Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop

[mfwm3]

Another lurker enjoying this thread. Wonderful work.

I don't know what that manifold is for but it reminded me of the brochure for the gas forge you showed in post 969. Looking again at the brochure it is not the same but could it be from another forge?

Keep posting, your work is inspiring many others.

Mike
New Jersey

 

[Lump]

Thanks for a fantastic project. People like me who love old cars, old equipment, old garages, and old tools are living our dreams vicariously through your wonderful work and dedication. Well done, so far!

 

[BB767]

Hi Thomas + Chris,

Another UK visitor here. I've spent the last 3 nights reading the thread and I must say i'm absolutely in awe! I've got one single garage (Which you'd struggle to fit a car in with nothing else in it). An american car would certainly never fit in. I'm sure you appreciate how lucky you are but holy hell do you have alot of space! haha

I'd love to see some more information on the sun analysers! Could you try rigging them up and showing us how they work?

I love the style of the place. I'm 20..errr ish, 23 I think and it looks so appealing. Those jacks are really quite **** .

Keep up the good work; i'll carry on watching and admiring.

Hi Xenocide and thank you for persevering through the whole thread and sharing your thoughts. No question I appreciate how lucky I am on many levels, starting with a young lady who not only chose to spend her life with me but is supportive of .......most of my zany projects. I remember clearly early on in my life doing many oil changes outside in the cold on top of gravel and generally being miserable. I keep telling myself ...someday I can do better than this!

I do have a post coming up on the Sun Engine Analyzers and to supplement it as per your suggestion, I'll show the analyzer in use on one of my cars, most likely either the '62 Impala or one of the '64 Impalas.

You know, I too really like just looking at the Walker Floor jacks. What a beautiful piece of work they are and I managed to wind up with two of them. Lucky, lucky guy and I yes I know it.

You are most welcome here, Thomas

 

[BB767]

Another lurker enjoying this thread. Wonderful work.

I don't know what that manifold is for but it reminded me of the brochure for the gas forge you showed in post 969. Looking again at the brochure it is not the same but could it be from another forge?

Keep posting, your work is inspiring many others.

Mike
New Jersey

Mike, by now you must know this is THE place for lurkers! All are welcome.

The thing about that manifold is that most of the fasteners on it are safety wired just as we do on aircraft and race cars. That I think would eliminate a forge. I'm also trained and certified as an aircraft power plant mechanic and it looks like nothing from any old aircraft that I'm familiar with would use so I don't think it's for an aircraft engine. It may never be resolved.

I promise to keep adding information here as time allows. I'm out there every day I'm home but right now with the weather breaking I'm doing much yard work out there. Rainy days and nights I'm doing inside work. Got all the stumps ground up from the storm last week, spent a day turning a large pile of brush into mulch, grade work around the barn footings and have started to prepare for the planting of 35 trees out there so not real interesting for you guys I'm afraid. I enjoy the work and it's all part of the shop project but not real dynamic.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Thanks for a fantastic project. People like me who love old cars, old equipment, old garages, and old tools are living our dreams vicariously through your wonderful work and dedication. Well done, so far!

Thanks Lump. Those sentiments are what inspires me to keep preparing posts for everyone here, truly. Wish I could get more information on here but I'm pretty busy with odds and ends right now, but I've got the notes and pictures, just haven't taken the time to formalize them yet and post it.As they say........watch this space.

Thomas

 

[classic gary]

picture you in a barber's chair with tin bowl/hat with electrodes sticking out, me waving my hands and saying in my best 50's spooky movie voice, "remember, gary wants 5-6-7 chevy parts"....LOL

 

[jonlb]

This is an epic transformation. I love all the old tools you're bringing back to life. Amazing garage/shop

 

[Adam McLaughlin]

I would like to point out that what makes this thread so good is the documentation to the original shop condition, and daily operation. ANYONE can buy a piece of property, gut that building and then build what he wants but this here is truly unique because we can see a glimpse of life in an earlier time, to a way of life and business for a man and his family seventy years ago. Like the farmer from earlier times, the land that he worked was as integral to his livelihood as this shop was to Virgil's wife and kids.

Great Job on the documentation; really made this thread a star!

Adam

 

[BB767]

You ever get going and really involved in a project that you don't want to take time to take pictures, even though you know you should? That's been happening to me lately, plus I've done a poor job posting here. Soooooooooo to do an update of "goings on" out there here we go.....

To remove snow from the newly extended driveway at the shop and barn I wanted a snow blower, but my old tractor didn't have a front PTO (power take off) to power it.........

...........so I found a nice clean unit for next winter and spent a day driving to go get it. For those unfamiliar with snow, it's frozen water that falls from the sky occasionally and needs to be moved out of the way for vehicles to pass. Rather than plow the snow which pushes all the rocks into the yard, a snow blower set an inch or so above the driveway moves the snow but leaves the rocks.

I've also got a rear PTO driven wood chipper which I need for all the brush the woods generate. Well the tractor didn't have a loader (front bucket) so that meant another 16 hour drive to get one.......

Another road trip with my son, not a bad thing!

This winter will see the loader cleaned up and powder coated correctly as well. Note the shop on the right and lean to on the left in the background.

You can see in this picture why it's called the "lean to". Built on the end of the tool shed it "leans to" the tool shed.

Some of woods clean up I've been doing as well as another side of the honey house, tool shed and 2 car garage. When these buildings are gone the driveway will circle through here. To the left about 20' or so is where I found Mr Johnson's shirt name tag a couple of years ago laying on top of the grass.

Also about those 35 new trees that are now almost all planted. 2/3 of them are along the edge of the property where in the distance the red pickup truck is, just to the left of the large Walnut tree, foreground.

Some of the 15 Colorado Blue Spruce that were planted. These are 5' tall and well, heavy! Now the reason I bring all of this up is, when the weather is dry, I am now doing much outdoor work which slows my other shop work. However........

.........these are some of the barn shelf brackets that I made.....

These are to anchor the shelves (which are 11' tall) to the wall for stability. They have been painted and should be installed tomorrow. 2 of the six main shelving units are now up.

Another project that is moving along.......

.......the outside lights for the barn. ( for those who have sharp eyes you are correct....... it's not centered When I came back from a trip the hole had been drilled and the wire had been installed over the door so I had to make do with what was there. Put it behind you and move ahead, it just a barn. )

This is a project that I just got going on and completely forgot to take pictures of. The lights needed a photo eye to turn them on at night and off in the morning. I needed to fabricate a mount for them that would house the photo eye and provide a mount for the light fixture. I haven't installed the other two lights so I'll get some better pictures of what I did for the mounts.

Well that's just some on the ongoing work out there. Didn't know if this was of any interest so I'm just putting it out. I'm working (playing?) out there every day I'm not flying and I'll get more updates coming..........

Thomas

 

[BB767]

picture you in a barber's chair with tin bowl/hat with electrodes sticking out, me waving my hands and saying in my best 50's spooky movie voice, "remember, gary wants 5-6-7 chevy parts"....LOL

OK Gary, nod nod, wink wink! I'll let you know what I find.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

This is an epic transformation. I love all the old tools you're bringing back to life. Amazing garage/shop

Well there you go another new one, "an epic" transformation. Thanks jonlb for the new description and kind thought. To me the tools are as much of the history as the building itself. I can't see doing one without the other really.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

I would like to point out that what makes this thread so good is the documentation to the original shop condition, and daily operation. ANYONE can buy a piece of property, gut that building and then build what he wants but this here is truly unique because we can see a glimpse of life in an earlier time, to a way of life and business for a man and his family seventy years ago. Like the farmer from earlier times, the land that he worked was as integral to his livelihood as this shop was to Virgil's wife and kids.

Great Job on the documentation; really made this thread a star!

Adam

Adam that is a very insightful comment, thank you. This shop and small piece of land is how one man successfully raised his family and made a lasting impression on the local community at large as well. The family has provided many of the earlier pictures which to me are priceless and part of the history there. I have still more that I haven't yet posted here but will do so. I am honored that the family allowed me to carry on making new history in the shop while preserving the old.

Thomas

 

[jaso]

Wow Jason, that's a wonderful discovery! If you can post pictures I KNOW everyone here would love to see them. Try to take them with the jack still crated up and then step by step as it's uncrated. Scan the original receipt and post it too if you can. Any idea as to the date on the receipt?? Whats the story behind all this. Why was it never used etc.

Watch this space for more updates on this............

Many thanks for thinking of us on this thread Jason.

