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Saturday, April 25, 2015

Polishing The Fenders

Rainy day work here in the workshop shining up the remaining paint and chrome on the 52 Merc. For some reason it reminded me of Anthony's Song by Billy Joel. What remains of the original "Fanfare Maroon" paint looks great after diesel fuel and dirty rags followed by Turtle Wax rubbing compound.
And surprisingly most of the chrome is good too despite reading that cars of that year had poor chrome due to shortages of nickel during the Korean War.
"Patina" seems to be the latest trend in restoring collectible vehicles and this car sure has it. Right down to the undercoat and bare, slightly rusty metal on the roof. It took 40+ years of sitting out in the weather to acquire this "finish" and I'm going to make the best of it. I think Budd E. Shepherd is doing the same thing with his Studebaker.
Currently the Holley "teapot" carburetor is off for cleaning and new gaskets. I worked overtime getting the horns re-installed today. Just wanted to hear how they sound so I hooked up a battery and was only able to get a "click" out of the relay. Needs a little investigation I guess.

2 comments:

  1. Keep at it, Ralph; I love the old cars!

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  2. Vintage cars like that are a real dime, and it would be such a waste if we would not take care of them. Speaking of which, you’ve done a great job on shining up the remaining paint and chrome on the 52 Merc. It looks very nice. Anyway, Thanks for sharing this with us, Ralph. Have a great day!


    Bernice Parsons @ Badger Anodising Ltd.

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