My M37 Restoration Thread

[Gordon Maney]

Winter does not appear to be setting in there like it is here...

[JStinson]

Winter does not appear to be setting in there like it is here...

I was in short sleeves all day long today.

[Bruce]

Ditto

I was in short sleeves all day long today.

Same here!

[Gordon Maney]

It will be 18 degrees F here tonight.

[JStinson]

Patching

The material I was using as the patch for this hole (see previous posts on last page) was too thin. I used a wire welder on the coldest setting, but it still blew holes through it. In addition, it warped and just generally made me pull my hair out. So, I got a thicker sheet of metal and cut a new patch out.

Old patch removed/new patch ready to go:







I'll see if I can remember to get some pictures of it with paint on it tomorrow, it came out really good.

[JStinson]

Blasting gun

I finished prepping the cab for painting. I got a cheap little canister sand blaster from Tractor Supply, it was a huge help in finishing up the prep work. Best 20 bucks I've spent on the project so far. I bought a 50lb bucket of blasting media. It's 80 grit and it works really well. It was more expensive than the gun at 25 bucks. I was getting really concerned as I was blasting because the media was going a lot faster than I had expected.

Here's what happens when you're a dedicated cheapskate:







Blamo! Reclaimed media.

[JStinson]

Painting

I went to prime the truck the other day and the paint gun wouldn't cooperate. Yesterday, my dad and I went on a short road trip and on the way back we picked up a new one. Here's what it got done:





I bought three gallons of OD paint a couple of months ago. It's Majic brand hunters paint or something like that. I don't like it. It looks like OD mixed with lime green. It's terrible. However, with a little tweaking, it gets better. The above picture is a mix I made up, but I think it's still too light. Tomorrow I'm going to make it darker and see what happens. I'll make that the second coat and (hopefully) call it good.

The paint mixing lab:

[JStinson]

Progress

Here's a shot of the patch:



You can still see the outline if you look at it head on, but I don't think it's a big deal.

I mixed some darker paint and went to work on the cab.

The resident Beagle coming to check out the work:



Christmas cab:

[JStinson]

First coat on the bottom:

[Gordon Maney]

You had better record your paint recipe so you can match it in the future when you need to.

[JStinson]

You had better record your paint recipe so you can match it in the future when you need to.

Oh yeah, I wrote it down. Losing the recipe would be a real disappointment.

[JStinson]

I mixed some darker paint and went to work on the cab.

As I sit here watching tv, I realize that I did NOT mix a darker shade of paint than what I was spraying yesterday. I made a mistake when I mixed it this morning. Crap.

I'll try it again tomorrow...

[Gordon Maney]

As I sit here watching tv, I realize that I did NOT mix a darker shade of paint than what I was spraying yesterday. I made a mistake when I mixed it this morning. Crap.

I'll try it again tomorrow...

When making it darker, I would use black, not brown.....

[JStinson]

When making it darker, I would use black, not brown.....

You here all week?

[Gordon Maney]

You here all week?

Maybe.

my agenda