Well... after 2 years I suppose its about time that I get back to my RV6 restoration project.
The fact is that while I had made much more progress than this blog lets on, my initial push was stymied by all the typical things... work, family... more work... other interests.
But now I'm back and my mind is focused on getting this project completed by at most winters end so that I can bring this scope online for "first light" when the mild weather returns in spring.
As for this post... let me bring you up to speed on the steps involved in getting the scope from where I had left off to the pretty spiffy looking version that you see above.
In the last post, I had just begun the rust removal process, repeatedly coating each component with Naval Jelly and scrubbing with Zud between applications.
While this worked well for many components, some surfaces proved very hard to reach (inside the pier, inner crevices of the pier head, etc.) and I felt as though I needed a different approach.
Enter.... drum roll.... Evapo-Rust!!!!
While I feel pretty guilty pushing aside my Grandfathers old stand-by Naval Jelly for a newfangled rust remover, I can't say enough about this product.
It was VERY effective at dissolving rust and best of all, its a liquid so the application process amounted to simply submerging every component in a small pool of the solution and waiting it out.
To be clear though, at $30/gallon (I bought 2 gallons) this wasn't the cheapest way to go but it made removing the rust really efficient and thorough.
I submerged every component including every nut, bolt and washer in the solution and waited a day or so, turning parts every so often until the rust had dissolved from every surface.
After the rust "evaporating" process was complete, the Evapo-Rust solution turned a dark amber color (shown below) which I took to indicate that it had been at least partially saturated with the rust that had come off in the process.
I read online that you can re-bottle the solution and use it several times until it becomes dark and gooey and loses its rust dissolving abilities thus I funneled it all back into the bottles and put them back on the shelf.
Looking at the following picture of the components after having just been removed from the solution and comparing it to some of the pics from my initial posts, you can see what a marvelous job Evapo-Rust did in completely cleansing every inner and outer surface, nook and cranny of rust.
One troubling issue covered in a prior post was that of the "seized" declination axis that I had expected to free once the rust had been cleared.
I was mostly correct in that assumption, the declination axes did in fact begin to rotate much more easily once the rust was gone, but the collar below the declination setting circle and another at the end of the declination shaft (the stop for the counter weight) proved impossible to free.
These collars had been rusted so long that they appeared very pitted and literally fused to the declination shaft in a manner that I was sure was too fundamental for removal.
This wasn't too bad a problem though as separating the counterweight and setting circle from the declination shaft didn't seem necessary so long as the axis operated well and turned smoothly.
While declination axis did turn much better now that the rust was gone, it was not smooth enough for my tastes and I concluded that proper restoration called for a cleaning and re-greasing which would require, given the seized collars, the removal of the saddle seat at the other end of the axis in order for the shaft to be removed from the "T" joint.
Removing the saddle is NOT an easy task as by doing so, you are effectively breaking the original factory connection that was set with pure friction (the saddle must have been literally pounded onto the shaft).
Also, I had read several accounts of there being broken saddles which made me very concerned that this aluminum component might shatter during removal dealing a serious (probably irrecoverable) blow to the restoration project.
Undaunted, I decided that the best approach was to hammer out the shaft from the top thereby placing most of the stress directly on the shaft itself and not on the aluminum saddle.
I used a large hex-nut bolt placing it hex-head down on the top of the shaft (RA axis resting on my work bench, declination axis hanging over the edged of the bench, counterweight down forcing the saddle up which exposed the shaft end that runs through the saddle) and pounding it with a hammer.
I pounded many times... always making slow but steady progress as the shaft slipped further and further through the saddle... in fact... over the course of a day I easily pounded it over 100 times... always making sure that I was not in any way causing stress that could shatter the saddle or damage any other aspect of the DEC and RA axis.
Eventually the saddle separated from the shaft and the shaft was now able to be easily removed from the "T" joint.
Relieved, I inspected and cleaned all the parts only to discover that now, the saddle, when re-seated onto the shaft sat lose! ... it no longer had the ability to tightly connect... it had lost its factory connection... I should have expected that!
Distressed, I had resolved to face facts and accept that saddle would never reconnect to the shaft again in the same manner that it had originally and that I was going to have to "make" the connection using some fastener but for now, my efforts turned back to the surface and to the painting.
I decided to start out with what appeared to be the simplest part, the counterweight, giving it a good scrape-down with a wire brush, taping the shaft and spraying it with a few coats of nice satin black Rust-Oleum.
While the result was clean and firm and clearly passable for the counterweight, I longed for the tough "crinkle" type of finish that was typical for these telescopes and, after recalling past conversations with my Dad about DIY "crinkle" finishes, wondered if there was a way to achieve this finish for the remainder of painted surfaces.
After Googling around a bit, I was convinced that spray on "crinkle" paint was NOT the way to go for this project BUT an opportunity jumped out at me that I had not at all thought of.... powder coating!
Powder coating rather than painting could really do the trick as it would provide a tough professional finish that had the same color and qualities as the original factory finish and, while not being nearly as cheap as a can of spray paint, appeared to be reasonably affordable.
After calling several local shops I settled on Central MASS Powder Coating in Clinton Massachusetts whose owner had clearly handled many restoration projects and was very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful when I called.
He discussed options and informed me that in order to get a good strong coat, each piece would be individually sand-blasted removing any last remains of corrosion and smoothing out any pits.
That was it... I was sold... I boxed up the painted parts and put them in the car, and boxed the aluminum parts and put them on the work bench and off I went!
After the parts came back from the shop I was very pleased to see that each component had been individually wrapped in plastic and after inspecting each part all I could say was... WOW!
This was the BEST choice I had made so far... The parts all looked clean and perfect... literally like they were brand new and best of all it only cost $275... certainly more than some basic spray paint but for such a substantially superior finish, it seemed easily worth it.
To be continued....
Next up: "Tap! Tap! Taping the Assembly!"
Best to all,
BBG
