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Got a 63 and have the early 63 Tie Carrier (Tub) for the spare. It is suppose to be a dark gray with hair running through it. Somebody during its life clear coated the entire tub. I have removed all the clear coat, and the tub is now a lighter gray, almost like its bleached out during time. I was wondering does anybody have a good method of darkening the tub. Inside looks good, but outside is the problem... Many thanks.
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Re: C2 - Original Spare Tire Tub Restoration ....h
The 63 tire tub should be a very dark blue color. You should be able to see the strains from the fiberglass running through it. There has been some discussion here before about restoring the tubs try searching the archives. -
Original Spare Tire Tub Restoration
Collin,
When I repaired my '66 tire tub, I used fiberglass pigment/dye from Tap Plastics (http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=50&) to match the correct fiberlgass color. In my case, I used a combination of gray and black pigment and I finally got it close enough to convince most people. I used the pigment when I mixed up the fiberglass resin & epoxy for the patches I needed, but I also wiped on some pigment later on to blend in my repair. The kicker is, those pesky white, hair-like fibers that are obvious in most of the original fiberglass. The only thing I could think of to recreate the hairs was painting on hair-like lines using a single thick bristle from a paint brush. This can be done over a small region, but I don't think you'd want to do this over an entire tub. I just don't know of any other way to just dye or stain the background fiberglass without covering up the hairs.
GaryComment
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Re: C2 - Original Spare Tire Tub Restoration ....h
Sounds like it's already the correct color to me. Everything else on early 63's had white or light gray fiberglass.
Why should the tire tub be different?
tcComment
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Re: C2 - Original Spare Tire Tub Restoration ....h
If you want to darken it slightly, try mixing some black paint with LOTS of thinner so that there is little coverage. Using a spray gun spray the tub. Check the mix on some cardboard first. You are really mixing a small amount of paint with lots of thinner, as when you clean a gun up after use. I've used this method and there was not enough coverage (pigment black paint) to cover the grey fiberglass hairs so it looked very natural. If you get it too dark, just remove the paint with thinner and start over with more thinner in the mix.Comment
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Re: C2 - Original Spare Tire Tub Restoration ....h
Don't put any color on it! All you need do to is paint it with mat finish clear. The darker part will darken and the light strands will still show through.Comment
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Re: C2 - Original Spare Tire Tub Restoration ....h
Won't the clear yellow in time? I just removed about three coats of clear that was all yellowed over time.... Believe it or not, I think GREY shoe polish might do the trick...I will let you know. The tub material is pores enough so the plosh can work in, yet the white strings seem to be dense enough to reject the polish... I will let you know.Comment
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