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Wow, those Cougar shocks look better than new - your restoration skills are amazing!

Thanks for the advice - I was wondering if sandpaper would be too harsh so I'm glad I asked. My shafts have scratches on them too, so that might explain why the seals are shot. If I can polish them out and make them look presentable then I'd be happy. It'll be a shame that I can't use them, but I remember even BITD they were quite prone to leaking - I had the gold Kyosho Option House shocks on my cat back then.

Is silver polish less harsh than Brasso/Duraglit or do you think I can get a similar finish from that?

I guess I have a job ahead of me now and no excuse!

The Schumacher shock bodies do polish up well but after a period of time they do go back to a dull sheen due to oxidation. As for the shafts, they were pretty ordinary and are prone to pitting. Best thing is to put them on a drill and lightly sand them down after which polish with Autosol. Rebuild with some Associated green slime, new o'rings and you would be good to go.

QuackingPlums wrote: Is silver polish less harsh than Brasso/Duraglit or do you think I can get a similar finish from that?

To be honest i have no idea, i only used Silvo because it "was" in my wifes jewelery box and did a good job on metal RC parts

Paul.

Lookin great!!!! I need to find me a new project.

My new bodyset arrived on Friday so my task for today was trimming up the undertray and shell ready for painting. I'm always amazed that the shells get from Canada to the UK in just a week, whenever i send the other way things take multiple weeks

They shell quality is good, a little thin in places but thick enough i hope.





I'm probably not going to use those Trinity wing buttons in the end as i don't think i'm going to use any purple in the paint.

I'm still undecided on colours, i've been thinking of having the main colour as copper, but i'm a bit worried it will come out too orange. Also got to figure out some decals.

Paul.

That looks great! What a transformation!

QuackingPlums wrote:I was wondering if sandpaper would be too harsh so I'm glad I asked. My shafts have scratches on them too, so that might explain why the seals are shot. If I can polish them out and make them look presentable then I'd be happy. It'll be a shame that I can't use them, but I remember even BITD they were quite prone to leaking - I had the gold Kyosho Option House shocks on my cat back then.

The *only* way to get aluminum polished to a shiny gloss finish is to use fine-grit sandpaper and lots of wet-sanding. You won't get anywhere close to that finish with any kind of polishing compound alone, it's not abrasive enough to remove all the fine pits, striations, surface flaws.

I usually begin with 400-grit, then 600, 800 and 1000. That gets you to a very nice shine (good enough for anodizing anyway), but if you want a chromey, near-mirror finish, repeat the wet-sanding with 1500 & 2000-grit, then break out some rubbing compound and rub it down, then finally the automotive polishing compound of your choice.

It's true that a glossy finish won't last. Applying an automotive wax or clear-coating it might protect it for a while but this is a shock, after all, and that spring will constantly rub it. I think the best thing you can do to a newly-polished shock body is anodize it. That'll give it some protection and if it's polished really nice before anodizing, it'll turn out really nice.

I spent my bank holiday monday yesterday painting the Procat. I tested some bronze paint on some scrap lexan and didn't like the colour, so i decided to go for gold/silver instead.















I really like how it turned out. I'm still not sure what to do for some decals, i've designed a custom set but i don't know if it will ruin the sleek lines. I'll probably get the decals printed and try them just to be sure, but if i decide to leave it like this, i'll still be very happy

Paul.

Nice restoration and those paint lines really work for that shell.

I'm still waiting to hear back from Kifopaint on my decals. Will let you know how they come out.

I agree with kaszal, nice flowing body lines need to be enhanced by the paint job, and you've done a great job of that. I think you mentioned you're going to lose the purple wing buttons, I'd agree with you on that one.

WOW How good does this Procat look.....wish i had the time and know how to do this to just one of my vintage cars....
very nice job Paul with this restoration

Mick

Thanks Mick This has got to be one of my favourite restorations so far. I just can't decide on decals yet.

This is the set i designed.



I've decided not to use these though so i'm back to square one. I do like them, but i'd need to change the text colour to suit this buggy. And i think something more subtle would work better. I might redesign this set for use with another buggy though, i quite like the cats

I've got a few options with some original schumacher decals i have here (topcat/cougar/storm/cougar 2000)

Coelacanth, those wing buttons are gone now, they did look out of place..


Paul.

Hi Paul

What's the inner and outer diameters for the front pulley fences?

They don't look standard. Are they a Schumacher part or custom made?

Any ideas on how to make them?

Cheers

Luke

CAT3K wrote:

kaszal wrote:Hi Paul

What's the inner and outer diameters for the front pulley fences?

They don't look standard. Are they a Schumacher part or custom made?

Any ideas on how to make them?

Cheers

Luke

I definately don't think they're a Schumacher part Luke, i'd imagine just some plastic washers that a previous owner has found fit well. They're about a 2mm larger in diameter than the pulley and about 1.5mm thickness. I can't give any more precise meaurements without taking the front end apart again.

Paul.

wow - what a transformation from the 1st post!!! Superb work

Paul