Progress 7/6/17 - 7/12/17

I decided to stop at four coats of primer (plus a "fog coat") as I had done extensive surfacing to all the parts during the repair phase.  There shouldn't be that much "leveling" to do during the wet sanding process. The seat can now go back into storage while I work on the box.

So the wagon came out of storage today!  One task needed to be done prior to taking the box off the gear; mounting the "rub rollers".

Rub rollers mount to the lower edge of the wagon box.  In a tight turn, the front wheel will hit the body.  The wheel is then in danger of "binding" and may flip the wagon!  This is particularly dangerous with hard rubber tires.  The solution is positioning the rollers so that the wheels strike them in a turn.  The large roller will turn and prevent the wheel from binding.

This picture shows the rubber tire cramped against the lower edge of the wagon box before the rub roller is installed.

Here's the hard rubber tire in contact with the roller.












Unfortunately, the old wheels are not true, and they wander in an out as they turn, so the challenge was positioning the rollers so that they contact the rubber tires through the entire in-and-out travel of the wheels.  It took the better part of an afternoon of holding my jaw just right, but eventually I got them on pretty much where I wanted them.  So tomorrow, the wagon can go down to the shop where the box will be taken off the gear again, and priming will begin.

7/7/17

At long last the wagon was wheeled down to the shop today, where the box was taken off.  Turned upside down here for protective coatings of primer and paint.

No great pains taken, just enough sanding for paint adhesion, then a couple of passes with the spray gun.  I've officially used up my first quart or primer.

Tomorrow, the bottom gets a coat or two of enamel.  Then it's time to build a paint booth in the shop, in preparation for finishing.








7/12/17 Update

The wagon box now has several coats of primer on it, with one more to go tomorrow.  It will be ready to paint as soon as the "paint booth" is constructed in the shop!