1961/62 Ambassador in the wild (yellow ochre)

[Cellar2ful]

This being the first real old kettle restoration I have tackled, I have been very apprehensive.  It's not like you can call Weber and have them send a replacement wheel retainer cap for a 62 Ambassador.  I first sprayed the wheel/axle caps with Liquid Wrench and let them soak overnight.  The next day I was able to work the wheel caps off the axle by prying alternating sides using a common pry bar.  I used a second pry bar as a base so as not to damage the metal rim or tire.



It took maybe 8 to 10 alternate prys with the bar to pop the cap off.  They both came off in great shape. Now I (and you) know what the backside of one of these old caps look like.

           

Here is the dismantled drive train and the tools used.




The next step was soaking the thumbscrews and wheel caps in Evapo-rust for about 10 hours. Stuff works amazing!  What didn't come off with Evapo-rust buffed off with #0000 steel wool.

       


Then the rust on the triangle was removed with a razor scraper and #0000 steel wool.  I will probably hit the triangle with some Rolite polish before putting everything back together.

 

Right now the wheels are soaking in Evapo-rust.

[kettlebb]

That is the original triangle!? Wow. Just a razor and steel wool? Any lubricant?


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[Cellar2ful]

That is the original triangle!? Wow. Just a razor and steel wool? Any lubricant?

Yes, original triangle. No lubricant.  I have always used the steel wool dry on the porcelain and metals.  Once the Eagles/Vikings game became a blow out last night, I started working on the triangle.

[Heyjude]

This is Jim on Craigslist!
@Cellar2ful   

[Cellar2ful]

The wheels came out rust free after a 12 hour bath in Evapo-rust.  Unfortunately, the years were unkind to the paint so they are in need of repainting. 

 

 

The restoration guide only addresses painting white walls on the newer, plastic wheels. Don't think the Q-tip thinner method will work over fresh painted black paint. I did a search for painting metal wheels and came up with a couple of threads. 
 

Any tips from folks that have tackled painting these metal wheels?  I assume I should remove all the old paint, then prime and spray with black paint. Best method to remove the paint?  Gloss or semi-gloss black? I also read about someone using vinyl stick on white walls from zavod44.  You still make them Brian?

@harris92  @LightningBoldtz  @zavod44  @SixZeroFour

[LightningBoldtz]

The wheels came out rust free after a 12 hour bath in Evapo-rust.  Unfortunately, the years were unkind to the paint so they are in need of repainting. 

 

 

The restoration guide only addresses painting white walls on the newer, plastic wheels. Don't think the Q-tip thinner method will work over fresh painted black paint. I did a search for painting metal wheels and came up with a couple of threads. 
 

Any tips from folks that have tackled painting these metal wheels?  I assume I should remove all the old paint, then prime and spray with black paint. Best method to remove the paint?  Gloss or semi-gloss black? I also read about someone using vinyl stick on white walls from zavod44.  You still make them Brian?

@harris92  @LightningBoldtz  @zavod44  @SixZeroFour

those look great, I used the vinyl stickers back in 2013 on a 64 texan that I got.   they were a lot easier than painting.

[harris92]

Usually, I sand the wheels and use Rust-Oleum Semi-Gloss black paint (brush on).  I use a small art brush.  @Jeff gave me some great tips on masking the wheels to spray on the white walls. It took a while to mask but well worth it in the end.  FYI,  I sprayed on the white walls first.

[Neil_VT00]

I've got a set of wheels in similar condition after an evapo-rust soak.  My plan is to sand them down, mask, and re-spray with Rust-Oleum but I'm waiting for warmer weather for that. Brian sells whitewall decals that I am going to use as opposed to trying to paint it.

[captjoe06]

Incredible!  Love watching and looking for the updates!

[james1787]

Man what a find!! Congrats!!

[Cellar2ful]

Probably overkill, but I sanded the wheels down to bare metal. As expected, I found quite a bit of pitting from the rust. Notice the 4 spot welds that hold the 2 parts of the wheel together that sanding revealed.



Taped off the wheels by using small pieces of tape like step flashing.  I tucked each piece between the wheel and tread with a very small screwdriver.

 



Once the tread was taped off , I sprayed the wheels with 2 coats of Rustoleum primer/filler.  Really filled all the pitting in the metal and provided a smooth surface for the finish coats.



I found using a Lazy Susan was really convenient for brush painting the wheels, especially the white walls. Placing the wheel on a Lazy Susan allowed me to hold the brush stationary while turning the Lazy Susan with my other hand.   Free hand painting the white walls was like pin striping.  Takes a steady hand.

 

The newly painted and finished wheels.

 

Now onto the legs.

[Bob BQ]

Wow. Looks amazing!


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[WNC]

Wow man, incredible!


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[Darko]

That's impressive work. Nice job.

[crowderjd]

That is outstanding, Jim, great work...and great idea with the lazy Susan.