It's the little things...updated pics - more small stuff...

[plum500]

...and the insane cold in our un-heated garage. Tried to do some work out there... opted to come inside and do some small stuff...

I know it's not much, but it's a start, more to follow though...




Here's the project...

[resq302]

I know what you mean about the little things.  I am currently restoring 1969 magnum trim rings as they are a one year only item that no one repros correct ones of.  It takes countless hours but the end result is certainly worth it.

Looks good.  Keep up the hard work.  It will be worth it as stainless places usually charge something like a min. of $35/hr.

[2harleyriders]

I am at the same point.  Doing the stainless in the basement.  It takes a very long time but the the few I am done with look like new.  Mr. Shine wanted $12 an inch.  My car looks like yours now.

[AirborneSilva]

The little things have got to be done and what better time then when you really can't stand to be in the garage because it's just too damn cold out there... Good job by the way 

[Silver R/T]

good job, its getting there

[plum500]

more small stuff, have most of the trim done, did the splash shields today... thought they came out pretty good -- removed plum crazy overspray, tar, undercoating, mud, etc.... 180 grit, SOS, brush, and Kiwi instant spit shine black shoe polish....




also did up my moroso catch can -- wasn't bad, worn some -- couple dents that don't show up in pic needed fixing under where old logo was, had to paint white -- decal was only black outline -- lots of sanding, scotch brite and many coats of clear...

[bill440rt]

Plum500,
My 2-car garage is also unheated, about 25' x 25'. So, I went out to Home Depot & bought a 23,000 BTU kerosene heater. It was $93 bucks, marked down from $150. Good deal, I thought.

It works like a charm. It's been in the 20's for the past several weeks here in NJ. I let the heater run first for about an hour or so, & then I can work comfortably.

[plum500]

thanks Bill, I think I will look into that -- my garage is probably 12x30 so by comparison that sounds like it would do the trick - my big concern isn't working in the cold so much - doing the metal, but using any paint/glue/ or any coatings of any sort out there.... man it's been consistently hovering from 10 to 20 fahrenheit here everyday since mid Jan...

[Ghoste]

I know everybody already knows it but I still can't help repeating, if you are going to use a kerosene heater(or any other kind of flame), keep in mind that using glues and fillers and solvents etc in a small shop can make for an unhealthy event. 

[bill440rt]

GREAT point, Ghoste.

You really shouldn't be doing ANY kind of painting, spraying, or other fume producing activity around an open-flame heater. This includes those "accident-waiting-to-happen" torpedo heaters. Those things downright scare me. 

The one I got stands about 3ft high, and is about 16" in diameter. It holds about 1-1/2 gallons of kerosene, good for about 6 hours or so.
Here's a link:

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc%2fsearchResults.jsp&BV_SessionID=@@@@2015671870.1171594496@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdjaddkeigffjgcgelceffdfgidgjm.0&MID=9876

[hemi-hampton]

I hate Kerosene heaters. The fumes will make you sick inhaling in a small confined area & can actually kill you from Carbon Dioxide poisoning. For some reason nobody reads the directions. USE IN WELL VENTILATED AREA. These heaters are designed for outside construction sites. If you ventilate your garage to let fumes out you let heat out & cold in which then defeats the purpose of even having this (stupid) type of heater so in a nutshell it's worthless. The way to go is Propane gas heat. No fumes to water the eyes or make you choke & no risking Nausea, headache or death. No risk of toxic fumes giving your paint job Fish eyes. LEON.

[dkn1997]

If your garage is attached to your house or your utility room with a furnace in it, consider what I did.  I cut a hole in the wall and mounted an electric Gable fan, the kind that's meant to clear the hot air out of your attic.  right across from it, I cut another hole to let fresh air in.

works great, that garage is always at least 60-65 degrees, even when it's 5 degrees outside.  the bonus is hat before, my utility room was not getting enough outside air, and now it is.

By the way, as a general rule, for any furnace indoors, if you open the door to the room it's in and it's noticeabley hotter than the rest of the house, it's not getting enough air.  Of course it's going to be a little hotter (especially if you have baseboard heat, lots of copper pipe in the room with hot water in it)  but if it's 90 in there and the rest of your house is 68, then it's time to airhole the room a bit.

On newer home, not such a problem since this problem of combustion air is more out in the open and more people know about it, but years ago, it was not.  My house was converted from electric heat to gas heat by the previous owner, so he obviousely did not care about combustion air supply requirements. 

My room does not even have a wall to the outside of the house, it borders the garage on two sides, but the garage "leaks" enough (most will, due to the doors not sealing as well as a wall with insulation) and is large enough to provide enough fresh air to the boiler. 

Just a general safety thing you shoudl consider for any appliance that burns something to run.  gas generators, oil heaters, natural gas heaters, propane.  if it burns a substance to run, you need to carefully consider the amount of fresh air you supply it with.

