1958 Custom Kettle

[Mike in Roseville]

It does look like red paint around the push nut area


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[Rub]

Is it just me or is there red starting to show on these wheels?  The more PB Blaster I spray on the axle and wipe off the excess on the wheels, the more it appears there is red paint below the rust.   

All kinds of red near the rubber from 9-11 o'clock, no doubt about it.

[Cellar2ful]

After four days of soaking with PB Blaster daily, I was able to get the wheels off the axle.  They didn't go easy as I had to drive the axle out with a punch and ball peen hammer.



And after a bath in Evapo-Rust.  The wheels were definitely red but not much of the paint survived. 



I could see there were holes rusted through the front leg but once the wheels were removed, here is more damage reveled.








@Rub sent me a video on low temp aluminum welding rods that can fill holes by using only a plumbers brazing torch.  From what I researched, these rods are meant for use on aluminum.  My question to anyone with welding knowledge, can this low temp aluminum welding rod be used to patch holes on metals other than aluminum?  Will it bond to the metal legs of this Custom?

[randy]

Aluminum and steel usually don’t get along well, you should be able to use a brazing rod to get the job done but I’ve never tried it with anything other than an acetylene torch.


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[JEBIV]

Aluminum and steel usually don’t get along well, you should be able to use a brazing rod to get the job done but I’ve never tried it with anything other than an acetylene torch.


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What the hell do you know? you use gasoline to start your charcoal LOL

[randy]

Aluminum and steel usually don’t get along well, you should be able to use a brazing rod to get the job done but I’ve never tried it with anything other than an acetylene torch.


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What the hell do you know? you use gasoline to start your charcoal LOL

I use starting fluid to clean my cooking grates🤷‍♂️


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[Travis]

Very nice job, Jim. The pan really did the trick! Well done.


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[Rub]

@Cellar2ful I did some research. If a magnet sticks to it it's ferrous and it won't work. I'm guessing on the early legs they're ferrous.

[Cellar2ful]

Had a few hiccups in getting the rust off the triangle/ash pan.  Ordered three bottles of Evapo-Rust Gel on Amazon.  The stuff arrives, opened one of the jars and find the gel is almost a solid mass.   Tried brushing it onto the pan and it was like trying to brush buratta cheese.  It stayed it lumps and just rolled around. Same thing with the other two containers.  Figured something wasn't right so I contacted Evapo-Rust.  The representative said they had a problem with a small batch of the gel, where to much of one ingredient was added causing it to thicken to much.  They shipped me three replacement bottles. 

While waiting for the replacements to arrive, I tried using Naval Jelly.  1 1/2 bottles later the Evapo-Rust replacement shipment arrived.  The Naval Jelly didn't seem to do much in removing the rust.  Started using the Evapo-Rust gel and had better results.  Because this pan was so badly rusted, I left each application of gel on for about two hours, till it was totally dry (as per the instructions).  I found more rust was removed by scrubbing the dried gel with an SOS pad under running water than scrubbing with a nylon brush (as per the instructions).  After using an entire bottle of gel, the rust is gone.  What you see on the pan are holes and etching in the metal from the rust.





Now, onto the wheels. 

[KPDesjardins]

If I'm not mistaken a similar kettle recently sold on ebay for $3k+.  I always have my eyes open for a curb score.  It has yet to happen but the hunt is part of the fun.  Congratulations!

[JEBIV]

@Cellar2ful coming along nicely

[crowderjd]

That's looking nice.  Glad to see your hard work paying off!

[PotsieWeber]

NICE!

[Erictag]

Looking good Jim!  Thank you for sharing your progress!


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[Cellar2ful]

These wheels really took a beating. These were the sides facing outwards.



And these are the sides that faced inwards.  The side facing inwards usually suffers more rust damage for some reason. 



All taped off, ready to prime.





After several coats of primer, I used Sherwin Williams oil based enamel.  The paint store used a handheld paint analyzer on the small bit of paint that was left on one of the wheels.  I selected gloss finish.  As you can see in the below photo, a lot of the pitting was still visible after the first coat.



I wasn't happy with the high gloss finish and the amount of pitting still visible.  That coupled with the fact I felt the paint color was to brown I decided to sand the wheels again.  It actually worked to my advantage as when I finished sanding it resulted in a much smoother surface.   Went back to the paint store and had them mix another quart, in a satin finish this time.  It took three times of adding more red to the formula until I was happy with the color.  I hand painted the wheels and let them cure for almost a week. 

It was a long week of waiting but here it is all together again.  Have to throw one before photo in here.