Nice job Scott........ It looks better than new!
Robert
After 4 1/2 years of using paint stripper for coolant ( Monroe Fluid Technologies "Astro-Cut Syn" synthetic coolant ) I couldn't take it any more and re-painted my machine. It took almost 3 days. I had to clean , degrease and strip what little paint remained. Another wipe down with laquer thinner some metal prep etching acid and paint.
I think it looks pretty good. I only painted the inside of the chip pans, the paint on the outside was fine. Here are some pictures of the finished job.
And in this shot you can see that the top of the base has been coated with fiberglass resin. Before I poured it in I jacked up the drain side of the machine about 3/4" , poured the resin and let it level out. When it hardened I let the machine back down and now the top of the base has a nice slope to the drain side. I tinted the resin with black chalk and used a little less hardener to give it more time to level out. Pretty cool I think. I have not had a chance to use it yet so I will report back on how well it works. I used the whole gallon.
Here is the stuff I used , it is Valspar Tractor and Implement paint It comes in spray cans and quarts and gallons. I bought a quart with hardener and a spray can for touch ups down the road.
The part number for the Quart is 4432-13 Ford Gray
and the spray can is 5339-13 Ford Gray
I got them at my local TSC
And the resin and chalk.
Let me know what you guys think.
thanks
Scott
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Last edited by Scott_M; 07-20-2011 at 09:18 AM. Reason: Corrected name of coolant and added hyperlink
www.sdmfabricating.com
Nice job Scott........ It looks better than new!
Robert
Looks great!! I should do the same. I assume you brushed it on after mixing the resin and the hardener? Let me know who well it holds up against coolant. Was thinking about using Epoxy paint but that stuff is messy and hard to apply evenly.
Thanks guys !
apeman if you are talking about the fiberglass , I did not brush it. I just poured it in and let it level out. It is about a half inch thick on the right side and tapers out to nothing just under the machine on the left side giving me a nice slope for coolant to return to the drain.
I used a 3" roller and brush to apply the paint. I put it on pretty thick. It took about 2/3 of the quart to do the inside of the chip pans and front of the control cabinet.
I also sprayed the chip guards on the table with an automotive 2 part urethane clear for extra protection from those flying chips.
Scott
www.sdmfabricating.com
Looks good. I'm in the process of doing much the same thing. My strategy was to remove all of the parts and have them powder coated. Now I've got to get it all put back together again.
I do object to this sentence:
"After 4 1/2 years of using paint stripper for coolant ( Monroe Chemicals "Syn-Cool" synthetic coolant )..."
My opinion is that the problem is not the coolant but rather the crappy Chineese paint that the machine is coated with.
Looks great, Scott!
I'm really keen to hear about your experiences with using the new drainage scheme - I may just do that myself. Did you isolate the side panels somehow, or are they now semi-permanently affixed to the base by the resin? I've been wondering what to do about that detail, as well as wondering about the durability of the resin after piles of steel chips get pushed around on it for a while. I suspect you may have a good solution at hand though! Please do post again after you've had a few cleanup cycles.
Thanks for sharing !
The resin does not go that high, the top pans "should" be free and clear.Originally Posted by bobeson
I found some deep red paint and did the table slots too.
Scott
www.sdmfabricating.com
Looks good. like the red, please let us know how it holds up. I will probably be doing mine before long and I have had my machine for about a year.
I like the fiberglas coating too. Have you had problems with coolant leaking from the chip pan and if so, do you think that the fiberglas will help seal the pan?
Mike
I have not really had any problems with the stand leaking. Some times with long runs and lots of coolant I would occasionally find a small puddle but nothing of any rel consequence. My thinking is the fiberglas can only help.
Scott
www.sdmfabricating.com
I get small leaks from the drain end corners of the tray which I have yet to accurately locate. They only occur when I am using full flow coolant from my 1/2 HP pump. I have tilted the Delux stand to get 0.5 degree slope to the drain end and now suspect the leaks are due to an overflow under the chip tray.
I've also blocked the table drain hole located at the cabinet end of the table (Series One 1100) and have drilled a matching drain hole in the table at the drain end. So at full flow, the drain end of the tray quickly fills up.
Perhaps the fibreglass slope on your stand may be causing an overflow under the chip tray as well.
Bevin
It seems like the leaks from my stand are coming from small cracks in the weld at the upper corner between the floor and sides of the stand.
One of the first things I did on my mill was to make a PVC standpipe for point where the coolant hose exits the chip tray on its way to the mill head. The standpipe is just PVC pipe with a 90 degree bend followed by a 45 degree bend, so the coolant hose exits the standpipe on a down slope. I was concerned about coolant running along the hose and pooling on top of the coolant tank before dripping all over the floor. The standpipe solved that.
TXFred,
Yes I was getting spillage through that hole because the welded stand pipe there is too short. I put a plastic stand pipe as you did, one that luckily had the inside diameter matching the OD of the metal pipe. I did not think about having bends it it to prevent coolant running down the outside of the feed pipe. I will have to look more closely to see if that is the source of the leaks I occasionally get at the rear.
Thanks,
Bevin
The Monroe coolant listed above is the coolant that stripped my paint. It also turned the acrylic front panel white.Originally Posted by FannBlade
Scott
www.sdmfabricating.com
Tormach recommends this stuff <http://www.tormach.com/document_library/Datasheets/DS31750_PCNC_Coolant_and_Oil.pdf>
I have had it in my machine for 9 months, no problem. I'm certain there are others, but this is the one I know works.
Scott, beautiful work on the refurb. I've thought long and hard about casting a drain slope into my pan as you've done. Please do let us know how it works out in practice. I've "contaminated" my stand so much with silicone caulk and wicking silicone sealant that I'm afraid that I'd have to have it hot-tanked or at least sandblasted before I could trust resin bonding to it...
Randy
Any updates on the resin holding up? I am planning on doing this on my chip tray as well. Also, how much chalk did you use?
Well I guess it has been a full year since this was done. The Paint is holding up great. There are a few nicks on the inside of the table guards from flying chips but the rest is all good.
The resin is holding up really well too. And the coolant drains much faster. I can think of no drawbacks to having done this, only advantages.
I'm happy
Scott
www.sdmfabricating.com