Restored S-17 Blackhawk Floor Jack (Almost)
- Thread starter CRTDI
- Start date
johnnybentwrench
Well-known member
very nice job
gjz30075
Well-known member
I'd be afraid to use it. Too nice
Scout Driver
Well-known member
Amazing!! Your paint job is great!
Scott
Your paint job is great!Scott
woody 73
Well-known member
Very nice paint job outstanding...
GeorgiaHybrid
Well-known member
Very nice job on the jack rebuild. I would be afraid to use it....I would hate to be the first to put a scratch on it.
Thanks for all the nice comments. When I tore the jack down, I found that it was very heavily worn. Obviously the hydraulic unit had seen better days. The handle was bent and the yoke pivot pin and pump pins had a lot of play in them. The rear castor bearings were toast and the races were heavily worn. I also discovered a cracked weld at the lift arm pivot point and the frame was bent, I suspect from taking a very heavy shifting side load. After finding all the defects with this jack I almost didn't want to go forward with the project. 
I had help from a lot of friends and new acquaintances. My son and I tore it down, cleaned and degreased everything. The frame was split, straightened and the cracked weld at the lifting arm pivot point was repaired and the handle was straightened. All of the hard components went into an electrolysis tank for further cleaning. I had new attachment pins fabricated for the handle yoke and the pump. New 1/4 " ball bearings and a thin machined washer place under the lower races brought the rear castors back to life. The hydraulic unit was rebuilt and load tested by a local shop. And finally, an etching primer and a single stage automotive acrylic enamel paint with multiple coats and wet sanding between coats was used to refinish it.
For me, it came out better than expected, but it's not going to become a museum piece, just a really nice and useful tool for myself and my son.
Hiball is currently on the look out for a set extension/retraction springs to complete it. Hopefully, he will be able to help out.
I had help from a lot of friends and new acquaintances. My son and I tore it down, cleaned and degreased everything. The frame was split, straightened and the cracked weld at the lifting arm pivot point was repaired and the handle was straightened. All of the hard components went into an electrolysis tank for further cleaning. I had new attachment pins fabricated for the handle yoke and the pump. New 1/4 " ball bearings and a thin machined washer place under the lower races brought the rear castors back to life. The hydraulic unit was rebuilt and load tested by a local shop. And finally, an etching primer and a single stage automotive acrylic enamel paint with multiple coats and wet sanding between coats was used to refinish it.
For me, it came out better than expected, but it's not going to become a museum piece, just a really nice and useful tool for myself and my son.
Hiball is currently on the look out for a set extension/retraction springs to complete it. Hopefully, he will be able to help out.
BanjoSavesTheDay
Well-known member
AWESOME job!! That looks fantastic. I really like the way the paint came out. Could you tell me the brand and part numbers of the primer and paint? Looks like it would come out good on a vise....
AWESOME job!! That looks fantastic. I really like the way the paint came out. Could you tell me the brand and part numbers of the primer and paint? Looks like it would come out good on a vise....
I picked-up the paint at a local Colormatch store. I used the inside original painted surface of the hydraulic unit cover off my SJ-18 jack as the basis for the color I wanted. A rep. at the Colormatch store digitally scanned the cover and came up with a computer database match for an International Harvester tractor. IH paint code #50, DP code #7410. I had them add a bit of orange tint because I thought it looked a bit too red for what I was trying to match.
The silver color on the handle is a 1960-1962 Corvette color called Sateen Silver, DP code 4023.
All of the paint products are called Nason, which I understand are actually Dupont paint products, hence the DP code numbers.
Product part numbers as follows:
Etching primer: NANQT-491-17
Primer activator/reducer: NANQT-441-43
Ful-cryl II paint: NANPT-IDE (Red)
Ful-thane paint: NAN1/2PT-IFB (Silver)
Paint reducer: NAN1/12PT441-22R
Paint activator: TRA8105
Prep cleaner: IMP3803-1
I found out that automotive paint products get expensive real quick, these items totaled about $150.00.
The paint activator added an extremely high gloss to the paint, which is something I did not want. My painter friend wet sanded between coats and the final coat to knock down the gloss a bit.
I was totally blown away when I first saw the jack after it was painted. I just couldn't believe that this was the same rusty old worn out jack that I picked up just a few months ago.
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Awesome!!!
Makes me want to find a vintage jack now and restore it.
Dammit....
One thing I would recommend for anyone doing a high-quality restoration on a jack like that would be to paint the wheel surfaces and the lifting pad with flat-black rustoleum... With my other shop equipment, I've found the colored paint will mar and chip off under contact/use, while the flat black holes up exceedingly well after years of contact and abuse.
I don't know if it'd hold up rolling across the concrete, but the red on those wheels will probably come off quick.
Another option, though I might not really fit the look of the jack, would be to grind and polish the "tires" of the wheels on a Multi-tool or belt sander. I've had great luck grinding and polishing tool surfaces and rough C-channel to a high finish, and the finish seems to last for years.
-Brad
Makes me want to find a vintage jack now and restore it.
Dammit....
One thing I would recommend for anyone doing a high-quality restoration on a jack like that would be to paint the wheel surfaces and the lifting pad with flat-black rustoleum... With my other shop equipment, I've found the colored paint will mar and chip off under contact/use, while the flat black holes up exceedingly well after years of contact and abuse.
I don't know if it'd hold up rolling across the concrete, but the red on those wheels will probably come off quick.
Another option, though I might not really fit the look of the jack, would be to grind and polish the "tires" of the wheels on a Multi-tool or belt sander. I've had great luck grinding and polishing tool surfaces and rough C-channel to a high finish, and the finish seems to last for years.
-Brad
hofferwood
Well-known member
Beautiful
I love seeing----"Oh, that old piece of JUNK'----- Turned into "HOLY SH!T"
Chuck
I love seeing----"Oh, that old piece of JUNK'----- Turned into "HOLY SH!T"
Chuck
CouchSpring
Well-known member
very ****.
BanjoSavesTheDay
Well-known member
JC23
Well-known member
Man, my pinstriping hand is twitching like mad looking at that nice red jack.
Great job!
Great job!
You do good work.
I'm sure there are areas on this jack that look quite unfinished to you. And I have to agree, I think that a conservative pinstriping pattern in perhaps silver and black or a light flame motif would look quite nice. Unfortunately, I don't possess the proper artistic skills to execute either.
JC23
Well-known member
Google pinstriping and your zip code. Maybe you can find one locally.
I found this place, looks like they have a lot of experience.
http://www.perkinsartworks.com/html/pinstriping.html
http://www.perkinsartworks.com/html/pinstriping.html
6530
Well-known member
Wow, nice. My Walker rebuild is on hold for now - family commitments have come first recently. I hope to get back on track over the holiday weekend.
Elroy would venture to bet it wouldn't matter a bit what kind of paint you put on it. Go roll that pristine wheel across a shop floor and apply a few tons of load and watch the paint instantly chip off. Flat black or not it wouldn't make any difference.
Ya mean something like this.
Elroy tells me it looks just fine.
A few detail shots:
Congratulations to the original poster. Your jack looks fine
jabberwoki
Well-known member
Very inspiring hope mine comes out 1/2 as good and i`d be stoked!!!! Nice job.
HoldenHR1966
Member
CRTDI,
WOW, well Done!!! LOVE THE S-17 floor jack... Lovely restoration...
thanks again for putting me straight on my Floor Jack which as you accurately said appears by saddle size of 5" to be a S-23.
Would love to look at a 1940s blackhawk catalogue and 1960s Blackhawk catalogue just to see if I can date my floor jack.
thanks again.
WOW, well Done!!! LOVE THE S-17 floor jack... Lovely restoration...
thanks again for putting me straight on my Floor Jack which as you accurately said appears by saddle size of 5" to be a S-23.
Would love to look at a 1940s blackhawk catalogue and 1960s Blackhawk catalogue just to see if I can date my floor jack.
thanks again.