46 SE1 Full resto

Wallace · 46 SE1 Full resto

Got this SE1 a little while back.

Unfortunately it does require a full repaint, as the base has very severe rusting on it. It's a shame to lose the pre war decal

Sometime in it's life it had the exhaust soldered to the chimney, lost a pulley, and steam pipe broke off the engine.

Due to the high humidity here, I have to wait to repaint it.

But so far success.

* The end cap nearest Chimney looks like it has been resoldered. So pressure tested to between 30 and 40psi, and all is well.

* Safety valve came out without breaking the collar, despite using vise grips

* Exhause pipe to chimney came off easily

* Soldered the steam pipe back on without damaging the paint. Just tinned the pipe and used what solder was alreay on there. Hardest part was getting the heat up, but not too much so as the exhaust would desolder. Solid block of brass sure do take some heating for solder to melt

Will put more pics up as I do the resto

Cranko

Pity you will loose the decal, does some body do a copy for this model

mj

Having seen some of the UK's finest collections of mamods on show at Kempton earlier this year, the one thing that stood out is that none of the engines were over restored or highly polished. They were clean & well cared for but original paint was abundant, even if a little rusty. Don't be too hasty with the repaint

Clean back the flaking paint & carefully use rust inhibitor & you'd keep what's left of the decal. The base would look fine & retain it's originality & value. Once repainted there's no going back.
But that's just my personal view, i've learnt by jumping in with both feet & repainting a couple of engines & later regretting it. Perfectly smooth paintwork & shiny brass isn't everything when it comes to engines as rare desirable as this one.

Steve_S

Nice engine Wallace! It's in that in-between-state where there's plenty of original paint, but, as you say, there's also plenty of rust. I think I'd be tempted to try what Mike suggests first, but I'm sure it'll look great whatever you do!

MamodFan

johnreid

It sure looks like a fun one you have there, I hope you give it a good running too.

Mamodman123

We could sit here and argue on whether to restore or not all night but personally I would restore, if the decal was perfect i'd leave it but given as Wallace lives in a "salty" area it won't be long before thats a pile of rust....

If i had a car that was full of rust and falling apart i'd do something about it.... (James don't even think about it)

MamodFan

Graham-Jilly

mc_mc

I saw the picture and was immediately thinking that paint's not too bad. You've got more decal left than what's on mine.

I'd say treat the rust now and wait a few years and see what happens. You can always strip it down and repaint it later.

But you paid for it, so it's yours to do with as you like of course!

Graham-Jilly

well we have to repaint ours as some one decided it needed a black base

MamodFan

Mamodman123

flywheel61

Pity about the decal, but knowing your seaside town, salt laden air & high humidity, it would be at least twice as bad in a year, I don't think you've got any choice but to repaint,

. I once got a similar engine where thet seller had masked off the decal and then repainted the base, it looked indented, terrible job.

Cheers

Chris

johnreid

Oh heck if the salt air is such a problem, I would gladly store it for you here where there is no salt spray. I would even run it now and then and send you videos so you could enjoy watching it.

Stitch

Wallace

Cheers for all the comments and advice.

Oh and thanks for the offer of a salt free area John

I'm not usually one to repaint, and only own 2 repainted engines (one had no paint, the other had already been restored).

I had another look at the pics I posted and realised I should have taken some sideview pics with a straight edge to show how
bad it is. THis is really severe rust. If it was just the rusty brown areas it would be ok but it's the bubbly stuff that is the problem.

To give an idea, in the 2nd pic on the base there is some rust between the boiler and engine frame. The rust is below the crank axle, and touches the base of engine frame. That bubble is as thick as the base of the engine frame, and that's about normal size height of bubbles across the whole base

Don't get me wrong I did have 2nd thoughts as , having the pre war decal shows another variation in Mamods manufacture.

But in this town that engine would be lucky to survive.

Actually in the same pic mentioned above the spot on the end of the firebox is about 5mm high, and I am worried it could have a hole.

