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Saturday, October 29, 2011

Painting between snowstorms

Friday morning I woke up to a dusting of snow. By 2 p. m. the day had warmed up to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. My lovely wife and I put another coat of paint on the ambulance/camper project. That makes 3 coats, 2 more to go. The greatly thinned paint dried to the touch before the sun went down. Good thing as the temperature is supposed to drop into the teens tonight.

The news is going on and on about the big snow storm that’s going to hit the Northeast. Currently, projections show the worse of the storm will be to the south of us. We’ll still get some snow and wind, but not until later in the day Saturday. Before that happens, it might just be possible to get one more coat of paint applied.

Sunday the weather is supposed to be just plain nasty. However, Monday and Tuesday, temperatures should rise into the upper 40s during the day. If all goes will, I should have the vehicle painted “good enough.”

After that, it’s off to town hall to get the vehicle registered. Hopefully that will go without a hitch, but there is no telling when dealing with the government. Last year it took a number of attempts fore the boat and trailer were successfully registered.

I am optimistic that it will go well. There still needs to be a state safety inspection. One tire is badly worn, and needs replacement. My guess is that the front end needs a wheel alignment. Inspection and mechanic work should go smoothly. The vehicle was in service right up until the time it was delivered to me, so nothing major is wrong with it.

My lovely wife reminded me that if there were any parts I needed to order for converting it to run on waste vegetable oil, I’d better order then soon. Good thing she kicked me into gear, as there was a part that I could not get locally. That’s been ordered and shipped, so it’ll be here when I’m ready.

Cold weather painting is not recommended, but one does what one must. I am encouraged by the results. The third coat really made a difference. The fourth should look pretty good. If nothing else, my project has entertained the neighbors.

-Sixbears

5 comments:

  1. Hope to see the end result soon.

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  2. My uncle near Harrisburg PA sent me a pic of their snow this morning. He is itching to hitch up the 5th wheel and hook it down here to his winter getaway, but my aunt won't "let" him leave until after Christmas. He leaves bright and early on the 26th : )

    You don't have any problems with "fisheye", painting in the cold? I did down here, but that may have been due to humidity and reaching the dewpoint more than the actual temp. The paint sure did take a long time to kick off though. Anyhoo, I guess I won't complain too much about having to wear jeans yesterday and today for the first time since March : )

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  3. Mom lady: me too!

    Craig: I've had to cut the paint to almost 50/50 to get it to dry in any sort of reasonable time. No fisheye" problems, but I've waited for things to dry out before painting.

    We are here until after the holidays. It'll be nice to see my dad again in FL. We've always gotten along.

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  4. Just curious as to what part you had to order for the waste veggie conversion...a heater? for the fuel? I need to convert my old F250 Ford 6.9 diesel to veggie...oughta be easier down here in TX?

    Great blog...thanks.!
    Bigfoot

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  5. bigfoot: I needed a 6 port transfer valve. Lots of places will have them right on the shelf, but out there in the sticks . . .

    The rest of the stuff I can cobble together from odds and ends I have around the house, plus a few bits from the hardware store.

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