Product review: Duplicolor Vinyl and Fabric Dye

As you may recall from the 'Beetle Era' of my posts, the gently used seat covers I acquired were a colour (Red) that wasn't going to work.  I knew the seats could be dyed and that there were several products on the market to accomplish this. I recall looking at standard hardware store product and specialist shop product and the price gap between them.  Which one would work the best?

As far as those seats go, we will never know.  I do however, have several motorcycle seats that are in sound condition but badly faded and could use some attention. 

On a whim, I decided to give the hardware store dye a go.

Dupli-Color Vinyl and fabric dye retails from around $12.00 CDN (under $10.00 USD from what I have seen).   It is fairly straightforward to use, in theory at least;  Shake can, adjust nozzle and make sure that your surfaces being dyed are very clean.

Here is what I started with:

Here is what I ended up with:

As you can see, the dye works well and makes a world of difference to the look of the seat.  That being said, it took some effort and expletives to get there!

The first thing to point out is the colour selection.  The results that you see, (believe it or not) come from a can of flat black, not gloss.   I picked up this tip from some helpful youtube videos and online forums that I researched beforehand.   If this is their version of flat, one would require sunglasses to look at a 'gloss' painted seat!

My biggest issue with the product is the delivery of it.  That is to say, the spraying of it onto the surface.  I shook the can, adjusted the nozzle with a small flat screwdriver, sprayed upside down for a few seconds, etc.  I could not get a consistent, even spray.  It would come out in globs, which had to be sprayed over to get an even sheen.   By the time I had finished the seat, the can was 3/4 empty.

On my end, it is possible that it may have been too hot outside when I sprayed the product; the other being that the can itself may have had a defect.  I will not rule out human error.   When I watched videos of the product being used, it certainly seemed to come out nicely.

Despite these shortcomings, the results are very good and I plan to use the remainder of the can on a white solo seat I acquired years ago.

For a  singular item, I would certainly recommend the product.  Doing a whole car interior might be quite a challenge with inconsistent spraying and touch ups.   I will do a follow up sometime in the future to see how well the seat holds up...

Until next time...

A Man's shop is his Castle....

Since the departure of the Beetle, the Motocode HQ revamp has been in full swing!

After much sorting and clearing of space (with much remaining to be done)  I finally have a fully functional restoration shop.  Many of these items were found in the classifieds (Kijiji) and as a result, a lot of money was saved.   If you take the time to scour the ads and are willing to drive a little distance, a good shop can be built from the ground up even on the tightest of budgets.

I have acquired/added the following:

-Harbor freight benchtop blasting cabinet (Review to come soon)
-Homemade stand for cabinet on wheels
-Motorcycle lift
-Workbenches (x2)
-2.5 HP Air compressors (x2)
-Motorcycle wheel truing stand
-Small parts bins (x2)
-6V/12V battery charger

It took a while, but I should now be able to work freely and finish almost everything in house.

Every time I step in the garage, I feel magic in the air;  I can't stop myself from picking up a tool  and working on something, anything.  

A Good shop should always be inviting!

Forgive the mess in the pictures, it is still a work in progress.

Bench one, British tools in the drawers, item on the far right is a tube/pipe bender given to me by my cousin.  It was originally in a mill pre-war. 

Bench Two.  Still organizing, it sits on wheels and was free!

Vintage and solid, just the way I like things to be.  It runs smoothly and is surprisingly quiet.

I built the cart from leftover wood in the garage, I even managed to fit my containers of media and tumbler
on the bottom shelf.

Side view.

With everything in place, my output of work should increase greatly.  I have a special project that I have been working on behind the scenes, details will be forthcoming!

Until next time.....

Evolution of the G9 petrol tank

I originally picked up two tanks on the cheap last year (via Ebay) and had them shipped from California to Niagara Falls NY.

These were bought to practice on and hopefully use on the project if things worked out.  There was lots of sanding, some accidents, some welding, filling and painting.   This one still requires some clean up before clear coat is applied and my pin striping leaves much to be desired;  However I am very pleased with it!  The decals came from a company in England with a very wide array of products with excellent prices and service to boot!  I highly recommend them.  

https://www.isaydingdong.co.uk/

Surface rust! 

A good soak in a wood bleach and water solution removed the worst of it.

However sanding was required to remove the pitting...

Bugger!  The aforementioned repair of the badge screw mount.

Primed

First coat of pearl white paint

My first attempt at pin striping by hand 

fourth coat of black paint....

Application of decal and tape removed!  Not perfect and not factory, but I like it! 

Until next time......

No man can serve two masters; (Aka, Farewell to the Beetle)

Yes I quoted Matthew 6:24.  No, I am not turning religious on you.

The quote is one that did stick with me from my days in the Anglican Church and it seemed the best to summarize the situation I found myself in.

In a previous post I spoke of being struck with an anxious feeling when I went into the garage.  While that feeling passed to a degree, it never completely went away.  I believe that deep down one knows when changes need to be made in one's life.   For me, the weight of my ambitious list of projects had become far too much for me to manage.

Something had to go.


There were several reasons that the forlorn bug became the sacrificial lamb;  It was taking up far too much real estate in the garage, leaving little room to maneuver.  Secondly, not having my friend available anymore to assist took much of the joy from the project.  I also hadn't really worked on it in a couple years.  Lastly, there was a laundry list of items left to be done, including paint and body work.  That is a very large time and money commitment.

The decision was made and the ad went up.


The Beetle sold (rather quickly) to a retired gentleman with a nice, big garage.  He has lots of time and pocket change to finish what I started. 

Regrets?

Not a one.  I am very proud to have rescued it from the crusher and to have had the opportunity to work on an iconic car;  I learned how to weld and met lots of great VW people in the process.

The first thing I did was secure two new workbenches to put along the walls.  I plan to get another one up as well, to eventually have 16 feet of workbench space (4x the current amount!)

Once everything is cleaned, purged, swept and sorted I can once again focus on my first love, English Iron.

Until Next time....

Yuasa for Life.

After 9 years, Katie's original Yuasa battery died.  It struggled valiantly since March after I had to charge it for the first time.

Despite all my other careful maintenance, I was incredibly neglectful with the battery.  A battery that was supposed to last 48 months (according to the manufacturer) gave me 108.   At one point after being hit while parked (!) in 2012, she sat idle at the dealership for nearly 5 months.  Once all the new parts finally arrived, she fired up like a dream.  Always rock solid and reliable.

Last Friday I bought a replacement battery.


Needless to say, It was another Yuasa.

CVMG Paris meet 2018

I should open with a confession;  I arrived at the show on Saturday when the gates opened and was only able to stay until 9:30 due to a prior commitment.   Any comments or critiques are based on what I saw during this time, not the whole day/weekend. 

While there was quite a bit to see, the field seemed sparse compared to years past.  Could this be a sign that there is a downturn in the hobby?  

The dominant presence took form in older Japanese bikes a trend that seems to be carrying forward from past years.  Bikes that were usually front and center in years past were curiously absent;  The Broughs, the early Indian built in Toronto to name a few.  Not a single Matchless in sight either.  

Interestingly, there were at least 4 Triumph TRW army bikes for sale, all complete and running and all under $5,000.   I have always wanted one, but I more than have my hands full!  Here is a great article about them should you be curious;  http://sump-publishing.co.uk/triumph-trw.htm

I have heard stories of crated examples being available through Army Surplus stores into the early 1990's!   

I spent a total of $28.00.  I bought some old handlebars, a brake rod (possibly Norton) and a very interesting battery box which looked Prewar.  

I was told that these were Czech made (Jawa/CZ) and sold through Eaton's department stores.

Until Next time....