What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration?

[Jim H.]

I am interested in hearing what are the "must haves" for the garage.

Eastwood kits (zinc and plate)
pry bars
krylon 1613
krylon tough coat
clear paint
Alluminum polish compound
polish wheel
rouge
3 ton floor jack
compressor and tools
drill press
WD40
Heat gun
dremmel tool
wire wheel
vice grips and vice
and so forth
easy outs
tap and die set

What about special chemicals or sprays?

[Larry S.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

I don't know of any chemicals and sprays that are a must have, but I can't live without my sandblaster. It's a cheapo from Eastwood, only for smaller stuff, but I think most people send things like frames out anyway.

I used to have a 55 gal. paint stripper/degreaser until it ate a hole in the barrell; made a mess of the garage but thankfully didn't hurt the car tires. I'll never forget what the guy said who sold me the chemicals: "Don't put your face over the barrell while you're mixing up this stuff--it dissolves eyeballs."

I assume you already have every tool known to man, including a distributor wrench, dwellmeter, timing scope, tubing bender and flarer, and on and on.

[Alan S.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

Hi Jim,
I'm sure you're going to get lots of replies.
I think having a GOOD set of flair wrenches for the brake and fuel lines can head off some big 'round-off' problems.
I also seem to need an 'endless' supply of rags and towels. My wife is only just so tolerant as to what goes in the washing machine.
Regards,
Alan

[Steven B.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

I use a my parts cleaner, HD jack stands, breaker bar, carb cleaner and rust penetrants and inhibitors alot.

[Jim H.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

yeah, my wife washed all of the rags I had used in the garage. Now, I have been told never again will she do it since now she can smell gas and oil in the washer.

[Dennis A.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

Start with two old lounge chair cushions for spending time under the dash and working on your knee's.
assorted hooks and picks (come in handy for opening a can of beer also)
Magnet pick up tool ( you will wish you had one rihgt after dropping a nut in the door hinge openings)
Ignition,wiper nut switch wrench (saves messing up the chrome)
Rolls of masking tape...(just can't tape enough)
Thin wrench set....(takes foul words out of tightening the deck latch and trunk towers)
Set of those new craftsman Gearwrench, get the stubby's too. (live it up)
Treat yourself to having a Power (brake ) bleeder. (no more calling the wife)
chemicals:
Gallons of acetone
Books:
How to take it apart for the second time to add the components that go under the part you just assembled....
Music:
"back on the road again"

[Jim W.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

My most used piece of equip. is a lighted magifier lamp. It has a 6" viewer lens surrounded by a round flourescent bulb on a multi-folding arm and clamped to the workbench. Office Depot $20 appx. Use it for everything needing close inspection especially those microscopic instructions on cans etc.

[Michael G.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

A good eye flushing kit, baking soda, speedy-dry absorbant material, fire extinguisher, lots of bandaides

[Sandra H.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

OK, I've already gotten rid of some of the gallons of acetone that were around here.....told not to, but I couldn't think of any reason to keep it. I do know better now.
5 gallons of duplicating fluid is in with the car stuff.....what's it for? Or is that acetone too.
Several gallons of lacquer thinner (and lots of car paint).
Mureatic acid.
How many sets of tap and die sets does one actually need? I have a lot of them, but can't tell any difference in them (except size) and don't know what they're for anyway.....or how to make them work.
The lists help though.....will get some order around here yet.
Any clarification on above would be a great help.
Best, Sandy

[Sandra H.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

You all are probably beginning to see what the handicaps around this restoration are......they all seem to be me.
Sandy

[Dennis C.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

I hardly think so. When the time is right, you'll do fine...

[Dick W.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

And if you are unsure what the tools are used for, read below The devil made me post this

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly tearing a flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted vertical stabilizer which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, "Oh ****..."

SKILL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

WELDING GLOVES: Heavy duty leather gloves used to prolong the conduction of intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

E-Z OUT BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool ten times harder than any known drill bit that snaps neatly off in bolt holes thereby ending any possible future use.

BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminium sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 24-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A very large pry bar that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end opposite the handle.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip on bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

[Sandra H.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

About made me fall off my chair laughing........I've managed to get impressive launching points with my drill press, gotten tangled up in my wheel sanders (you know it doesn't hurt or bleed to take the side of your finger off to the bone......at least until later), and had a new belly button punched from a table saw kickback.
Just can't wait to see what else happens.
Sandy

[Harmon C.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

I use my Metabo cutting tool. Cuts any metal and makes a novice look like an expert made the cut.

[Edward B.]

Re: What are some of the tools and chemicals in your garage helpful for a restoration

Corrosion-X. Forget the WD-40 to loosen frozen fasteners; you need the real stuff.