Hello all...I was looking for a Wilton bullet vise for a long time but couldn't bring myself to buy one on the 'Bay with the prices these are going for as well as the shipping charges for such a weighty tool. I happened to be checking out estate sales in my area for vintage tools and chanced upon the Wilton you see here...
I couldn't believe my luck. The people running the sale were asking $150 and needless to say I quickly forked over the cash and took her home. I watched several YT videos of restorations on these vises to get my bearings on how to tackle the project.
I stripped it down and degreased all the parts to get rid of the caked on grease. Took it to the bench grinder and got her down to the bare metal. After wire wheeling, rinsed it all down with acetone to prep the surface.
The first coat was self etching primer...
After letting it dry for a day I decided on Rustoleum Hammered Copper for the top coat. I was trying to find Rustoleum Verde Green to match the factory color as close as possible but they discontinued that color and I wasn't going to take a chance on buying questionable paint on the 'Bay with insane asking prices.
I sprayed 3 coats with drying time in between and couldn't be happier with the results. It was my first time restoring a vise and I think restoring more vintage vises might be in my future...as long as my wife is cool with it...happy wife, happy life...lol
I couldn't believe my luck. The people running the sale were asking $150 and needless to say I quickly forked over the cash and took her home. I watched several YT videos of restorations on these vises to get my bearings on how to tackle the project.
I stripped it down and degreased all the parts to get rid of the caked on grease. Took it to the bench grinder and got her down to the bare metal. After wire wheeling, rinsed it all down with acetone to prep the surface.
The first coat was self etching primer...
After letting it dry for a day I decided on Rustoleum Hammered Copper for the top coat. I was trying to find Rustoleum Verde Green to match the factory color as close as possible but they discontinued that color and I wasn't going to take a chance on buying questionable paint on the 'Bay with insane asking prices.
I sprayed 3 coats with drying time in between and couldn't be happier with the results. It was my first time restoring a vise and I think restoring more vintage vises might be in my future...as long as my wife is cool with it...happy wife, happy life...lol
