Here is a photo of the cowl... split in 2.
Tomorrow I am visiting a mate who builds models, I am hoping that he will have some ideas on how I can go about restoring this -- and the other half.
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| Should I restore my original Steering Wheel Cowl? https://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=70321 |
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| Author: | 68AUTO [ Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:24 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Should I restore my original Steering Wheel Cowl? |
My original cowl has seen better days, and one side has split in 2. I purchased a reproduction cowl (which is pretty) but I noticed some very minor differences. I want to restore this mini back to original so.... I am wondering would something like replacing the original cowl be seen as a no-no... or is it ok to replace it? I know that there are those in the forum who don't like cars being put back to original because they think that they don't get driven. Let me put your mind at ease, this will not be driven around on a trailer (unless it breaks down) and it won't be collecting dust in my garage. It will be driven. I just want this car (a 68 AUTO) to be as he was when rolling out of the factory. My other 66 is already a mongrel so it won't be original at all. |
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| Author: | Morris 1100 [ Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:33 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
I would fit a new cowl. The old ones are all shagged these days. |
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| Author: | mickmini [ Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:59 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Be careful where you get it from. There are some pretty awful cheap chinese copies around that simply don't fit. cheers michael |
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| Author: | simon k [ Mon Apr 25, 2011 11:07 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
I prefer to refit the original - even if it's not perfect, it's correct... or at least have the correct original part in a box in your garage like where most of my original bits are! |
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| Author: | 68AUTO [ Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:17 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Here is a photo of the cowl... split in 2. Tomorrow I am visiting a mate who builds models, I am hoping that he will have some ideas on how I can go about restoring this -- and the other half.
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| Author: | NAV [ Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:47 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
JTR850 wrote: Here is a photo of the cowl... split in 2.
Tomorrow I am visiting a mate who builds models, I am hoping that he will have some ideas on how I can go about restoring this -- and the other half. I would be using some fibreglass matting on the inside and some plasti weld on the outside. a little body filler and paint it satin black. |
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| Author: | Morris 1100 [ Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:51 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
The stock plastic gets brittle and shrinks. The top half shrinks more than the bottom half which twists it as well. |
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| Author: | EST-071 [ Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:08 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
I think Paul Gulson makes repo ones and sells them on Ebay from time to time. Cheers Pete |
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| Author: | 68AUTO [ Thu Apr 28, 2011 1:49 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
The repairs have started. I went to the hobby shop at lunch and purchased some Tamiya Cement (used for sticking plastic models together). I have painted both sides of the join and have stuck them together. The pieces are stuck with sticky tape to my desk so that it doesn't move whilst drying. The next stage (if this works) will be to sand the back back and add some eproxy to it - for support. After that, another sand, and then I will use some surface primer - suited for plastic. Finally a top coat of satin black (as suggested). I will post progress shots when I can. |
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| Author: | min16i [ Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:11 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Steering cowl |
I'll be interested to see how you go. I'll finish restoring mine once I find a way to do it. Mine looks like it's an old bakelight job, so it don't like any of the modern paints/primers I've tried. I've read somewhere to give it a coat of thinned down epoxy to seal it so I'll give that a crack sometime soon. Ian |
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| Author: | 68AUTO [ Fri Apr 29, 2011 8:12 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
Last night I left one half of the cowl at work drying, and the other half went home to get sanded and cleaned. The tape residue is a real pain in the neck. I used WD-40 to get the main glue off and then tried to sand the other bits out of the plastic. I also soaked it in warm soapy water too. This morning I put some more cement on the hair line crack in cowl half 2. The idea being that the cement will melt the plastic and give it some strength. Today a mate is bringing in some styrene strips. We will lay them across the main split in cowl half 1 and cement it in. Tomorrow I should then be able to sand that cowl half. (That's the idea anyway). Picture below: Cowl Half 1 with Cement and Taped up 
Picture below: Cowl half 2 cleaned up still with hair line crack 
Picture below: Cowl half 2 hair line crack with cement applied 
Picture below: Tamiya Cement used ($4.00 AUS) 
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| Author: | mickmini [ Fri Apr 29, 2011 9:35 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
I use tea tree oil or eucalyptus oil to remove tape adhesive. It's the ducks nuts for that sort of thing. Won't attack the plastic or paint in most cases. And it smells good while you are at it. cheers michael |
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| Author: | MiniPete [ Fri Apr 29, 2011 4:57 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Avoid using WD-40 anywhere you plan on painting 
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| Author: | gafmo [ Fri Apr 29, 2011 11:01 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Tamiya Cement..its good stuff and used it alot when building plastic Aircraft, Tanks, Cars & Boats models when I was young. Easy on the sanding / light handed till you get the differance between the cement and the plastic |
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| Author: | 68AUTO [ Mon May 02, 2011 9:12 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Im nearly done with the restoration of the Steering Wheel Cowl. I've just done my first base coat in Satin Black (as suggested above). Photo below: Cowl 1 just sanded The following photo is of cowl 1, after it had the plastic cement sanded back. 
Photo below: Cowl 1 Rear Support Patch I added a rear patch for added support. I ended up purchasing a Styrene strip from the local hobby shop and used the same plastic cement to fuse it in place. 
Photo below: Cowl 1 with Putty applied and sanded back I purchased some plastic putty (epoxy) from the hobby shop too. I applied it, let it harden and then sanded it back. It may not be perfect but it seemed to do the job. 
Photo below: Plastic Primer applied to Cowl 1 You may notice that some primer is missing from the cowl. That's because I dropped it whilst I was painting it... duh! It actually cracked the plastic and I had to patch it and reapply some more primer. (lesson learnt). One good thing out of that was that the original break held up.. no stress cracks or anything. 
Photo below: First base coat applied This photo was taken of both of the cowls (side by side) after the first base coat of Satin Black base was applied. I am very happy with the results so far. 
Next I will apply one more coat of Satin Black... then I will apply a clear gloss coat. Thoughts? |
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