Anyway, will get more work done and more pics up when this humid stormy weather goes away

barry1946

How about - clean up the rust and spray with a matt laquer to protect the metal. Gloss finish might not look right.

MamodFan

i agree with barry

another option is to clean the rust and give it a spray wth WD40, this will provide a light oily film to protect it from the elements.

James

tmuir

Wallace where you live it not just the salt but the humidity is a problem too.
I've been given several cameras over the years that have come from your part of the woods (I have a large camera collection too) that have ruined lenses as it gets so hot and humid fungus actually starts to grow between the lenses on the cameras which as you can imagine isn't good for taking photos.
Do what you have to stop further damage but preserve what you can.
Any chance of masking the decal and treating the rust and painting it.
You could try electronysis, if done right it will remove all rust and then give it a coat of satin varnish over the whole base to preserve the decal and whats lesft of the paint.
But you may find that a lot of the paint will fall off with electrolysis as it will remove the rust under the paint too causing the paint above to fall off.

Mamodman123

James

Shurrup ye tosser

Mamodman123

James

I'm singing a song about Lincoln sheep... I'm in high spirits... so I went light on you you rascal

Mamodman123

James

O aye??

What will I think at STIA when I see you?

Mamodman123

Wallace

Been a while but finally got around to finishing it.

The black on the burner is rust convertor, until I get around to getting some paint. Or I might just leave it.

Fire it up and add vid tomorrow.

Sandman

Great job Wallace, but I would certainly repaint the burner.

That's a little treasure, and I think it needs the full resto to make it right.

Just my opinion mate.

Wallace

Cheers for that Sandy

My mistake there. Was meant to say just leaving it for now

Mate that does my paint is away for 2 months. Otherwise I have to pay

Les

That's very good, but I would be tempted to leave the burner original.

Mamodman123

Wow what a gem Wallace and what a transformation too

Well done mate

steamyjim

Looks great!!!!!

Stitch

Great resto Wallace! That's come up real nice. Certainly worth the wait for some good weather in which to paint.

johnreid

That really turned out nicely

Real good work.

IndianaRog

Nice Wallace, looks grand and the decal tops it off beautifully. I like a few others agree...you are 95% there...you need to finish the burner off as well IMO.

Mister Occlusion

Now that's a big improvement.

Wallace

Thanks for all the comments.

With it's new paint it should be nice and safe from the salt air now

Nick

Looks great!! Thumbs up!

But the burner needs a repaint to be complete.

steamyman

come up, very well, Wallace, u must be proud.

Wallace

Cheers mate

Mamodman123

The finish is like a mirror on that base mate

erikl

That looks perfect Wallace! that's a real transformation you did on this nice engine!

Lewis

just read through this thread

Great job wal

Reid

Wallace, first reading of the thread here.

That is remarkably well done.
Agreed, that rust blistering needed to be gone into;
who knows what salt was trapped and working there.

How bad was it when stripped? Any perforations?
What filler do you favour?

What's the paint? catalyzed polyurethane auto paint?
It looks wonderful. Thanks for the update.

Wallace

Reid, Lewis Erik and MM, cheers

Reid, the base was real bad when stripping. Pitted but not overly deep. With the rust bubbled to 2-3mm high in spots, I expected it to be 2-3mm deep.

I didn't go for a filler. Rust converter, 2 coats of primer, and 5 coats of a epoxy enamel from aerosol can

The worst pitting is under the firebox, so lucky. THe rust converter I use can build up layers, so that helped too.

After seeing other successes on the forums I might try a filler next time. The only filler I had is a metal filler I used on cars. But too harsh for a base. It has to be filed or grinded, not sanded.

Thanks again

James

That's grand Wallace!!

I notice you chose the post war decal instead of the pre war one though

Wallace

Cheers mate.

Yeah I know

. I didn't have a pre war decal

Mamodman123

James

LOL It don't matter does it?

A top quality resto

Wallace

Mamodman123