studmuffin

Totally agree. I always use Knipex cable shears and their snips which are totally stonking. 1mm grinding discs will rip through anything, but important to wear full eye mask protection. Barry

Put me down for a fleece and thanks to you and the other Admins for keeping it going. Well done all Barry

Before you paint I would use the plasterers trick of sizeing the walls using PVA adhesive watered down to approx. 8 parts water to 1 part PVA. This will seal the bricks and stop them sucking in the paint, as well as giving the paint a good key. You may get away with one coat of paint. Cheers Barry

Jason, there are loads of nice people on this forum to think about, but at odd times you pop into my head and I wonder how you are doing. Its great that your life is moving forward. Stay positive and enjoy the moment. Well done mate. Cheers Barry

Totally agree. Make sure the storage charges exceed the value. As I understand it the law courts take the opinion that you cannot be expected to store a customers vehicle for free and have every right in law to charge for the privilege. Cheers Barry

Great place to visit. We went last year but only for 4 nights which was not enough. We went by coach to Gullfoss, Geysir and then bobbed along in the Blue Lagoon, which has poolside bar. Hot springs/cold lager!! Didn't get chance to go offroad, but want to go back. Take a light anorak. Its sunny for 2 hours then it rains for 20 minutes, then its sunny again repeating pretty much every day Cheers Barry

Well done Mikey. Hope it goes well but you still get back to Shropshire every now and then. All the best Barry

Do not use red oxide. The current version bears no relation to the version 40 years ago. My understanding is like Ralph. After mordant solution wash off with water and use a primer. I am not sure that etch primer works better than other primers on steel( which has already been acid pickled). Maybe someone in the trade can enlighten us. Barry

I was hoping for someone who works in Galvanising to give a definitive answer. But as I understand it the coating thickness and adhesion depend on- Whether it is new steel new build. How successful the acid pickling is in removing any mill scale. How good is the pre-treatment. The temperature and time spent in the zinc bath. The levels of silicon and phosphorus in the steel matrix. Personally I would be happy with a bright,uniform, shiny, spangle finish which will react with the atmospheric conditions and contaminents to form a dull hard shell which gives you your protective coat. Think steel farm gates. There may be loads more that I don't know about. Try ringing the UK Galvanisers Association and ask to speak to their technical guys. Quite often these people are very helpful. Hope this helps Barry

For the stiff lock I would try a good squirt with PTFE Silicon spray. Its as slippery as a banker in a wet suit. Barry

Maybe it would help to clarify why more silicon gives a thicker coating. This is not necessarily designed for items like chassis. As I understand it generally steel mills select higher silicon content in high tensile steels for production of things like Z purlins for industrial or agricultural roofs.They are static structures after section rolling and are designed to coat up to 600 gms per metre2 for aggressive atmospheres rich in sulphur dioxide, whereas I may stand corrected but normal galvanised coating weight is around 275gms/m2. The problem is that an unrestricted silicon over 0.10% can decrease the zinc deposited, until it climbs towards 0.4% silicon, when the zinc deposited then carries on reacting with the steel before it cools to form a thick deposit. All galvanisers are aware of this and don't want to put a heavier coating on the job as this seriously reduces their profit margin. Hope this helps Barry

Agree with air tool but if space is really tight I have got through some bits of metal thicker than you would believe possible with a Dremel or similar. It just takes a lot of discs and patience. I also have a tiny hole cutter which fits onto a drill, but this only cuts up to 1.6mm in MS. All it needs is a 6mm drill hole for access but you can use it like a scroll saw.

One of my mates some years ago lost the sight in one eye through grinding without any protection. It went through the lens and did some damage. Since then I wear a full mask, and provide them for my lads and any contractors on site. Also agree headgear is good idea. The PUWER regs do not affect the public but in industry the HSE do not take prisoners.

In the second photo the discoloured area on the outside cosmetically looks poor, but may be fine in terms of iron / zinc bonding, but the bit that would worry me is inside the cross-member. It looks very spelterish( lumpy), which often can mean poor adhesion. Remember these are the bits you cannot do much to protect except wax oil. Silicon levels in a steel mix are distributed equally through the mass so, logically I would expect the discolouration to be less localised. Maybe the problem is from the galvanising process? You really need to view it in good light or use a torch and a telescopic mirror. Give any parts you can get to a good chipping with a hammer or hammer and cold chisel. If you see any pinholes this is a really bad sign. I don't think they are by any means a bad supplier, because they told you first and didn't try to bluff it, but IMHO at the end of the day, it aint cheap and it aint quite right. Barry

My TD5 is a 2000 with 85K miles and recently I had the dreaded oil in the injector loom. Worth lifting the drivers seat and having a look. Even though the garage blew the wiring off with an airline after replacing the loom, I sprayed the wiring with surgical spirits until it dripped down onto the base and dried the wiring off with Lady S`s hairdryer! So far so good! Barry

Just for my own interest I checked the Euronorm standard. It does not have an allowable maximum % for Silicon, but all mild steels contain some silicon as its used as an de- oxidizer. In a previous life I used to work on the basis of 2.5 x Phos% + the Silicon% should be less than 0.09% of the steel cast for a good Galvanised finish. Zinc adhesion and thickness of deposit are not a straight line graph. Todays rule of thumb seems to be a good coating up to 0.10% silicon, which drops dramatically until 0.4% silicon when the zinc keeps reacting with the steel to form a thicker coating. This can discolour to a darker finish. That is not to say it will necessarily delaminate but I would still want assurance. Even then I would want to inspect the suspect area and have a good chip at it with welding hammer to check for flaking. Barry

High silicon levels do affect HD Galvanising. In extreme cases it means there may be delamination(flaking caused by poor adhesion). I cannot see that they can use this as a valid excuse as they presumably buy a specific grade of Hot Rolled Pickled sheet for their manufacture. All steel grades have Euronorm standard specifications which set out their maximum percentages of chemicals allowable within the melt for that grade. If it helps ask them what steel grade they have used ( even better a mill test cert) and I can probably tell you the permitted maximum silicon and you can then get some advise from the Galvanisers Association Tech department to put your mind at ease or otherwise. Barry

I have one at home like that Boydie - mind you, Lady S seems a bit less waspy since she took up cage fighting! Glad to hear your doing well buddy. Barry

Spot on Dailysleaze and Shakleton. TD5 is a great pokey engine providing it is serviced regularly Barry

Mo,I never twigged it but that was obviously what was going through this old head. My grandson collects all the Coastguard models. So - that's out! What about Caledonian Blue body with a Orangey/Tangerine roof?? Its different- its individual- and you old farts will know its me as I pass you from the opposite direction!! The good bit is the V5 just says colour Blue so it matters not one jot. Cheers Barry

At some point soon I need to paint the roof on my 90 SW. The body is Caledonian Blue and the roof is Chawton whiteish. (The standard blue body/ white roof). I have no idea why but I am thinking Caledonian blue body with ( for want of a better description) a light custardy yellow coloured roof. Its different. Its individual. Its maybe a bridge too far?? Thoughts?? Barry

I think that I must be a bit sad because I prefer wind up windows. Its 2 more bits of electrickery to go wrong, which being a Defender almost certainly will IMO. Good luck anyway Barry

Welcome to the forum Enjoy Cheers Barry

Land Rover are clutching at straws to wring out the last bit of revenue that they can from the Defender marque! Why would anybody buy a car painted by Billy and Johnny?? Truly disgusting!! Barry

Unfortunately, I have to accept that Geraldine designs cars with little function but with a form which appeals to the masses, and sells shed loads of blingobiles. The Wilkes brothers must be revolving in their graves!!!! Barry