redraif
The uphill battle begins
So I have had some good momentum going with fixing up the Sport. I decided to keep going with it.
Even though it was right around 32 degrees this weekend on Sunday... I got out there with a rain suit on and gave him a bath. I worked on getting the splattered mud out of the engine bay.... ummm yeah that is not working.... even scrubbing the underside of the hood, the red clay stains are still there.... So I moved on to getting more of the clay off the undercarriage. Well I had a good solid hour with the hose on full jet spraying up into the frame rails, boxed A-arms, suspension cross member, front frame support... etc... it was nothing but solid orange pouring out. I still need to get some more spraying done in the rear, but I was spent after all that, cold wise. So I will go at it again on a warmer weekend.... with a wire brush and scrub, cause simply spraying is not enough. On I side note... I took it for a drive on Monday and it might have been in my head, but I think it was handling a bit better. Maybe all that clay in the a-arms was affecting the feel of the suspension? Anyway...
I wanted to get as much done as possible, so I decided to jack the rig up and remove the wheels. I got all 4 off and scrubbed the wheel wells. I got the wheel wells clean enough to paint with semi gloss black.
Just that little bit helps so much, once I get the fender splash guards reinstalled it will make all the difference in covering up the clay stained suspension.
So I then took a good look at the wheels. The factory finish looked ok from 10 feet away, but it had definately seen better days. There were scratches on each wheel. The insides have obviously never been washed ever. There was so much caked on grease and dirt. There were even rust spots.
I scrubbed them with dawn and a scotch brite pad and got them as best I could. But the finish was beyond hope.
That was no fun in the cold. The dang wash mit I had used on the truck froze solid drapped over the fence is was so cold.
It was now judgement time. What to do with the finish? I rolled the rims into the garage with 2 space heaters. I stood the rims up with the heaters blowing on a pair each. They warmed up enough that I felt they could take paint. So I went forth with my original plan to paint them satin black.
I have never been a fan of solid black rims on any vehicle. The all black against the tire always makes them look dirty. So i decided to add a color keyed lip to the rim.
I think the gloss white lip made them pop and gave the transition between the rim and tire to keep the tire from looking bad.
Even though it was right around 32 degrees this weekend on Sunday... I got out there with a rain suit on and gave him a bath. I worked on getting the splattered mud out of the engine bay.... ummm yeah that is not working.... even scrubbing the underside of the hood, the red clay stains are still there.... So I moved on to getting more of the clay off the undercarriage. Well I had a good solid hour with the hose on full jet spraying up into the frame rails, boxed A-arms, suspension cross member, front frame support... etc... it was nothing but solid orange pouring out. I still need to get some more spraying done in the rear, but I was spent after all that, cold wise. So I will go at it again on a warmer weekend.... with a wire brush and scrub, cause simply spraying is not enough. On I side note... I took it for a drive on Monday and it might have been in my head, but I think it was handling a bit better. Maybe all that clay in the a-arms was affecting the feel of the suspension? Anyway...
I wanted to get as much done as possible, so I decided to jack the rig up and remove the wheels. I got all 4 off and scrubbed the wheel wells. I got the wheel wells clean enough to paint with semi gloss black.
Just that little bit helps so much, once I get the fender splash guards reinstalled it will make all the difference in covering up the clay stained suspension.
So I then took a good look at the wheels. The factory finish looked ok from 10 feet away, but it had definately seen better days. There were scratches on each wheel. The insides have obviously never been washed ever. There was so much caked on grease and dirt. There were even rust spots.
I scrubbed them with dawn and a scotch brite pad and got them as best I could. But the finish was beyond hope.
That was no fun in the cold. The dang wash mit I had used on the truck froze solid drapped over the fence is was so cold.
It was now judgement time. What to do with the finish? I rolled the rims into the garage with 2 space heaters. I stood the rims up with the heaters blowing on a pair each. They warmed up enough that I felt they could take paint. So I went forth with my original plan to paint them satin black.
I have never been a fan of solid black rims on any vehicle. The all black against the tire always makes them look dirty. So i decided to add a color keyed lip to the rim.
I think the gloss white lip made them pop and gave the transition between the rim and tire to keep the tire from looking bad.
Last edited:
