I thought I might give an update—

If anyone recalls, I posted this pic a few months back--

http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/511/Pict0434.JPG

These came, along with the other slots in the background, while I was picking up some unrelated stuff. The one hotrod was completely covered in metallic blue paint. The previous owner removed nothing, and just re-painted the windscreen frame and the pipes silver, right over top of the paint.

I wanted to try and clean it without disassembly.
For me, its next to impossible to remove the roof off of a hotrod, without some sort of damage.
Which brings me to a question—

Does anyone here know how to separate the glued bits apart chemically, or in a way that preserves both pieces?

I thought of the “Easy-Off” method, but while it would be “easy” cleaning the whole thing—it would take “off” all the chrome plating and the original details, along with the interior paint.

I didn’t want to loose all (if any) of the original detail left from the factory.
I started with what I thought was a “cool” paint thinner, and loosened the paint up. Next I gave it a mineral spirits bath, which acted as a release agent for the lifted paint, and softened up the decals I’d found under the paint job. I kept at it this with different types of brushes and toothpicks and although tedious, it worked quite well—

http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/511/Pict0394.JPG


I was able to preserve all the original detail that wasn’t worn off from use, including all the interior paint and the tail-lights.
I swapped the chassis with the red hotrod, and touched up the windscreen frame and pipes, but there was still quite a bit of chrome left on them, and although the pics’ make them look worn and yellowed, that’s just the light reflection—


http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/511/Pict0395.JPG


This is a first for me—doing it this way, still being assembled and in one piece. I was surprised with the results.
I now have a pretty nice blue hotrod coupe to go with my roadster.

Another question: Any guess as to the value of one of these—In mint, and also in this condition?



Thanks for the views-



Cheers..

Excellent restoration! And without taking it apart to boot!!! Looks minty new to me!

As far as removing glued on bits chemically, I would think it is not possible if the parts were glued correctly. I am not sure of the glues of yesteryear, but even in the early 70's I was building plastic models. The glue used would weld/fuse the parts together by chemically melting them at the joints. I know parts fall off of slot cars all the time, but it seems to me that it is usually the chrome bits. Even the instructions in plastic models tell to remove chrome plating so the glue can do its work. Other slot car bits that are not glued, are usually assembled with hot-knifed on their pins to secure them.
Just my thoughts. No charge. :)

Keep at'em, Boss! Looking GREAT!

Awsome results. It looks brand new to me.

Phil, I got a package today. Awsome!!! I will share pictures later.

Damn!! Looks good!!! :thumbsup:

Wes

VERY nice. A "cool" paint thinner followed by mineral spirits, huh? Got a brand name or other specifics?

I LOVE removing paint and finding good ol' Aurora goodness underneath... :D

--rick

Value? Whatever someone will pay, but on average a new Aurora Hot Rod C-9 (no box & insert) should fetch $80 - 100.00.
Your car would probably bring $30 - 60.00 on eBay.
You did a nice job restoring it!

Looks close enough to mint for me! I'm sure you could snag a few JL slots for it. :devil:

Nice job Phil!! :thumbsup: Dave

Thanks for the comps’ guys…:)

I ‘d thought some interest would be garnered for a period-dated, age-related, custom, that was brought back from the dead.

Thanks for the info, Joe, but I was aware of the gluing and plastic soldering techniques from days of yore. No charges applicable!

Park- Ask and ye shall receive:

One of the “coolest” thinners I’ve found is Testors airbrush brand. The brand of mineral spirits is coincidentally—“Parks”.
For brushes I start with a Colgate brand toothbrush, then move on to paintbrushes- starting with a #4 and finishing with a #3. These are Pactra.
For toothpicks I start with Diamond brand, but the real workers are the Foster brand of toothpicks.
Charles Foster opened the first toothpick plant in the USA in 1887. These picks are fragile, but won’t mar the surface, and the tip is very tiny, so it can get into most nooks without too much problem.
They also make for a good spatula for applying little globs of bondo, and work well for minimum paint touch-ups, too.

A friend has had luck with a chemical, releasing the parts from one-another, but he looses all the paint along with it. I didn’t want to do that.
I was hoping someone could shed some more light on this. How do you chaps remove windscreens, glued on bumpers, and other such parts? Any ideas?


Also, I thought there might be enough “Bay” hounds and watch-dogs here that could give me an idea of the “value” of this in today’s market. Thank you Jeauxc!
You never know—I might just want to keep an eye on those auctions and bump the prices to “protect my investment”
Oh, wait—these didn’t cost me anything, so I wouldn’t be able to bid!

(Sorry! Poor joke).:drunk:


Actually, I hope everyone here gets the chance at something like this--of course, at the cost I’d incurred.;)



Cheers..

It shows that hard work does really pay off! NICE (I have debating what to do with my AMX that is caked in Forest green paint....
(yeah yeah that one..I swear Im never getting around to do it.)

Great resto-job. And on a Hotrod no less...one of my personal all-time favs. I love those things. You know sometimes you don't know exactly what you'll find under the layers of "art work" these bodies are coated with. I'm just wanting to find how you got back the luster on the body?? It looks so good you'd never know. dave :thumbsup:

whats nice about the hot rod body is; it never has the wheel wells cutout (well ok, sometimes people feel the need to take some off, I had a lemon modified chopped up once)

Ed, you did not do the chopping, did you??!!

I was hoping someone could shed some more light on this. How do you chaps remove windscreens, glued on bumpers, and other such parts? Any ideas?
Cheers..


So...what do you do?


Thanks..

So...what do you do?


Thanks..

Depending on the amount of glue or melted plastic, I have used my Dremel to help loosen those items up for easier removal. I have also purchased a couple of those cheapie Fingernail trimmers (battery powered Dremel like tool) to use on the finer items not requiring the higher level of RPMS you get with the Dremel. Works great and less likely to screw up the body if you slip, especially if it's one of those original Auroras. :eek: rr

Darn nice job restorin that Hot Rod, Boss!
Really was fortunate it was complete, also. That took a lot of patience no doubt! Heres one that I will probly hack as the glue did too much damage, and I dont have the parts to go with it. The orange one was a black/red interior one but some moron hacked the hood off before I got it. Probly build sumthin like that out of the blue one.

Thanks for the tips on how ya did it!----DAC

Bossman-
Great job! Thanks for the supplies list. What did you "touch up" the chrome with? It looks perfect. The car looks brand new.

Jim

Thanks for the additional comps’, guys--

Tj—
I use various types of waxes and fine-cut-cleaners—everything from Happich semi-chrome, to Mothers mag wheel polish.:)

DAC—
A black one huh? Wow! I know that one is a heavy-hitter!
Please share your finished results when done. I know they will look great!
Ps—you have mail…

Jim—
I have a graphic artists' paint pen that I’ve had for years—it never seems to dry out! Unfortunately, I’ve used it so much that I’ve worn the name off the side and don’t know who made it. If I make it to the shops soon, I’ll check it out to see if it’s still available, and fill you in.:)

So—
Now that I’ve covered this, can you guys (or anyone else, for that matter) tell me if you know of a chemical that acts as a glue-release agent?
And thanks RR, for addressing this!



Cheers..