MAC MB1500 Slide Removal How To?

[zekgb64]

Just picked up a pretty solid ball bearing MB1500 with what looks like a factory stainless steel top for use in my home garage. Box is very straight and paint is decent enough not to require an immediate repaint. All the drawers operate but a few are sticky so I thought I'd just yank the sliders out, soak them in degreaser and then dry-lube them while I'm cleaning the rest of the box and cutting drawer liners. Great plan except I can't figure out how to disengage the sliders from the cabinet and an hour of searching came up with nada.

Anyone got a step by step for me on what to do after I remove the drawer (I did figure that part out lol.) I assume it's the same as the MB1700 of the same vintage.

 

[zekgb64]

OK I figured it out. If you extend the sliders all the way out there is a small screw attaching the slider to the cabinet which was hidden on the first couple of sliders I tried that weren't extending all the way. Tugging hard on them exposed the screw, after removing it just pull up and out. Voila!

 

[FJ 432]

I had no knowledge of the slides on the MAC but I wanted to comment on this recent purchase. Although I've owned a couple of taco carts I think the MB1500 is functionally a better storage unit. I think you made a wise choice especially the repainted taco cart you were eyeballing.

 

[zekgb64]

It was actually a close call for me as I do want to be able to roll it around the garage a little bit and the Taco Box is a lot more mobile though with a bigger footprint. I wasn't planning on this being my primary tool storage unit so the limited drawer space wasn't a huge deal, but the combination of the MAC being in very good mechanical shape and modern sliders kind of tipped the balance. The SS worktop was a nice bonus as well. I ended up paying $600 for the unit, probably just a fair deal considering you can easily find 1700's for sale at $900 asking.

Busy cleaning up the sliders which looks to be an all day project as just soaking them doesn't get the grit out of the races. Good news is they all look like they will clean up fine, bad news is I need all new detents as they are all either broken or soon to be. From reading old threads it appears I'll have better luck going to Accuride than to MAC but I'll try both routes.

 

[FJ 432]

600.00 is a fair price for your box.

I have bought and sold over 50 boxes in the last 10 years and the most important factor on older boxes is condition. Some are beat to hell and on rare occasions you find a sweetheart.

 

[zekgb64]

Yeah I would say this box is very solid. Very little grime on the inside of the cabinet, just a layer of dust and dirt on the horizontal surfaces and even the worst slider is still pretty good and will clean up just fine. All of the drawers are super straight and show just a bit of paint wear in the bottoms which will obviously be covered by liners.

 

[zekgb64]

So approximately 12 hours of labor later all of the slides have been removed, thoroughly cleaned using the capped PVC method documented in other threads here, then reinstalled. Like an idiot I didn't take pictures before hand so re-installation took a lot longer than it should while I figured out which sliders went where and every detent that wasn't already broken disintegrated in the process, but the doors now open and shut like butter. For lubrication I used Squirt wax based bicycle chain lube which is super clean in that application so hope it works well here.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Zek, nice pickup, that box cleaned up well. Contact Accuride for the detents, that's where I got mine.

 

[zekgb64]

Well now that everything is working as it should I'm at a predictable crossroads where I'm a lot more bothered by a couple of areas of paint damage, the worst of which on one of the deep / wide cabinets that has flaked off to metal. It's about silver dollar size right where one of the pull screws come through and there are a few scrapes on the corners down to the metal as well that are about the same size. Yes I know it's a tool box and is supposed to show it's lived an honest life, but I'm never going to buy a truck box new so I've been looking at options to make it as nice as is reasonable.

Option 1: Go to the auto paint store and have them match the paint and rattle can the most obvious spots. I've done a some spot repairs on my 928's bumper with metallic 2 stage paint which was a challenge to match but ended up being acceptable but not sure how well single stage can be blended into the existing paint. Cost would probably be less than $50 of materials, would be relatively quick compared to a full repaint (which I'm not even considering) and if it doesn't work then I can move on to one of the other options.

Option 2: Wrap it. I've actually started down this path already, ordering a beginner tool kit and a small sheet of 3M 1080 for practice after watching several videos. The 3M product is super easy to work with I'm pretty sure I'd be able to make it look decent. I would use this color which would be close enough to the original color as not to be jarring when opening drawers and at $100 bucks plus something like a day of effort I'd have a pretty snazzy looking box (with kinda ratty pulls and push bar, but that's a post for a different day.)

Option 3: Just slap some stickers on the worst spots and fill the damn thing up. My head is telling me this is the right approach and probably has a lot of fans here but I'm honestly torn and can't really explain why the cosmetics are so important to me!

 

[Shelbylex]

#3 except either use magnets or buy magnetic material to put them on. This way you can change them if you get tired of them...
Something like that
https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...CuDbOxn6GlZcUiU99ymJcaDGg,local:1,prmr:2,cs:1

 

[zekgb64]

Too late, wrapping in progress lol. Pictures to come.

 

[zekgb64]

So wrapping is done approximately 12 hours of effort later. It's definitely not a perfect job (I'd call it a five footer), but came out much better than if I had tried to spray it I'm quite sure. I learned a few lessons especially how much easier it is to work with the premium wraps like Avery and 3M than the second tier vendors like Vvivid. Total cost was $120 for the wraps and an installation kit. I have enough left over for multiple panel and drawers should I need it. All in all I'm quite happy with the results.

 

[zekgb64]

So I called MAC today and they are sending out 4 pairs of sliders under warranty and would have sent me all 13 pairs if I had asked for them. Can kinda see why these things cost slightly less than an economy car back in 1990.

 

[y'sguy]

Hey I like the wrapping. It turned out well! Is that a reflection of red on the black in the lower right?

 

[zekgb64]

Yes that's a reflection from my bike repair stand. You can't see it but I have a bunch of other repurposed office cabinets and laterals that I Rustoleum'd in the same color scheme early last year.