85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by TKCR

I've been wanting to do this with mine. If your using a spray can, how do you get the whole inside of the ashtray covered. It seems it would be hard to get it in there without the paint running.
And what paint did you use?

My blasting cabinet is out of commission so I used Scoth-Brite and brake cleaner to get it cleaned up. I painted it with VHT cast stainless spray paint. I use several really light coats and fog it inside to get coverage.

[UKNOWME]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

My blasting cabinet is out of commission so I used Scoth-Brite and brake cleaner to get it cleaned up. I painted it with VHT cast stainless spray paint. I use several really light coats and fog it inside to get coverage.

Your cabinet is a harbor freight cabinet right? We are about to get one in our town next month so I was planning to make that my first purchase!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Awesome work as always Ken!

Thank you sir.

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

Your cabinet is a harbor freight cabinet right? We are about to get one in our town next month so I was planning to make that my first purchase!

Yes sir, it is a Harbor freight. Although it has some minor issues, its still the best bang for the buck for home shop use. Heres my advice based on experience. When you buy it Google "Harbor Freight Code" This is a 10% off coupon that is NOT on Harbor freights site. Its a third party site but HF will honor it even if the item is on sale. Trust me, i use it every time I buy at HF.

When you get it buy a couple roll of weather stripping. What comes with it is not enough. Once assembled mask a line around every seam and seal it with a small bead of silicone. Its still going to leak some, but this reduces it considerable.

Initially I bout the HF 5hp shop vac as a dust recovery system. It does ok, but I plan to buy the dedicated dust recovery system since the shop vac failed. No, I never buy warranty so I cant take it back.

Consider an LED light for inside. The fluorescent that comes with it is marginal.

With all that said, would I buy it again? Compared to the commercial quality units at twice the price, yes I would. My philosophy is if you make a living with your tools buy Snap-on. If your a weekend mechanic Craftsman, Husky, and Gear Wrench work just fine.

Theres no doubt that HF quality is questionable on many items, but this cabinet offers great bang for the buck.

[aggie91]

Ok, what is wrong with your blast cabinet? I got the same one now, and my biggest complaint is the lighting inside it. I am working on a fix for that...

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Ok, what is wrong with your blast cabinet? I got the same one now, and my biggest complaint is the lighting inside it. I am working on a fix for that...

I have a couple of issues I need to tend to Karl. The shop vacuum was using for dust recovery died, and I want to replace it with a real recovery system. The media I initially bought was too fine a grain and needed replaced so I dumped the system and haven't bought new media. And as you mentioned, the light sucks. I'm looking for an LED replacement, but haven't found what I need yet.
With all that combined, it's a shop ornament right now. I will get it back in operation soon. We have discovered it's such a valuable tool and saves tons of time in the clean and prep process that I can't get by without it.

[N2TRUX]

I had a long work day yesterday, so my shop time was limited. I managed to get the last few pieces of the interior stripped that needs to be dyed. Fortunately these pieces have not been dyed, so they shouldn't take long to prepare.

[bbbc10]

really great progress!!!! I was wondering if you was going to be dying the seat belts? I'm looking into doing mine.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Instead of cluttering up your thread, I sent you a PM about the LED light that I used for my HF Blast cabinet. Feel free to share here if you want to.

Thanks, I replied.

Originally Posted by bbbc10

really great progress!!!! I was wondering if you was going to be dying the seat belts? I'm looking into doing mine.

I'm not sure yet. I plan to clean them throughly first. When removing them they smelled like dirty sweat socks so that has to go. If they need fresh color after cleaning, I will dye them. I I recall correctly there is a article in FAQ that covers dying seat belts.

[mcbassin]

Awesome work as always Ken!

[aggie91]

I will see if I can get some time in the shop tonight. I will get some pics of the LED Strip that I plan to use and get it in temporary and turn it on to see what it looks like. In my head, it works really well...lol.

[N2TRUX]

No shop time last night. We had the carpet replaced in our Master Bedroom and closet. We had to empty our master closet leaving a disaster.

My OCD is about to make my head explode due to the entire contents of our master closet being stored all over our house, so I painted instead of working on Scarlett. Unfortunately my ADD over rides my OCD when it comes to latex paint. My wife loves to cut in, so I grab a roller and go at it.

We are half way there....

[aggie91]

Instead of cluttering up your thread, I sent you a PM about the LED light that I used for my HF Blast cabinet. Feel free to share here if you want to.

[N2TRUX]

Countdown to Throwdown! Chris and I managed to get some shop time in on Sunday and had some well needed progress.

The vent windows in the truck were in horrible condition. The passenger side had worn out seals that leaked badly. The drivers side was a complete mess. It had been broken at one time, and the bottom pivot pin was poorly welded on. The entire perimeter was sealed with window mastic that was globbed on.

