Ruston Hornsby 6PB

Yeah, one forgets what agricultural engines weigh
You may like to substitute a pencil for marking round that carb as you have painted it. It will make cutting the tape harder though as you have to do that freehand.

Got a good coat of primer on it today, after cleaning all the excess Wellseal off with some meths & clean rag, she's looking good....





There's one or 2 spots which will require another coat of primer, which I'll do tomorrow, then it'll need a good couple of days to harden off before I can give it a quick sand down with some fine paper or one of those sponge pad things, then start the top coats (probably start them on Thursday).

I used Stamord24's trick with the masking tape & cut it round the carb. The annoying thing is I've done it like that before, but it just never came into my mind this time. I've got loads of different sizes of masking tape & scalpel blades as well. I must be losing it.

Looking good Nuts well done mate.

Stu.

Cheers Stu.

Today I gave it a good look over & I wasn't pleased with the primer around the "RUSTON HORNSBY" lettering. It looked a little like there was some remaining paint stripper under there (that'll teach me for letting it go completely dry ), so I decided to scrape it off around the letters. I took a quick pic before I had removed it all, see what you think....



It looked a bit bubbly to me, but I suppose it could've been rough casting. Anyway, off it came....



I scraped it, then dressed around the letters with the dremmel & a large engraving bit, then wire brushed & sanded around it....



It looks a lot better now with some primer on it.

My dad says I'm going to too much trouble for a stationary engine, but I reckon it's all in the detail. It didn't take long & I've got nothing better to do. I've now covered it with primer & given a few other areas their 2nd coat of primer. Once the lettering area is dry that can also have a 2nd coat, then I'll be happy that everything has had 2 coats of primer. Give it a couple of days to harden off, then a light rub down with some fine abrasive (to remove the brush marks) before starting with the top coats.

I suppose I'd better look into giving the carb it's petrol proof lacquer pretty soon, that needs to dry off for a couple of days before any petrol touches it.

Careful now Nutts, you will be making such a good job of it the owner will be chasing you to restore all his engines!
Good job he lives a long way away

Looking good, I have a 6PB, heavy old lump!

I've been debating which parts of the flywheel to paint. Currently it is painted as per Tony's picture (above), except this one's green. I expect when they were new the whole flywheel was probably painted, but I don't know. I like to leave at least the outer rim of the flywheel metal, & I've been looking at different pictures on the net of these engines & they all seem to be the same, just like Tony's flywheel is painted, so I think I'll leave it at that.

Nice picture Tony, I've always quite liked these engines, but always wanted the slightly bigger one. Sadly I wouldn't be able to accommodate even this one at the moment, even if it were mine. (As it is I've got the Lister A living outside )

The first top coats go on the engine....





I'm not very happy with it though, there's a lot of brush marks. These are mainly left in the primer coats, but I did cut it back with some fine (p500) wet & dry paper before painting, obviously not enough though. This one may end up having 3 top coats as I might cut it back with some P120 paper to try & flatten it off a bit.

At least in this weather it's not taking long to dry.

I also gave the carb 3 coats of petrol proof lacquer.

looks as if you'll have to flatten the top coat to get rid of the brush marks. Still looking good.

Stu.

stationary stu wrote: looks as if you'll have to flatten the top coat to get rid of the brush marks. Still looking good.

Stu.

Cheers Stu, at least it's not me being picky. I appreciate the honesty. I'm going to take some P120 to it. It might need another 2 top coats after that, but if that's what it needs, then that's what it gets. Doesn't matter much to me as it doesn't take long to paint this one & there's only a few areas (mainly large spaces) where the brush marks are apparent.

The flywheel looks fine. As for the petrol tank, well that needed a good clean on the inside, so I gave it a rattle with my stones yesterday (it's been a while since I've had to get them out). I added some of my parts wash, some white spirit & some petrol, gave it a really good shake then rinsed firstly with white spirit then with clean petrol. All this got filtered back into my parts wash.

Then I hung it out to dry, & I've just realised that's where it stayed :doh: (it p155ed it down last night & this morning).

That's my first job of this afternoon then. (it was still in primer, so it'll just be wet, nothing major).

Matt just some wet n dry on a flat block and it shouldn't take much to sort it out now before you build more coats of paint on it and it will only get worse.

Stu.

looks Tidy, are you putting it on a trolley or skids?

Lewis MacRae wrote:looks Tidy, are you putting it on a trolley or skids?

I'm not doing any of the final mounting Lewis. I believe Mark (Stamford24) has a trolley ready for it to go on.

I'm not even sure how I'm going to get it off my workbench! Damn thing's a fair bit heavier than when it went up there.

Looks great Nuts , I found if i thined the paint down when brushing when i did the tinwork on my fergie tractor and did it on a really hot day with a good quality brush you did not get any brush marks . So maybe thats a thought that might be worth a try so thin top coats ???

matt

its looking the nutts to me matt mate
cant wait for the finished project pics
kev

matt86 wrote:Looks great Nuts , I found if i thined the paint down when brushing when i did the tinwork on my fergie tractor and did it on a really hot day with a good quality brush you did not get any brush marks . So maybe thats a thought that might be worth a try so thin top coats ???

matt

Yeah, I think the damage with this one was done with the priming coats. I was trying to cheat by using 2 coats of primer instead of primer & undercoat (as it should be). I've never used this particular primer before (called "Antico Primer"), the first coat went on lovely & smooth, but when I put the second coat over the top of it, it reacted with the first coat & went all claggy (for want of a better word) & thick & just seemed to stick to the brush. It didn't seem to matter if I left it longer to go off.

The moral of the story is, primer is primer, it is supposed to be put on in single coats onto bare metal, otherwise it will hold the brush marks.

It's usually the primer that holds the brush marks anyway. I've just been sanding it down on the petrol tank (which hasn't had any gloss yet but has had 2 primer coats) & getting the brush marks out has made my arm ache!

Note to self: BUY SOME UNDERCOAT! (or stick to one primer + 2 top coats).

I always put the tin of top coat in a bucket of hot water, it makes the paint thinner and when it is applied it chills on the cooler metal and you get a glass like finish.

I painted it on the hottest day, the ambient temperature in the workshop was above 20 degrees Celsius. I don't like the paint to be too warm as it then tends to dry before the brush marks have had time to run out. There's a happy medium. Under any other circumstances it would've been the perfect painting day.

The problem was't the top coat though, it was the brush marks left in the primer underneath. I did cut it back before applying the top coat, but obviously not enough.

Next time I stick to one primer coat, I should know all this anyway, I used to be a painter & decorator & I've painted enough engines. Primers always go a bit funny on the 2nd coat, but this one was the worst I've known.

Anyway, I've cut it right back with some P120 aluminium oxide paper, then polished that off with some old abrasive sponge pads. Then I've re-applied the first top coat & it now looks much better.

A quick rub down in a couple of days with some P500 wet & dry & it'll be ready for the final top coat.

I do like these abrasive sponge pads (not the sponge blocks), but they don't last long & tend to leave behind a lot of grit. I always brush off & wash down (with panel wipe or solvent cleaner) before applying paint or primer, but it's something to be aware of when using them.

I know this is hijacking this thread but then this was the whole reason why Nutts ended up with the 6PB. This is the project that overtook it, completed today (this video is the very first start up). Its a Ruston 2PS and will be returning to its home at Twyford Waterworks for next weekends Spring Rally.

Not painting it then Mark??? :chin: :chin: :chin:



Very nice it is too, & completed just in time. I think some people produce their best work when under pressure.

EDIT (after watching the video)
Glad to see some water in there.

Any idea what it's based on? I can see bits of the PT & the PB on there, but then they were pretty closely related as well.

nutgone wrote:Not painting it then Mark??? :chin: :chin: :chin:



Very nice it is too, & completed just in time. I think some people produce their best work when under pressure.

Yeah right, like I really had time to paint this too

Given its rarity and the fact that the other PS on site has been restored, I think it will be nice to compare the two, besides I've also been threatened if I put a paint brush anywhere near it! I rather like my knee caps

I don't think I've seen one of these before! What a great engine and runs spot on, I think a better handle would help it to start And as Nuts says you can see bitsa this engine and bitsa that engine, it's a real mix up but still looks well.

Stu.

P.S. Is that your lawn or a local football field ??

stationary stu wrote:I don't think I've seen one of these before! What a great engine and runs spot on, I think a better handle would help it to start And as Nuts says you can see bitsa this engine and bitsa that engine, it's a real mix up but still looks well.

Stu.

P.S. Is that your lawn or a local football field ??

They are pretty rare. There is one nearish to you in North Yorkshire. Ruston's only made 450 of them over a 10 year period, I know of 14 worldwide. The handle is an original off my 6PB as is the magneto. The only thing wrong was that pesky washer keep sliding down , I've welded it on now so it cant cause me any more grief
The engine itself is pretty much original. The only addition is the valve chest cover which is again off my 6PB. Its two colours because the grey is the original Ruston colour and the dark blue is the colour Brush Electrical repainted it on installation (this being a contract engine sold under the Brush name). I do now have the original hopper cover that was missing in the video.
Yes sorry about the lawn, I've cut it today for the first time. Took me 2 hours

Mark

Wow Mark you could hold an engine rally on your lawn.

I might get myself sorted and call to see the engines running.

Stu.

stationary stu wrote:Wow Mark you could hold an engine rally on your lawn.

I might get myself sorted and call to see the engines running.

Stu.

Could of done in the old days. With the pressure to build houses in the South we have gone from 3 to 7 Neighbours! Don't think they'd like the noise too much