After 4-yrs...my '91 Stealth has begun

[jbmeyer13]

Out of curiosity I dyed a couple of parts in tea as has been suggested and it looks like, well tea. Doesn't match to anything else so can't advise doing that.

I have the golden yellow rit dye that Scr8p used so I'm going to give that a try on some test parts. I think that natural aging works great but it obviously takes time.

[XLR8]

Thanks Justin. I know others have tried tea and coffee and had good luck. For me, luck is rarely on my side so I'm sure my parts would look like crap. Anyway, I have time.

[jbmeyer13]

I used the RIT dye tonight and I'm not sure what to think. When the parts sit on a dark surface they seem to pretty close but if on a bright white the light reflected from the inside of the arm spokes seems to be very greenish. As an FYI i did test it first on smaller parts and thought it was okay.

The first and second photos are a naturally aged part vs a dyed. The bottom two are a dyed part next to tranny and with rear hubs attached.

What do you guys think?

[jbmeyer13]

I think I found the right combo; followed the RIT dye with tea and I think it's the closest:

[XLR8]

Yes, that looks spot on. Of course, the light source will affect color as well. If you were to compare the parts under sun light, I bet they would look even better. Well done Justin.

[DaveM]

Good work!

[jbmeyer13]

A couple of updates; rear motor plate and modified rear bulkhead

[mikea96]

Looking good! Was that a anodized motor guard you stripped and then polished?

[jbmeyer13]

Looking good! Was that a anodized motor guard you stripped and then polished?

It was a black anodized guard that I stripped but wasn't trying to polish. I used both easy off heavy duty oven cleaner and Greased Lightning but there were some spots that just wouldn't come out so I also used some Eagle One Wadding polish and some #0000 steel wool. I think that's shine is how it naturally looks because I only used the steel wool and wadding polish to spot treat a couple of areas. It took a LOT of work to strip that guard.

The bulkhead was done using a dremel and a variety of sand paper/blocks. I was covered in nylon dust last night.

[mikea96]

Bulkhead looks good! I think that's how I will trim mine as well.

[XLR8]

Nice work Justin. I modded my rear bulkhead using a table saw and, miraculously, I still have all 8 fingers and both thumbs. NOT the best tool for sure.

[mikea96]

I've modified other bulkheads using a bandsaw with thin blade for complex curves and that worked great.

[XLR8]

Yes sir, the band saw is a much better choice but I was concerned that I couldn't achieve straight cuts with the band saw. That said, for the next one, I'll use the band saw since the table saw just isn't safe for this purpose.

[jbmeyer13]

I've modified other bulkheads using a bandsaw with thin blade for complex curves and that worked great.

Yeah my dad has a band saw and that was my first thought. However, the bulkhead won't lay flat and I was concerned it might wander. I figured no matter what I'd have to do extensive hand sanding to get it up to my standards. Using the dremel took a LONG time and I'm sure those with the right tools and know how could get this done in a fraction of the time it took me.

I used my dad's table mounted belt sander to tweak some spare Shapeways parts and it ripped through them much faster than I thought. The main problem is lack of visibility to the amount of material being removed. I think that is the one advantage with a dremel set at lower speeds; you can shape a part and see the results as you work.

[mikea96]

Yeah the dremel is definitely an amazing little tool.