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McKeen Car Build


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Jerry's posting of this very unusual car stirred my interest and gave me my next project. Talking to Bob of Robert's Lines he described the different body styles he was offering. I decided on the 'combine' version. It has the signature round windows and some slightly arch style windows. He also has trailing cars.
The body I received is made of ferris metal with welded floor, seats and ceiling braces. There are also brass hand rails , grab irons and head lamp housing. I used Bondo to fill the irregularities and primed it gray. LiG

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Next the roof: Using a piece of cedar I had on hand cut and sanded it to just slide into the car. Put iron on oak veneer around the perimeter where it sticks out of the car. It's the same thickness as the car body so it meets nicely. Drilled holes in the roof and using a piece of aluminum dowel found in the scrap box made securing pegs. Drilled and taped the bottom of them and drilled the car floor. (pic explains it better) (once painted black won't be as obvious) Then added another layer of 3/4" pine to bring it to the desired height. Made a guide and am now in the process of shaping the roof. LiG

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willy, If my past builds are any indication this can take anywhere from 6 months to 1 year.  I do spend some time every day, sometimes it seems like I'm not making any headway but post even small accomplishments.  LiG

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I was very happy with the compound contour of the nose and shape of the body. Gave it a dusting of primer to make sure all was flat and smooth. I wanted to Harden the surface and was undecided using either Poluyurethane or Polyester Finishing Resin. I mixed the resin and gave it a nice coat. What was in the pot and stirring stick hardened within 2 hours as it is supposed to. What is on the roof is different story. 24 hours later and it hasn't hardened in several areas. In some areas it has wrinkled. In one area it seemed to lift so I pulled it and a strip peeled off. Only thing I can come up with is the resin had a bad reaction to the primer?. So I'm going to start the roof all over again. LiG

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As the pic shows I've already started on the new roof. This time I drilled and tapped 1/4" aluminum rod instead of the 1/2", found it at Home Depot. While the epoxy hardens on the posts I started working on the doors. Blue print shows some have 2 separate doors In the openings with half a port hole in each side, should be fun making them. I also found the old roof has finally hardened so will see if it is salvageable.  LiG

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Still trying to salvage the first roof or learn what happened.  Gave the it a nice sanding to remove all the irregularities and wrinkles. Yesterday I mixed another batch of finishing resin. Same results. The pics show wrinkles in some areas and not in others that have the same finish, either primed or bare wood. And a couple of small areas are still tacky. The pot, brush and stirring stick are hard and smooth as is the nose of the roof. Any thoughts will be appreciated.  LiG

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 Sean and Bob, thank you for your responses.  Heres a copy of the description of the product;

"Two-part polyester resin for use as a final or finish coat over laminating resin. It contains wax, and cures tack-free to form a hard, clear finish on fiberglass, metal, and wood. Sand, paint, or apply gelcoat upon full cure. Wet sand and buff for a glossy appearance". I don't understand why some areas are nice and smooth while other areas with the exact same finish wrinkled, example: the nose and the side.  Same with areas of exposed wood.  One thing for sure NOT going to use resin again, will apply several coats of paint as Bob suggested and as I have also used on a previous build.  So you ask, and so do I, why am I using resin now??   I guess because I have it left over from the tug build.   LiG

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When using polyester or epoxy resin, the chemical reaction requires not only a certain mass, it requires the mass to generate a chemical reaction to generate heat and in a thin coat, the mass just isn't there by itself. Primer and paint is your best bet. Bob.

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 Bob, I will not attempt to use it again, but again the seller and on line descriptions describe applying this with a brush.  I still don't understand why in the same thickness some areas cured beautifully, other areas wrinkled and a couple are still tacky after 48 hours, all within inches of each other.  I just hate wasting stuff.    LiG

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Sometimes companies make statements to sell their product.  I have tried brushing in the past and it has never worked out.  Epoxy does work better, but it is still not designed for thin applications. I make molds out of epoxy, but again, the molds are thick and have enough material to trigger the reaction and cure fully. Bob.

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Bob, thank you again for your expertise. As the pic shows, I'm in process of a new roof.  The contour is correct but this one is a bit high.  You can bet I'm not using resin on this one.  I will still try to salvage the other one, but again not using resin.  I'm just a thick headed old guinea.  BTW, the windows are covered as I gave the interior a coat of fresh paint.  LiG

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