Restoring a Radio Flyer

[ddawg16]

Guys....I (or rather my wife) has a Radio Flyer wagon she wants me to clean up.....it was given to her last year.

No serious rust....at least not through the metal. The inside of the tub was the worst....I let it soak with vinegar for a couple of days and that took off most of it.

Watching the WWII tool box restore really put my in a pickle.....

Do I go for clean up (get rid of rust) and go for the old retro look?
or
Try to make it look almost new.

Because I don't think I can duplicate the "Radio Flyer" on the side....I'm inclined for the 'clean up' mode. But I'm open to suggestions.

The wood sides...my plane was to just hit them with Tongue oil....linseed?

The sides....? Just clean up and leave as is....unless there is something I can put on there to prolong the life.

Inside? Clean off all the rust....I might have to sand blast. Etching primer and then try to match the paint.

Undercarriage.... remove all rust and maybe rattle can paint with mat black?

I'm all ears

 

[ambenz]

Make it like new, why not?
Clean off all the rust.... sand blast? Yes!
Etching primer and then try to match the paint....yes, yes! Rattle can is fine!
There is no collectors out there willing to pay for a unrestored wagon or old new stock....I know because I use to restore toy coaster wagons I called Wagonwerx. Just no market worth investing in.
I restored 2 of them...you can get the original stickers still here... https://parts.radioflyer.com/decal-for-steel-wagons/

These are my 2....pure rust buckets, all of them...

View media item 102116
Below a few ... of 14 wagons I had in the Wagonwerx collection, sold off a few years ago to make space on my shelves...made some money on them but not a lot. Still have one of the two Radio Flyer wagons, kept the one with snow skies....

View media item 102118
I am saving a few wagons to make something like this....

View media item 102117
Well, hope you are inspired....but let me warn you...restoring toy coaster wagons is addicting!
Once you do one, real good...you don't wanna stop! Hence, the collection....

 

[harley jim]

I vote for a total restore, anyone can clearcoat patina
Get someone with a vinyl cutter to make your stickers, then do them in reverse to use as templates for the wording printed on the wood, use stencil ink on the wood.
And yes its addictive.The M is for a 1950s Murry tricycle that I'm doing now

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

 

[bradpac]

I have my childhood radio flyer still (1980s vintage) that I'll be fixing up for my daughter. Can't wait to see how yours turns out, lots of inspiration already posted in this thread.

I'm on the fence about hot rodding it or leaving it original. I'm almost thinking restomod style, basically stock but make the steering work better and maybe suspension of some sort? Not into the whole on the ground look, but something to make it a little unique would be cool.

 

[raddksn]

I vote for total restoration!
On a side note, I worked at Radio Steel “home of the Radio Flyer” in Chicago for a short time late 80’s ! All the plant maintenance guys had customized Radio Flyer wagons for tool carts!

 

[ddawg16]

Total resto it is......

Hmmmm......I wonder if my wife will let me make it into a tool cart? It would be an easy decision if the wood sides were in bad shape....

 

[vertguy]

I restored my SIL's childhood RF wagon a couple years ago so he could use it with our grandkids and found this place that makes reproduction logos. His decal was actually a bit different than what they showed available, but they no had issue with making exactly what I needed. Good luck!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/228889497/radio-flyer-wagon-high-quality

Before and After:

 

[ZRX61]

This is sitting in the side yard...

 

[don long]

Please post pictures of your progress. It's a boatload of fun working on these smaller projects.
I've restored a wagon a couple of years ago and it was a mess when I started

1 by don long, on Flickr

And in a few weeks it looked like this

1a by don long, on Flickr

And it sits here with a few other projects

IMG_3834 by don long, on Flickr

.

 

[ddawg16]

Don....nice job on that. Maybe ZRX should give you the one he has.....though it looks like it might be a lost cause....

Got it all taken apart. I'm glad I'm going the full resto route. It was in worse shape than I thought. I was considering taking the parts down to my fav power coater.....but he is closed for now.....

Did the first pass with the sand blaster. I'm using a really soft media....it may not be aggressive enough.

For the chassis parts, I might try vinegar.

 

[Mark914]

Cool wagons ! heres mine, I restored for my kids, found it at a tag sale. I also found they make Repo decals. I would have liked to keep the "patina" but the kids clothes would be all rusty when they used it.
this is a mid 50's complete with Firestone tires. I am missing 2 hubcaps that say "Radio Line"
Pretty sure i used Red tractor paint. I still have it

 

[ddawg16]

Update.....

I sandblasted the under carriage myself. Took the tub to a powder coater I use. Ordered new decals and wheel nuts. Gave the wood sides a couple of coats of tongue oil.

Here is the result.