I had been given a replacement set by a Relaxed Atmosphere brother. They were in need of a rebuild, but provided very usable cores. I know they "should" all be the same, but I decided I wanted to ensure they fit properly before shipping them to Precision Replacement Parts.

We mocked them up and everything fit as intended. I boxed them up and they will be shipped off for a complete rebuild. I was asked why have them built when you can order all the parts from to Precision Replacement Parts and do it yourself.

I love to challenge myself and learn new things, but I can tell you that this is one job left to the pros. After seeing what is required to do a quality build I have no problem putting these in the good hands at Precision Replacement Parts. They will be better than new when done.

[TKCR]

100% agree on letting The professionals restore the vent windows. I had planned on doing mine myself too. But after watching a few "how to" videos, I thought it would be best to leave this one up to the professionals. And I couldn't be happier with what I got back. They looked brand new. I used Precision to restore/rebuild mine.

[UKNOWME]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

I love to challenge myself and learn new things, but I can tell you that this is one job left to the pros. After seeing what is required to do a quality build I have no problem putting these in the good hands at Precision Replacement Parts. They will be better than new when done.

I totally agree, that's the only way to go!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by TKCR

100% agree on letting The professionals restore the vent windows. I had planned on doing mine myself too. But after watching a few "how to" videos, I thought it would be best to leave this one up to the professionals. And I couldn't be happier with what I got back. They looked brand new. I used Precision to restore/rebuild mine.

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

I totally agree, that's the only way to go!

I had a buddy message me while I was working on removing the vents. I sent him a pic of what I was doing. He said he had done several sets on his builds, but had no desire to do it again. That told me a lot right there. If your not happy doing them after several sets, its best handled by someone that has the tools to do it right.

[DrppdBlazr]

Your threads are always the best. Very detailed and informative.. Keep it up dude, truck looks great

[N2TRUX]

Thanks for the kind words. Your input keeps me motivated

Originally Posted by DrppdBlazr

Your threads are always the best. Very detailed and informative.. Keep it up dude, truck looks great

[ultrahd4me]

Happy thanksgiving sir..

[N2TRUX]

Happy Thanksgiving to my family and friends. My blessings are abundant but friends and family are my most cherished.

[UKNOWME]

Happy thanksgiving to you as well Ken!

[N2TRUX]

I hope everyone is enjoying a long holiday weekend. I had a fantastic day hosting for my family. I feel the need to make a couple of public service announcements based on yesterday events. For those of you that enjoy fried turkeys, please not that contrary to popular belief peanut oil is flammable. I recommend that you turn the burners off when dropping your bird in the oil.
If your starting temps are a bit too high, combined with a bit too much oil in the pot it will boil over and it can burst in to flames. Fortunately, no one was harmed and a rather large fire was quickly (and frantically) put out.

This leads me to my second announcement. Are you aware that a small dog that consumes large quantities of spilled peanut oil is capable of producing projectile vomiting? The oil wont hurt the dog, but it does put a damper on your festivities when you have to clean up the kitchen, and several people that were in its path.

Just sayin......

[TKCR]

LOL!!! That's funny, but glad to hear no one was hurt and no animals were harmed in the process. I saw a friend use a pully system to lower the bird in the fryer, thought that was a good idea.

[N2TRUX]

Countdown to Throwdown continues. I had to work in the office yesterday, but I managed to get some shop time in. Chris and I had pulled the last of the interior plastic out so it was time to get them dyed.

As always, I start the process with a good scrubbing. I clean everything front and back with a brush and soapy water. Rinse, and repeat then lay out to dry. I follow this with a cleaning using brake cleaner and Scotch Brite. If there is old dye it will need to be removed completely. I quickly wipe the excess cleaner off to prevent damage to the part.

Once dried, I lay them out and give them a couple of coats of Bulldog adhesion promotor and allow it to cure till tacky. Usually about 10 minutes but that will vary with the temps. This was followed by several light coats of SEM Napa red dye.
Note that humid conditions are not favorable for dying parts. It will cause them to blush or dry with uneven sheen. Fortunately the weather was excellent and my parts came out perfectly.

[N2TRUX]

Countdown to Throwdown! Saturday was a productive day on the Scarlett project. Our plan was to strip the interior in preparation for sound deadner. Unfortunately we discovered rust for the first time. I was disappointed but quickly realized it wasn't too bad.

It appears a heater core was seeping at one time and caused bubbles under the paint. The top coat was flaking, so we stripped it down to raw metal. Fortunately a right angle grinder made quick work of it. I treated the area Rust-mort to stop anything I might have missed and a let it cure while we had lunch. A few good coats of epoxy primer sealed it up before I gave it a color coat. I know the color is off a bit but you will never see it once the sound deadner is complete.