Nitro-Mors... more like No-Mores!

[ED65]

I read the lies printed on the tin and followed.

:lol: :lol:

Fair enough! I have a modern stripper and although it does work well on most conventional coatings I've gotten into the habit of leaving it quite a bit longer than the, shall we say overly optimistic?, instructions say ought to be needed.

I got the stripper slashed down to clear and bought three bottles. Have to be honest if I'd paid full whack for it I would have felt like I'd been swindled as presumably you do with the Nitromors because although it does work it's a right PITA to use and to clean up the surface after (water cleanup is a joke).

Even left the second coat a good thrice longer than specified, tried keeping the third coat topped up to prevent drying out, etc etc....

Because of how long we have to leave some strippers it's worth covering with something to prevent evaporation. You can sometimes use foil (some strippers attack the aluminium), but surprisingly just plastic wrap can work.

Just a quick thing on wire brushes, for stripping paint the twisted-tuft things are ace but I don't think they're necessary and TBH I think they're too aggressive for some jobs and are sure to scratch. Standard cup brushes are weak sauce, I use them only for buffing surfaces or for light surface rust only. I find plain wheels fine, but for a big job the larger the diameter the better. In addition to usually being a bit wider so you're doing more with each pass the tips of the wires are moving faster for any given drill speed.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Decoke brushes can be useful.

 

[Tasky]

Decoke brushes can be useful.

This sort of thing?

That is the style I've been using.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes, that sort. I had a couple of pointed steel wire ones that were the best.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Not trying to be funny or owt, but if the existing paint is that well stuck on, does it really need to come off?

Oh lordy me, yes!!!



Were it just the standard vice blue it was born with, I'd agree... but this has has thick white, then green gloss paint slapped one atop the other. The paint had then flaked and chipped off over time, exposing the layers beneath and looking utterly awful. Had I simply painted over that, it would have looked like badly hammered metal

But the biggest reason for stripping and recoating, aside from it looking hideous, was to ascertain the extent of damage. So far it looks like just one ding on the lower lip of the front jaw and a fair bit of rust in general.

Ah. Yes. I see what you mean.

One of the great advantages of using something like machinery enamel is that it's well-nigh bomb-proof once it's set. One of the disadvantages of using machinery enamel is that it's well-nigh bomb-proof if you want to strip it off.

One thing that can help is some serious attention with a small cold chisel (or something like a sharp nail around lettering and internal corners) and a hammer - tap-tap rather than whack-whack - to chip off a few bits and give other methods (wire brushes in power tools, strippers, etc) something to get underneath. Obviously a certain amount of care is needed to avoid damage to the underlying casting, but it can get things going. Then it's a case of persistence and determination, I'm afraid.

Or shot-blasting.

 

[Tasky]

I might just get a selection pack of wire wheel things from ScrewFix this weekend... I still have much rust to remove.

Or shot-blasting.

Well... I do actually have a 'sand blasting' sort of kit thing (Harbor Freight style - https://www.harborfreight.com/portable- ... 37025.html) that came with my compressor, though I haven't ever used it and only seen YouTubes about how it works... What could possibly go wrong? #-o :lol:

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Erm - a tip - not in the lounge...... :lol:

 

[Tasky]

Erm - a tip - not in the lounge...... :lol:

But why, Dad...?? :lol:

 

[Cheshirechappie]

:lol: :lol:

 

[D_W]

I might just get a selection pack of wire wheel things from ScrewFix this weekend... I still have much rust to remove.

Or shot-blasting.

Well... I do actually have a 'sand blasting' sort of kit thing (Harbor Freight style - https://www.harborfreight.com/portable- ... 37025.html) that came with my compressor, though I haven't ever used it and only seen YouTubes about how it works... What could possibly go wrong? #-o :lol:

wear a particulate mask (I'm sure you know that), and let us know how it works.

 

[Tasky]

Norton brush set from ScrewFix - Cheaper than a bag of sand, far less mess and didn't require moving stuff to get the compressor out - did the job nicely!

Vice now sporting two coats of Hammerite paint and should be dry enough by the time I get home. Will assemble vice tonight, see if the damn thing works, lube the working parts and maybe even post a couple of pics!

 

[Tasky]

And here's the finished article:

Instead of the usual Record Blue, I opted for a dark Rifle Green colour.
Apologies for the rather dark image, but anything brighter just reflects off the paint - I'd have preferred a more matte finish rather than high gloss, but choices were limited. Working in even moderately bright light, the gloss shine makes it hard to see where you've missed on the second coat, but it only shows in photos. I'll have to touch them up later.

However, the vice goes together nicely and works really well. Just got to install it on the bench, slap on some wooden jaws and then get to working some wood!

 

[ED65]

Great transformation, nicely done. Wire wheels make such a difference over a small round one don't they?

That colour looks great on a vice. If you want to matt the paint down somewhat a rub over using fine wire wool will do the trick.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Ah - the sweet taste of success! That's quite an elegant shade of green, and easy on the eye. Better than lime or flourescent, anyway. Must admit, I'm rather fond of Record blue, but your vice, your rules, so fair do's.

That should do the job just grand, and looks the part too.

Glad you managed it without getting shot-blasting grit in the lounge carpet!

Edit to add - A wee tip. Once it's in service, wind a couple of elastic bands round the handle under it's end-knobs. It cuts down the metallic clank as they drop onto their seatings on the screw end. They perish and need replacing periodically, but they're cheap enough, and certainly worth the lessening of the assault on the eardrums as the cross-bar falls!

 

[Tasky]

Great transformation, nicely done. Wire wheels make such a difference over a small round one don't they?

Actually, all three in the pack were great. Far better than the cack one I tried first.

That colour looks great on a vice. If you want to matt the paint down somewhat a rub over using fine wire wool will do the trick.

They didn't do any in Olive Drab, else I'd have used that, TBH.
I'll see how it looks against the finished bench, for which I plan on a mid-range brown... something like the bark on a (relatively) typical evergreen tree, to go well with the vice.

Ah - the sweet taste of success! That's quite an elegant shade of green, and easy on the eye. Better than lime or flourescent, anyway. Must admit, I'm rather fond of Record blue, but your vice, your rules, so fair do's.

I'd seen a nice Parkinson one in green before and already decided green was the way to go. The photo is quite naff, and it looks very different in the daylight!

Edit to add - A wee tip. Once it's in service, wind a couple of elastic bands round the handle under it's end-knobs.

Way ahead of ya, Chesh - Look reeeeeeeeeeeal close at the pic - I have a 12mm O-ring round each end! :wink: ccasion5: