John Rogers

Howdy all, I have been meaning to post this for a while now but I keep forgetting. A while back I was looking into which paint strippers worked the best. In the past I have always used Klean Strip or Aircraft Stripper so have most of the shops that Ive worked at but I figured I would check to see if there was anything new that I was unaware of that might be better. Anyway, when I did the search I found that on 3-15-2019 the EPA announced that they are going to ban strippers that contain methylene chloride due to deaths from "exposure" such as using it without protection and in enclosed spaces etc. It appears that the ban only pertains to retail consumers not businesses. Im not sure when the ban will take effect. Auto paint supply shops will still carry it though for those that have working relationships with them. Walmart only carries the reformulated type now but at least for now our local Ace still carries the stripper that contains methylene chloride as well as the "safe" stuff. The reformulated "safe" stripper works but not nearly as good. Im sure most of the folks here already know that the chemical stripper in question is some mighty strong stuff and that using common sense and taking the necessary safety precautions such as the proper type long gloves eye protection, clothing, etc and using it in a well ventilated area are of paramount importance when using it . Lets face it the "good stuff" can and will burn the heck out of you if you happen to get a drip on your skin or catch a good whiff of it. Anyway I wanted to pass this on to yall just in case anyone was planning to remove paint with chemical stripper in the future. If so you might want to grab some. John

Congratulations on your new car. It is a beauty ! John

That is one sweet Power Wagon !

Man that sounds great, its like sweet lumpy music. John

Don, Im really sorry I didn't respond sooner. I somehow missed your post after you made it. I hope that you are feeling better and that you make a fast and complete recovery. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. John

Thats looks great ! John

Running boards are one of those parts that are hard to avoid using and about twice as hard to keep looking nice. I'd just use them and try not to worry about it. Its part of what makes a truck a truck. The good thing is , if it gets to the point where it really.... really bugs you, running boards are easy panels to remove. You can always take them off and give them a good going over and a fresh coat of paint.Put em back on and in no time your good to go. John

I'd love to find a Roof Palomino mower.They look like a miniature Jeep. I don't see much possibility of finding one out here in AZ. Heck , Wheel Horse garden tractors are next to impossible to find out here. Luckily I have two of them. Dad left me his Wheel Horse 702 when he passed away in 2002 and I bought another 702 in New Jersey when I lived in Gettysburg. I included a picture of my Dad giving my son JJ a ride on his Wheel Horse when JJ was little.JJ is 33 now ? Dad was wonderful I sure do miss him.

I love your truck. So very cool !!! John

Holy cow what a great find. I don't blame you for wanting to keep it as is. What a beauty ! John

Oh I didnt know that. Thank you for pointing this out. I see your point. E tanking these wouldn't be a good idea seeing as stainless steel etc produce toxic by products and I imagine the cad plating would be equally as nasty so e tanking would be a bad idea in this case. I know that John Sartain has used a molasses bath to strip rust on his running boards. I wonder if molasses might be a safe alternative?

If you have a part that is frozen up , I have had really good luck freeing up frozen Wheel Horse tractor rear lift cables and "vintage" dirtbike rear brake cables etc. using my electrolysis tank. Another big plus is that the part will come out rust free and usually most if not all the paint that might be on it will be removed as well. You will need to clean / wire brush the part really well when it comes out and give it a good rinsing to get the old crud off . Once cleaned and rinsed the part will start to form rust almost immediately so you have to make sure to oil it or prime it.... something to protect it. E tanks work incredible for removing rust on parts that are rusty but in otherwise usable condition. I also have used it to remove rust from old cast iron skillets and dutch ovens that I have picked up at yard sales etc. They come out bright and clean. Just a thought. John

Your solution reminded me of this clip from the Africa special . These guys crack me up. I have over 100 hrs saved on my DVR

Those are great photos. Thanks so much for sharing them ! John

Wow !!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Plymouthy and everyone else.I hope yall enjoy your family, friends and the feast. Each day is a reason to be thankful and today is a day we can be thankful together while chowing down on a great meal and lots of pie.... and even grits of your so inclined Margo and I are going to be celebrating Thanksgiving on Sunday . Margo is the overnight assistant manager and like so many who work in retail she will be coming home from work anytime now get a few hrs sleep then back to work for "Black Friday " or "blitz" as it is called by Walmart employees. Im roasting a Turkey for her to take to work for the associates to munch on. I must say it was a rather strange turkey as it had two necks in it. Thats the last time I buy a Chernobyl brand turkey I'll tell ya ! John

I'm a Civil War artillery reenactor. I used to portray do cavalry until I broke my back. No more riding horses. You can't see me very well in the second picture thru the muzzle flash, just my butternut trousers and checkered shirt. Im the one in the checkered shirt firing the mountain howitzer. In case anyone is wondering ,yes there was a Civil War battle that happened in Arizona or what was back then known as the New Mexico Territory . The Battle of Picacho Pass. It was the western most battle of the Civil war and it happened about midway between Tucson and Phoenix a little east of what is now I -10 . PS, yes its hot wearing a pair of wool trousers and dark blue wool sack coat in the summer

I remember there was also a little one held on with a set screw for the dimmer switch. John

The spaghetti probably would have heated up sooner if we had been driving a Pinto. John

Seeing Mack the Fingers post reminds me of a very fond memory of my Mom Dad and I from when I was about 10. We lived in Tucson and we took a little day trip into the desert not far from where I live now to look for "Desert Roses" . Dad brought come Chef Boyardee spaghetti with us to eat for lunch. Well he forgot to bring something to heat it on . So he too the hubcap off our car it was a Vega so no loss there and built a first under it . Then he set the opened can on top of it and let it heat up. After a few minutes I look at the can and the heat had made the contents of the can rise up in a tall spaghetti column like a push pop almost to the point of collapsing onto the hubcap and ground. I brought it to my Dads attention and he hurriedly poked a the wedge shaped end of the still new/ unused tire iron lug wrench into it to shove it back into the can all the time laughing . Dad was a hoot. One night when Mom was at my Aunts house next door Dad decided to make his own corn nuts. He drained and salted a can of hominys and put them on a flat cookie sheet type thing and put them into the toaster oven to roast and get crunchy. Long story short.... after a while all of the sudden they started to explode like firecrackers just as Mom walked in the front door. Dad wasnt allowed to use the kitchen for a while after that. I sure do miss them both. John

My wife and my votes were cast a tad over 2 weeks ago. Mailed them in

Must have needed that extra ruff...age

Yup, over the years we had no less than 4 chrome shops to chose from in Tucson. Some of them stopped by the bodyshop that I worked in each morning back in the 80's and early 90's to pick up bumpers to be straightened and rechromed. Now there is only one that I know of. I know a very little of it might have to do with the lack of chrome bumpers on todays vehicles and the chrome bumpers on those that have them is throw away after even a minor collision but as Plymouthy said the chrome industry has just about been regulated out of existence here in the US. If you want chrome work done now , its big $$$$$ !

Your right, it shouldn't be runny and transparent. Primers have a lot of solids in them. Was the can of primer well mixed? If the can sat on the shelf at the paint supply shop for even a few weeks the solids can and will separate and settle into sort of thick clump/layer the bottom. Primers that are high build have more solids than others and it doesn't have to sit on a shelf very long for them to start to separate and settle. All the auto paint shops that I have dealt with over the years have always put everything on the shaker before it goes out the door but you never know if it got missed. If the contents are not well mixed it will be runny. I use a direct to metal urethane 2K primer on some of the things that I work on that separates so much if it sits that it gets very solid in the bottom and no amount of mixing with a stick will get it mixed properly so I have to put it on a shaker for 5 or 10 minutes and that mixes it up just fine. Another thing that can cause problems like this is using the wrong mixing ratio. I would check to make sure that the primer was thoroughly mixed and that there are no solids built up on the bottom of the can and I'd also double check the primer / activator mixing ratio that was used. I hope this helps. John