Richie's Mk1 Restoration

eddy8men · #1 19-12-10, 13:16

to be honest i got the idea from looking at john bizal's carrier aswell, i think john got them powder coated, i don't plan on doing anything as fancy or as expensive as that, just a blast with my grit gun and a bit of thinned down roofing sealant that i had left over from a job should do the trick for me. i don't plan on trying to get my carrier as good as john's immaculate mk1, infact i've left the bullet holes and damages side skirts on as i'm going for the "used look"

eddy

RichardT10829 · #2 19-12-10, 13:26

I am aiming to get mine as nice as David's T16 (Horsa) which is a very tall order but none the less that is my bench mark. Once I have finished dipping the track it will be coated in a hard stone chip I am aware that it will wear through but I am happy with that. I am beginning to toy with the idea of doing the caunter scheme on the hull but the only thing that is stopping me is caunter was not used after Alamein 42... My grandads regiment were reforming and training in Callender (Scotland) at this point, he then went to Madagascar, India, Iraq, Persian theater of ops, Tunisia bizzerta, Scicily Then got evac'd to hospital during op Husky then re badged as 2/4th KOYLI sept 19th 1943 landing on uncle green beach Salerno Italy.....finishing his war early 45 to return home to take care of the family business as his father had died of a heart attack.

so much to think about ! I don't want yet another green carrier though....not really into the SCC2 brown either... so that leaves desert scheme the scheme i had planned on was light stone base with dark brown / black disruptive pattern

tankbarrell · #3 19-12-10, 15:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by eddy8men

to be honest i got the idea from looking at john bizal's carrier aswell, i think john got them powder coated, i don't plan on doing anything as fancy or as expensive as that, just a blast with my grit gun and a bit of thinned down roofing sealant that i had left over from a job should do the trick for me. i don't plan on trying to get my carrier as good as john's immaculate mk1, infact i've left the bullet holes and damages side skirts on as i'm going for the "used look"

eddy

I painted my M5 HST tracks with thinned down bitumen paint and it still looks good on the undamaged areas 13 years later. Very different to carrier track though as most of that will be incontact with the ground to some extent and the paint will last but seconds!

RichardT10829 · #4 19-12-10, 15:37

Adrian, the main cleat bar will wear clean but the horns and main cast i think will last some time...who knows still going to give it a whirl....Perhaps John could shed some light on how long his lasted as he restored his carrier some few years back now.

tankbarrell · #5 19-12-10, 16:06

It depends on the ground conditions but the only part likely to remain painted will be the outer surface of the horns.

I feel it is worth doing as it looks much better when first restored.

eddy8men · #6 19-12-10, 23:02

i'll get my tracks done in the next few weeks and post up some pics but i won't be able to fit them on the carrier and really test them out for a couple of months as the engine's being rebuilt and won't be ready for a while.

eddy

George McKenzie · #7 20-12-10, 23:27

Wonder what powder coating would be like ? It would be tougher than paint

ajmac · #8 21-12-10, 01:22

Powder coating is a waste of time for anything that you intend to use in anger! I powder coated a Triumph Spitfires front suspension componants and a Land-Rover Petrol tank and both rusted very badly as the coating holds in the damp in perfect corrosive environment! I would have thought that if tracks were coated at all (which I guess they were) that a type of chemical black would have been used. It is still done in the UK, I had a No4 Mk1 Enfield acid dipped and re-blacked about 10 years ago in Stourbridge, West Midlands.