DFS is having his parts revitalised !

Having recently enjoyed a visit to Birmingham's southern Riviera (Stop tittering, they do have a reservoir) to meet up with Mr and Mrs DFS, some matters came to my attention. I seems that DFS has a number of old parts that Mrs DFS is not happy about, and it is about time something was done about it ! Not only is she disappointed with his parts, it gets worse ! It seems he has a nasty habit of gathering other peoples old parts too. So in the hope of returning some much needed lustre back into Mrs DFS's life I was first asked for some advice. Sadly after inspecting his parts it was quite clear that A) She was indeed quite right about the state of them, and B) His best efforts at buffing, were not producing the results needed. More than advice... drastic action was clearly required by a qualified consultant "Buffer" or Duffer, in this case. 
First, some of the "other peoples parts" from his collection were removed (to my boot). Then before he recovered, a swift and bold extraction took place. It was mostly clean, but there were a few drips !

I would now like to continue my report to you on how we go about restoring such a decent shine to his parts that Mrs DFS will be able to see here own face in the reflection on the top.

First the tank ! (What else ?)

As you can see, it does "stand up" to a passing inspection, but get closer and you can see the decals are on the outside rather than under a clear coat, so have not been protected from being rubbed off. There are a few small scratches, dings and even rust underneath. The overspray at the filler hole is also a bit rough. So this thread is to show you how it can be restored without going mad and stripping it all off.























Though it is not a bad paint job, I will point out that this bit is nothing to do with me ! This is what we used to call a snotter ! (bigger than just a run)



Next job is to remove the decals. I have two hot air guns. The red one is a trade job, the blue one is the sort you can get anywhere. Both can burn the paint off, so some care is needed to just warm up the decal enough to get it soft. Then, remembering the paint will be soft now too, lift one corner of the decal and get going. Keep the whole decal area warm, and with practice it all comes off in one piece, no mess. I used to get in a mess too, so don't grumble.







I did notice that when looking at them before removal, they were a bit low as the back. Over to you Dave. Let me know if you wan the replacements fitting as per the blue one which is more original ? P.S. Remind me...how did you "find" these spare decals again













Filler cap fixed. Now to the underside, where the rough rust was rubbed off and then painted back up with cheap aerosol paints to improve things, but still keeping this repair as home made as possible.













Next time I will prepare the top, fix the scratches (The tiny ding can stay there as history) fix the new decals, then spray with clear coat.

One final serious note. Mrs DFS was indeed not very well when I popped by, yet was there offering refreshments and a smile. When I am only a little bit off I am away to my bed, you can all eff off, and you know where the kettle is ! Get well soon.