Top Cat restoration (highwayracer)

[Bormac]

Well done Brendan. You definitely know how to get the most out of an old Schuey. It's a credit to you.

Again, nice job mate.

[naushad]

Wow...

[RedScampi]

Outstanding work Roger! Kudos for actually restoring parts instead of replacing them. If I had to guess, I would say that you bead blasted the chassis after sanding out the scratches? Did you mill the bumper and nose plate?
Gary

[highwayracer]

For the chassis, I used a random orbital sander. You have to be really careful because it doesn't take much to put a deep gouge in the chassis. I used a medium and gradually finished with a fine grade of paper.

After the sanding, there were very fine scratches and the aluminum feels bare. I then used the green side of the sponge, laundry soap and cold water to lightly clean and "even out" the surface.

sponge.jpg (22.41 KiB) Viewed 1274 times

sponge.jpg (22.41 KiB) Viewed 1274 times

You'll notice all of the black oxidation and sanding residue washing off. The finished result feels very smooth and the color is very even.

For the plastic parts, I used different grades of sand paper and good old elbow grease. I've tried using a mechanical sander, but the heat melts the parts. For a brief second, I thought of sanding this under water...but Traxxas doesn't make a waterproof sander With the plastic parts, the important thing is to take your time, use a lot of water and soap and the finest grade of sand paper as possible.

Regards,
Roger

[highwayracer]

That turned out great Are you goint to get a shell and paint her up?

Paul.

Hey Paul,

I will eventually paint up a shell for the car. I was thinking of the box art paint scheme, but so many of the people here have nice period correct paint jobs, that it's tempting to do something else.

The car came with an all white body...so this is what's going to keep the dust off for now.

Regards,
Roger

[highwayracer]

Well done Brendan. You definitely know how to get the most out of an old Schuey. It's a credit to you.

Again, nice job mate.

Thanks Jason. I have one more truck/buggy conversion that I'll start on next week. I'm hoping that the results will be the same...but the shocks are really bad.

Regards,
Roger (aslo known as "Brendan" to my close frineds )

[DerbyDan]

Wow! How did I miss your 'finished' pictures... I can't believe your pace of progress on this project (puts me to shame ) & your final result is stunning... especially when you consider the 'before' pics. Your methods for restoring both the aluminum & plastic parts are truely an inspiration for items I have on my own projects.

Will look great with a finished painted shell