Thomas

Still no luck
The ****** realestate agent is being a ****** more so the dont beleive that i am the son of the owner of the house even though i have id and my birth cert to show them.
The second that i get into the shed i will post the pics

Jason

 

[jaso]

Thanks Jason for the update. The oldest of mine dates from the mid to late 1930's, the other one sometime before 1949 when they changed from red trim on the front wheels and saddle. The only real visible change over the years was the color trim. When I do an update on the jacks I'll show some other changes not easily seen. You know I can't wait to see pictures. Any idea why it never got used? It was an expensive piece of equipment. Is it in Australia? Keep in touch.

Thomas

My grandfather was a classed as a wealthy person here in aus and most of the things he bought were new.
My dad is a motor mechanic and he was always asking my grandfather to use the new jack but allways got told to p1ss off as he didnt want it used till he was ready to use it himself.
My dad gave up on it and as far as he knows (lived with his dad till i was born) it has never been used.
It has always been stored in the orig box it came in as well.Ansd as far as my dad can recall it was allways inside a shed or garage it entire life. And yes the jack is here in aus.

Jason

 

[shopnut]

They changed the fastening method i believe, The one that is complete on Thomas's jack uses 4 bolts to hold it on. (Which reminds me Thomas, 1 is missing) and on the other one its a much thinner metal and used a different type of fastener. Its very uncommon for these jacks to maintain this piece and the unit cover as far as that goes during there lifespan. Again, your talking about at least 70 years of Life in these jacks. Maybe more on the complete one as ive never seen one with the thicker cast cover.

My Walker doesn't have the front cover, but I found these bits of info in my literature that might explain why many don't have them. Read "Note 2"



By the way, anyone looking for info about the Walkers in this thread, check out posts 926, 934, 943, 948, 953, 1042, and 1044. I jotted them down as I was searching through this thread and decided to share with those interested. This thread is getting so big, it needs an index!

 

[BB767]

Still no luck
The ****** realestate agent is being a ****** more so the dont beleive that i am the son of the owner of the house even though i have id and my birth cert to show them.
The second that i get into the shed i will post the pics

Jason

My grandfather was a classed as a wealthy person here in aus and most of the things he bought were new.
My dad is a motor mechanic and he was always asking my grandfather to use the new jack but allways got told to p1ss off as he didnt want it used till he was ready to use it himself.
My dad gave up on it and as far as he knows (lived with his dad till i was born) it has never been used.
It has always been stored in the orig box it came in as well.Ansd as far as my dad can recall it was allways inside a shed or garage it entire life. And yes the jack is here in aus.

Jason

Well that has to be pretty anoying doen't it?! You will prevail, however, I'm sure. Thanks for the background informaion also. Are you as excited as we are are over here waiting to see it? Hang in there Jason and thanks for thinking of us.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

My Walker doesn't have the front cover, but I found these bits of info in my literature that might explain why many don't have them. Read "Note 2"



By the way, anyone looking for info about the Walkers in this thread, check out posts 926, 934, 943, 948, 953, 1042, and 1044. I jotted them down as I was searching through this thread and decided to share with those interested. This thread is getting so big, it needs an index!

I knew that at some point they stopped putting the front cover on, just wasn't sure when that was. I'm sure economics played a large part of it. Thank you shopnut for sharing the information, it is helpful and adds to the content of this thread!

If only I could still call Walker and order a replacement for the one missing on my jack.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Real quick update on the shelves.....

The frame structures are now installed......

There was more to it than you might think. Anchoring them to the wall was a challenge. These were old shelves I purchased 4 years ago from a warehouse that was closing down. They were pretty straight but had a nasty appearance. Once a little repair work was done here and there and then powder coated they look great.

To custom fit them to the wall and not have it look, well.... haphazard, took some time but I'm happy with the result. They are now rock solid. I still need to fabricate some of the actual shelves that will be on the sides of this center unit. Nothing is easy it seems.....but the end result so far is OK.


Thomas

 

[tdkkart]

Real quick update on the shelves.....
There was more to it than you might think. Anchoring them to the wall was a challenge.

Speed-rack, much like scaffolding, is great once it's up, but it can be a real PIA to get set up and torn down.

A note on your snowblower. I've found that blowers put just as much gravel in the grass, they just put it further from the drive, and more scattered. Makes the decision not to cleanit up much easier.

 

[markviii]

The driveway will eventually be all concrete, so we'll just have to adjust until then. Pray for small snowfalls this next winter! Thanks for the "heads-up" though.

 

[BB767]

A note on your snowblower. I've found that blowers put just as much gravel in the grass, they just put it further from the drive, and more scattered. Makes the decision not to cleanit up much easier.

That brought a smile, thanks!

Here's how those ding, dang new trees that are keeping me from the real " fun " work turned out.

The barn can be seen over the tops of the blue spruce. Honey house, tool shed and lean to are back in the middle.

These are mainly ornamental to provide privacy from the street.

Just to the left of where this was taken it looked like this........

......about 5 years ago. This is one of several other building that were there. So I guess I've not only restored the shop, but in some sense the 5 acres it was situated on also.


Thomas

 

[klogan121]

Real quick update on the shelves.....

Sorry for wandering off point, but how do you like that overhead radiant heater in that building? Is the heat quality sufficient, and balanced throughout the building? Oh,and shelves look great too!

 

[BB767]

Sorry for wandering off point, but how do you like that overhead radiant heater in that building? Is the heat quality sufficient, and balanced throughout the building? Oh,and shelves look great too!

klogan121 I believe I have wandered off point here a time or two myself so no worries there ever!

That's a Detroit Radiant unit (the black tube on the ceiling) that is 60' (18 meters) long. The building is 72' (22 meters) in length and in this part 48' (14.5 meters) wide. It does a superb job heating this space. The floor is insulated concrete so once it gets heated up in fall it's warm also and radiates heat up from the floor so you get radiant heat from above and below. I keep the building at 50 F (10 C) in the winter when I'm not there and turn it up to 60 F when I am and it's quite comfortable working in there. I really haven't noticed any variation in temperature levels anywhere, very even heat. Detroit Radiant swirls the flame in the tube to get better heat distribution in the tube. The barn has no windows, the ceiling is R40 and the walls R19 with the overhead door rated R17. The unit is offset 2' to the right to clear the overhead door opener on the other end.

Here you can see the end of the burner unit just to the left of the opener track.

Thanks for your interest and noticing the shelves!

Thomas

 

[BB767]

An update on the Walker floor jacks. To give you an idea what I'm up against cleaning but preserving the original finish.

Here is the piece that the handle pivots on. When I started cleaning it you could not see any blue paint at all. It was covered by that dark goo as seen. The original paint is there and in good condition, it just needs to be exposed.

The other side. I don't know what this "stuff" is, but it is hard as nails and only slowly dissolves. The cleaning seen represents about 2 hours work. I've been soaking it in my parts washer solvent for 2 hours at a time and then using a tooth brush to softly scrub the goo away. It's working but ever so slowly.

This is inside it. Might it just be decades old harden grease?? I can't use anything that is too strong or it will harm the original paint so I'm being rather cautious. Since these pictures were taken I've gotten more done. I'm open to suggestions to what type of material to try which might speed the process up. Simple Green will not hardly budge it, mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, prep sol all soften the paint. WD 40 does work somewhat but very slowly. If it is old grease what might soften it but leave the paint alone?

So I've been working at it, especially on poor weather days and it's slowly coming around. As for the other other one that will be powder coated I'm kind of waiting for jason from Australia to see if he can get some pictures posted of his grandfathers new/old Walker jack. It might be interesting to see but it would depend on how old it is to know if it would really be of any help. But still...............

A very patient Thomas

 

[CRTDI]

Yes we all would very much like to see pictures of Jason's Grandfather's floor jack

As for the substance on your jack Thomas, Im wondering if the factory put some type of metal preservation film such as cosmoline on it. I'm not sure if it hardens over time. My understanding is that WD-40 will remove fresh cosmoline fairly quickly.

Since you have some aviation maintenance background, you've probably been around MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) at one time or another. That stuff would surely cut the crud off your jack.

Unfortunately, MEK was found to be a teratogen and a possible carcinogen and is not as commonly used as before. If you find some, use proper protection and very lightly try a small inconspicuous area as it will remove some types of paints.

 

[robin1731]

MEK will take the paint off if you use that. If you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner that might help with cleaning. I can't tell in the pics how big those pieces are but they may fit in a fairly small unit. I use one from Harbor Freight to clean motorcycle carburetors. I just use distilled water with simple green. Run it through a few cycles and use your toothbrush method. That may help loosen the old grease up better than just soaking in the parts cleaner.

 

[Warg]

I've used oven cleaner to get some really nasty old crud off of different things. Works like a charm, and even better if heated a little...
Another useful brew when degreasing is to mix up some Drain-o in hot water. Works pretty well too!


Keep up the good work!

Paul

 

[Chateau Slate 66]

I would try soaking it in a purple butyl cleaner such as Castrol Super Clean and see how that does. Obviously, I would start with a smaller piece, but I bet it will work well.

 

[ZRX61]

I would try soaking it in a purple butyl cleaner such as Castrol Super Clean and see how that does. Obviously, I would start with a smaller piece, but I bet it will work well.

It sure will, I've used that Castrol stuff to strip paint...unfortunately it was unintentional...

 

[BB767]

MEK will take the paint off if you use that. If you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner that might help with cleaning. I can't tell in the pics how big those pieces are but they may fit in a fairly small unit. I use one from Harbor Freight to clean motorcycle carburetors. I just use distilled water with simple green. Run it through a few cycles and use your toothbrush method. That may help loosen the old grease up better than just soaking in the parts cleaner.

Robin, I had also considered an ultrasonic cleaner too. That's a great suggestion. I know that would definitely work on the smaller parts, but..........

........the jack is quite large with the 2 sides of the frame and handle all being about 4' (1 meter) long. That would have to be one very large ultrasonic cleaner. I know some must exist that large but I don't have access to them unfortunately.

Paul, oven cleaner would be worth a try, good thought. Drain-O would be pretty potent stuff but again maybe worth a try in a inconspicuous place.

Rick, I half way expected your vast experience with old aircraft to have a ready solution. You must have come up against a similar problem in the past? If only I didn't want to save the paint.

Perhaps there are some other thoughts out there as well.

This jack is the hard one, the other will be easy. Disassemble and then just media blast the surfaces clean and powder coat away. All in all this is a easy project compared with some other the other obstacles I faced restoring the shop. This just takes some time.

I am making progress and the original paint so far has not been harmed. Note the part under the data plate on the left. That had no visible paint showing at all before I started. You guys must know by now I'm not easily discouraged, kind of stubborn sometimes and very focused when I decide to do something!

Thomas

 

[Steve from Socal]

Thomas,

Most oven cleaner has lye and WILL remove paint. I don't have any great suggestions but, you may want to try a soak in dish soap & water for a day or so and a non abrasive scrub pad.

Steve

 

[Bigpigdave]

.......the outside lights for the barn. ( for those who have sharp eyes you are correct....... it's not centered When I came back from a trip the hole had been drilled and the wire had been installed over the door so I had to make do with what was there. Put it behind you and move ahead, it just a barn. )

This is a project that I just got going on and completely forgot to take pictures of. The lights needed a photo eye to turn them on at night and off in the morning. I needed to fabricate a mount for them that would house the photo eye and provide a mount for the light fixture. I haven't installed the other two lights so I'll get some better pictures of what I did for the mounts.

Well that's just some on the ongoing work out there. Didn't know if this was of any interest so I'm just putting it out. I'm working (playing?) out there every day I'm not flying and I'll get more updates coming..........

Thomas

Thomas, does the photo eye just allow for turning the light on when it gets dark or can it also be used as a motion sensor. I have been looking for a way to make some lights I have "motion sensing". Thanks and great job on the thread.

 

[Kevin54]

If it were me trying to preserve the paint, I would buy a couple of gallons of WD-40 and let the parts soak in it overnight. Also have you thought about trying one or two of the smaller parts in a dishwasher? Just make sure Chris isn't around when you do. We'll just edit this reply before she reads it so she wouldn't have a clue.

 

[FredR]

If it were me trying to preserve the paint, I would buy a couple of gallons of WD-40 and let the parts soak in it overnight. Also have you thought about trying one or two of the smaller parts in a dishwasher? Just make sure Chris isn't around when you do. We'll just edit this reply before she reads it so she wouldn't have a clue.

Good idea about using the dishwasher. I still don't know why SWMBF&O got so mad when I cleaned a MG wire wheel in ours.

This thread has been the best use of internet. Keep it going!

 

[Warg]

Thomas,

Most oven cleaner has lye and WILL remove paint. I don't have any great suggestions but, you may want to try a soak in dish soap & water for a day or so and a non abrasive scrub pad.

