De-Rusting.......

7:36 am - Saturday - March 23rd - Fontana, CA  - 49º F, 84% humidity, wind - CALM.....wow, 2 days in a row!  Cloudy today with a forecast high of 66º F.

A couple of years ago I noticed that the driver side chassis battery compartment door must have been leaking when it rained and water had been ingressing over a period of time, and pooling on the floor of the compartment causing it to rust.  I was eventually able to fix the leak, and now it was time to pull the 8d battery out of the way, clean up the rust, apply a primer with a rust inhibitor, and then repaint it gloss gray to match the other compartments.  

I began the project about 10 am, and finished about 12:30 pm.  As is often the case, most of the work involves cleaning and preparing the surface for paint.  The actual painting time was about 30 minutes.  I failed to take a 'before' picture, but trust me, the rust was really bad.  Here is are pictures just after I applied the primer/rust inhibitor......↴

.....while I was waiting for the primer to dry sufficiently I cleaned up the battery, and checked the water.....as usual the water level was fine.  I don't think I've had to add water to any of my four 8d batteries in about 2 years, but I keep checking nonetheless.......↴

......I also greased the bearings on the slide tray which holds the battery so it will pull out and push back in much easier...........↴

 
......finally it was time to apply the Rustoleum Gray Gloss paint, reinstall the 8d battery, then reattach the large positive (red)  and ground (black) cables.......↴

.....it was a perfect day for working outside, and the time just flew.  Now I can turn my attention to the passenger side chassis battery compartment, which is not too rusty, and paint it so both will look pristine once again.

For those who may be wondering about the status of the 'sister ship' the owner (Steve) has decided to delay the sale of their coach for another year.  We were all very disappointed, but totally understood Steve's reasoning.  All four of us (TLE, me, Glenn and Laureen) went through sort of a 'death of the vision' grieving period, but another Newell Classic has come along.  It is a 1984 Newell located near Sacremento, and has been stored inside an enclosed building for 25 of its 35 year existence.  It has been well taken care of by the current owner, and Glenn and Laureen will be flying there in the next few weeks to complete the purchase, and we are very excited, to say the least....↴

.....so, that was our Friday.  I spent the afternoon and evening watching more NCAA March Madness, and was in bed by 10:25 pm dreaming sweet dreams!

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