Shopping on ebay

I bought a clutch servo on eBay

Brand new and only paid five quid so a bit of a bargain. The truck has power steering and air assisted brakes so it is quite light to drive except for the clutch which is very heavy. I am not sure why but I think that when the truck was converted to diesel the linkage was changed in some way. There should be (I think) a clutch relay linkage that gives some extra leverage to the pedal but that has been bypassed completely on my truck. An air clutch definitely makes a truck nicer to drive so I will have a go at fitting it once the cab is off.

Somewhat blue

When my trial paint had dried it was a lot closer to the colour chart but I still didn't like it! It was just too boring, rather like that colour that Audi uses so after a chat with the helpful guy from International I took it back to the supplier and we added an extra 4Y of black tint. I can't remember what 'Y' stands for but it is the unit of measure for paint tinting machines and represents 1/48 of a fluid ounce. The blue is now darker and greyer and much more to my liking.

Like the primer it is quite easy to apply with little over spray. I find that mixing about half a litre at a time is enough so that I have to finish before I make too much of a mess. My spraying is a bit dodgy so I am concentrating on the bits that don't show much first, in the hope that I get a bit better as I go along.

Why do they sell thinners in a pot that is almost impossible to pour when it's full?

Cock-up on the colour front

I mentioned in the previous post that there was a big difference between the colour swatch and the online version of the colour I had chosen. I assumed that the printed version would be the more accurate because viewing colours on a computer monitor is very variable; I was WRONG! The online version was much closer so I've ended up with 5L of a colour I really don't like much. What I wanted was somewhere between Royal Blue and Navy Blue, what I got was rather like Fordson Empire Blue (tractor colour). I am hoping that because what I want is darker, it can be retinted.

Choosing a colour

The truck was originally dark blue and I don't see any reason to change that so being an engineer at heart I consulted BS5252 and found a nice shade called 18E53. I am intending to use this topcoat by International. It is a two-pack industrial polyurethane called Interthane 990. It is not an automotive paint but is recommended for offshore structures, chemical plants, pulp and paper mills and the power industry some I'm hoping it will be tough. It is meant to have a high gloss finish and has 'excellent long term durability and recoatability' so it should be just the ticket for an old truck.

The online samples of the colour look nothing like the samples in the swatch book so it will be interesting to see what it actually looks like.

Sealing seams

The new front panel needs its seams sealed so that moisture does not get between the layers so taking advice from this site I bought some of this:

As recommended, a chopped-off paint brush works well to apply this thick grey gunge.

The best technique seems to be to apply thickly with the brush, not worrying too much about how even it is but pushing well into the seam. Then using rubber gloves dip you fingers in GP thinners and smooth over the joint; it quickly makes a nice smooth finish.

The picture is not very good but shows the interior seam across the front of the floor pan. I think I went over that again with the thinners and got a better result after the picture was taken.