I'm glad I did it.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Did the first pass with the sand blaster. I'm using a really soft media....it may not be aggressive enough.

Good thing. The metal is thin and soft !

 

[bugnut]

looking good ddawg!

 

[CudaChick1968]

Fabulous!!!

 

[jkherd]

I did this one for my grandson last year. It wasn't pretty when I started and I originally was just going to clean it up and save the patina but as I cleaned it up it just got worse. I ended up up stripping and repainting everything.

 

[don long]

Nice clean job. Wagon looks like it's ready for play.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Ddawg You did a great job. I had redone an old wagon for the kids years ago. It sat around for a few years once they had moved out. Neither one would take it to free up some room, once they had place of their own. But now since my impending Grandpahood it has miraculously disappeared.
The pic shows it a little dirty and dusty. The bucket had rusted through so a quick wood one did the trick. This was definitely a function over form rebuild and it served is purpose. Looks like the fun in function is going to happen with my Grandson.

 

[Nebraska03]

Hey, I haven't posted on here in a long time. Pretty cool to find that others are into restoring old Radio Flyer wagons!

Was helping my dad clean out behind the shed at my folks place, and found the Radio Flyer wagon I had when my sister and I were little kids. It is 25+ years old and was in rough shape. Took me about a little over a month with all of the hot/humid/rainy weather this summer out here on the US east coast, just doing bits at a time, but I think it was well worth it. It's not perfect, and I still need to get decals for the sides, but I finished putting the wheels back on this afternoon. Accidentally got Carnival Red Rustoleum paint instead of the Regal Red (thought it said "Cardinal Red" when I bought it), but I think it looks fine. Gave me a chance to work with Bondo some, which I've never had the opportunity to do before, so it was a learning experience.

I took pics of all the steps I did, but I figured that would be too repetitive to post them all. Can't seem to get them to show up, so here's some links to a Flickr page I have.

https://flic.kr/p/2jyYXxC 7/17/2020- Fresh out of the pile of junk from behind the shed.

https://flic.kr/p/2jyVyW3 7/18/2020- Took a wire wheel to it to clean the rust and loose paint off the body/parts/wheels.

https://flic.kr/p/2jyYXkZ 7/21/2020- Disassembled the wagon to prepare for cleaning, sanding, patching up rust holes, etc.

https://flic.kr/p/2jyZTk8 8/22/2020- Finished except for Radio Flyer decals.

https://flic.kr/p/2jyVyw5 8/22/2020- Second pic of finished wagon.

 

[coljar]

That turned out great Ddawg. You'll have to get a pedal car to do now.

 

[DukeNuke]

Hello, new to the GarageJournal. I recently acquired an old “go fast” coaster wagon. I am having a hard time finding information on it. I can’t seem to find any similar wagons online. Would someone here be able to help me date this?? It would be much appreciated, it is a sweet ol wagon.

 

[ddawg16]

Hi Duke....welcome to GJ.

I just did a quick search....and....nothing.

My first impression....knock off from another country.

A lot of guys in here are into restoring stuff. So my suggestion is to start your own thread with the name of the wagon to catch more attention.

Give the title something like "Go Fast Wagon - Need Info"

 

[DukeNuke]

Hi Duke....welcome to GJ.

I just did a quick search....and....nothing.

My first impression....knock off from another country.

A lot of guys in here are into restoring stuff. So my suggestion is to start your own thread with the name of the wagon to catch more attention.

Give the title something like "Go Fast Wagon - Need Info"

Ddawg16, will do. Thanks for the input. I’ll do that.

 

[DukeNuke]

Still figuring out how this works. I need 5 comments before I can post a new thread I guess...

 

[ludakris04]

I went a different route with my old Radio Flyer.

It was pretty beat up and my daughter wanted purple.

 

[Gunfixr]

Nice.
We have the metal tub radio flyer that was my wife's when she was a child, in the 70s. It has some rust and patina, maybe i'll restore it some day. It does not have the stake sides.
I also have my radio flyer from the late 60s, it is a wood bed, with the removable stake sides. It is good condition, except for the finish on part of the inside of the bed, where my parents later used it to store various household chemicals, and something leaked into it.

Anybody know anything about the wood bed versions?

 

[Thirdyfivepickup]

I restored one for my wedding to pull my daughter down the aisle... went with heavy flake on it. Came out decent for backyard restore and rattle cans.

 

[californiamilleghia]

What is the correct name for the serrated "washer" that holds the rims from falling off the axle ?

I destroyed them trying to get the rim off !

is there a McMaster Carr part number for them ?

Thanks

 

[bugnut]

CALI, I think you may be looking for a push nut

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-16-in-Black-Plastic-Hub-Push-Nut