR15 very well though. I was brushing it off as much as brushing it on almost as if the POR15 was too smooth. I will leave this a few hours to dry and give it a second coat and see how it looks then.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4717/...6107e86c_c.jpg20180127_132941 by WCA!, on Flickr

WCA - Great effort and write up Nick. :cool:

Good luck getting your foot fixed.

Cheers, Paul. :)

Thanks Paul. I have a feeling I will be under the car with the cast on getting it all back together during my 'sick leave' :-)

That sounds like a plan !

My first kit build was a Bright Wheel Viper back in the very early 1990's. The start of that build was a week after a Hernia operation I had. The doctor signed me off for 3 months starting early May. The build was nearly complete by the time I went back to work !!

On a side note Paul, can I just say you lucky, lucky bastard : http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...2866#post92866

I wish you many hours of pleasure and expect/demand we meet up to admire it when complete.

Yeh, that was a bit of a find ! I will be posting updates as it progresses, just been clearing the garage, making space to work over the last week. The Triumph is being collected next Saturday so I'll be in a position to make a proper start once it is out of the way.

Not so many photos today as all I have done is sprayed MetalPrep, washed it off and have the fans going in the garage to dry everything again.

Me, kitted up to lie under a car spraying MetalPrep
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4759/...ab5d901d_c.jpg20180128_110734 by WCA!, on Flickr

Front suspension sprayed with MetalPrep ready for comparison photo tomorrow
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4744/...36afe646_c.jpg20180128_111601 by WCA!, on Flickr

Me not being very impressed with the POR15 top coat. There were several patches like this where the paint brush had dragged the gloss off the underlying POR15. It woories me about how well the paint with stay stuck in the long run. I guess time will tell.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4701/...d34fb638_c.jpg20180128_120305 by WCA!, on Flickr