Steve

Almost everything will remove paint if let on too long... I've used oven cleaner on engines and other places where dirt and grime has been really baked on, with excellent results. No loss of paint with the exception of in places where there was rust beneath the paint.

Someone suggested running parts in the dish washer... Well, it works pretty good. Been there and done that. Thing is that the cleaning agent used in dish washers also is caustic, just like the oven cleaner and drain-o. Difference is that you can't see what's happening with parts in a dish washer... Another thing is that if you run the full program the dish washer will dry the parts too, and if the grime hasn't been cleaned off it will be baked on even harder. You don't want that...

No matter what method you use for cleaning parts, they all have a flip side.

 

[Alcohol]

Try good ole' kerosene,,not cheap now though.

 

[markviii]

Kevin54 - I think using the dishwasher is a good thought, but it wouldn't have cross Tom's mind. He usually doesn't mix "shop" stuff with "home" stuff as a rule. We just got a new dishwasher, but it's not big enough for the jack anyway. Anything smaller would work just fine and I'd have no problem with it. I wouldn't use dishwasher detergent in it, though. That stuff is pretty corrosive. WD-40 seems like it might work. It takes oil off concrete pretty well. I'm told.

Chris

 

[BB767]

Thomas, does the photo eye just allow for turning the light on when it gets dark or can it also be used as a motion sensor. I have been looking for a way to make some lights I have "motion sensing". Thanks and great job on the thread.

Dave, the boxes that were constructed to just hold dusk/dawn photo cells and all the wiring. I don't know of any motion sensors available as stand alone items like these photo cells are. If they are available they could be installed in place of the photo eyes.

The boxes were made out of 1/8" steel, the large hole is for the Romex wire from the building to enter the back side of the box........

........the "eye" was placed on the side of the box when installed on the building........

.....sorry it's out of focus but you see the "eye" in profile, the small holes, one on each side, is for the bolts to pass through to hold the top of the box on. Nuts were welded behind each.

This is the backside of the top on one of the boxes, the small hole in the center is for the wire to the light fixture to pass through. Nuts were welded on the back side for the bolts to fasten to ......

Back side.......

......front side.....

.....together......

...with the light fixture base installed.

Installed on the building. I wasn't happy with any commercially available electrical boxes so that's why these were made. The boxes were made from 1/8" material so in case in the winter there was a large ice load on the light fixture it could support the weight. The box is what the light fixture is mounted to and in turn, the box is mounted to the building. The largest light fixture is 18" in diameter and could get pretty heavy in an ice storm. The boxes were powder coated for durability and all external fasteners, bolts, allen screws and washers, were made from stainless steel. The internal lag screws that hold the box to the building are coated galvanized steel. Clear silicone was used in every hole to seal the box against moisture. I'll get some other installed pictures and post them here I hope tomorrow.

BTW, thank you for your kind words, I appreciate that!

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Good idea about using the dishwasher. I still don't know why SWMBF&O got so mad when I cleaned a MG wire wheel in ours.

This thread has been the best use of internet. Keep it going!

OK, I give up. What or who is SWMBF&O??

....and thanks for your encouragement as well FredR.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Almost everything will remove paint if let on too long... I've used oven cleaner on engines and other places where dirt and grime has been really baked on, with excellent results. No loss of paint with the exception of in places where there was rust beneath the paint.

Someone suggested running parts in the dish washer... Well, it works pretty good. Been there and done that. Thing is that the cleaning agent used in dish washers also is caustic, just like the oven cleaner and drain-o. Difference is that you can't see what's happening with parts in a dish washer... Another thing is that if you run the full program the dish washer will dry the parts too, and if the grime hasn't been cleaned off it will be baked on even harder. You don't want that...

No matter what method you use for cleaning parts, they all have a flip side.

Well said Paul. That's kinda of why I've been going so slow. When I soak parts I've only been leaving them for a short while and while I'm there to monitor it so I won't come back the next day to find not only all the grim and goo gone, but the paint also!* I might try a little kerosine as suggested by Alcohol. I have used that in the past and it worked pretty well on greasy grim as I recall. Just have to watch how it treats the paint.

I do have a method that is working, just working slowly. Kevin, WD 40 so far has not touched the paint and if I don't find something better I suspect a couple of gallons of it might find their way into the shop, thanks.

Thomas