[bill440rt]

Leon,
I also looked into propane heaters. The problem was, the only portable propane heaters required you to leave the tank OUTSIDE. That meant, the heater stayed indoors while the lines ran out an open window, cracked open door, etc. Another draft. Also, a tank of propane didn't last very long, I'd be refilling every other day at $15 bucks a pop. No way would I keep a propane bomb in my garage while I worked with an open flame heater. Further, if your home is not already set up for propane as a heating source, now your stuck by routing something in permanent if you want one mounted in your wall, etc.

I'll stick with my "stupid" $93 kerosene heater. The link I posted unfortunately did not point directly to the heater I purchased. If you type in "kerosene heater" in the search box you'll see it, it's the first one that pops up. It's designed for in-home use, not a construction site. Read the reviews. I think the smell & fumes you complain of comes directly to the type or grade of kerosene you use. This one is designed for 1-A kerosene only, I get very little, if any fumes.
I'm also sticking to my pervious comment: "You really shouldn't be doing ANY kind of painting, spraying, or other fume producing activity around an open-flame heater."

[dkn1997]

you are right about the fuel.  We bought a couplle of monster bullit heaters for work and they said to burn diesel or kerosene.  When we tried diesel, it smoked out the jobsite.  switched to kerosene and it's all good.

[hemi-hampton]

Bill, One Question, Does your Kerosene heater directions say anything at all about Ventilation, like you should have some? LEON.

[plum500]

You really shouldn't be doing ANY kind of painting, spraying, or other fume producing activity around an open-flame heater.

I'm paranoid about that stuff. Actually have the garage sectioned -- workshop with a pass-through and walkway out back. Plastic over the passthrough, and a plastic "curtain" over the walkthrough - keep the dust out of that section while I grind and do body work. Probably put heat in the big side, paint in the other.

Though I think I'm gonna skate through to next year for insulating and heat out there. Cold seems to have broken here for a bit - and there's tonnes of stuff I can attack - metal work and small stuff in the meantime til the weather just gets warm enough that I can paint some things that need to be done in the garage.

Actually, running heat from the house out there isn't out of the question yet either. Have a basement bathroom vent which runs out through the foundation up through the garage. And, conveniently enough, inside there is a ceiling forced air heating vent right next to it. ...might gear up some configuration that I can switch to while I'm working out there. 

Thanks for all the posts and suggestions/caution on this.

Fred

[The70RT]

Yeah listen to LEON. Those propane heaters suck. I never get headaches then ran one for a while and yeah I got a bad one. Wood is the way to go if you got time to deal with it.

[hemi-hampton]

I guess nobody watches tv to hear all the bad horror stories on those Kerosene heaters. For example. A guy buys a cheap Hud house. Sends a work crew of 4 young guys into the house in middle of winter & freezing with no Electricity. Needs the interior Painted. To cold. Sets up a Kerosene heater & the 4 go to work painting house interior. He comes back 4 hours later to find all 4 dead on floor.   CAUSE: Carbon Monoxide or dioxide poisoning from Kerosene heater. Firemarshall/Coroner says all windows were closed & all somebody had to do to prevent this was open some windows. This happens constantly to homeless people & poor people in inner city slums, huge problem quite common but nobody with a Kerosene heater seems to be aware of this problem, One they dont read Directions saying use in well Ventilated area or if they do they totally disregard it saying so what who cares. I'm just trying to save a Life here, the least I could do. Sorry to infringe on people rights to ignore directions or maintain there incompetance. LEON.

[bill440rt]

Bill, One Question, Does your Kerosene heater directions say anything at all about Ventilation, like you should have some? LEON.

Hi Leon,
Yes, of course it says to use in a well ventilated area. ALL open flame heaters, no matter what the fuel supply, should operate in a well ventilated area. Even my gas-log fireplace needs adequate ventilation.
More specifically, the ventilation section in the instruction manual states that "a house of typical construction, that is, one that is not of unusually tight construction due to heavy insulation & tight seals against air infiltration, an adequate supply of air for combustion and ventilation is provided through air infiltration..." (that means the air in the room in a house of "normal" construction). It further states, "if the heater is used in a small room less than 200 cubic feet, the door to an adjacent room should be kept open or a window should be opened at least 1 inch."
My garage is 25' x 25', & fairly drafty around the main door with little insulation. Of course, I open slightly a window or the back storm door once in a while as a safety measure, but the garage still stays nice & warm with my heater. I don't stay out there all day, I only wish I had that kind of time. Maybe 2-3 hours at a time. The heater I purchased is designed for in-home use. It is not an "industrial" kerosene heater.
That is a tragedy to hear about the 4 painters. But, don't forget about the existing paint fumes in the room. The heater also needs air to operate, & will burn the air in the room, paint fumes & all.

[hemi-hampton]

After I have my Garage heated I turn my Propane heater off to Paint. No Open flame. Then stick fan under door to disperse any paint fumes. Then reheat if necessary. Works for me. I'm not up on the differance between a industrial kerosene heater & a in home use non industrial kerosene heater. LEON.