An Early Mitchell is Reborn

[Liphook]

I'm a fan of the ACF50 grease too.( Infact both the ACF products I've tried have been 1st class with the spay protectant being great for coating sea reels, motorcycles etc etc.) I'm pretty sure the Penn grease is the same. Another great choice is the Yamaha Marine Blue (which could also be the same stuff!) but again it's harder or more expensive to buy in sensible quantities than the ACF50.

[Rockape]

I'm a fan of the ACF50 grease too.( Infact both the ACF products I've tried have been 1st class with the spay protectant being great for coating sea reels, motorcycles etc etc.) I'm pretty sure the Penn grease is the same. Another great choice is the Yamaha Marine Blue (which could also be the same stuff!) but again it's harder or more expensive to buy in sensible quantities than the ACF50.

Ah, you were way ahead of me..lol!
I didn't know about the Yamaha Marine Blue, so yeah, could well be the same thing?

[Liphook]

Maybe it's a case of fools seldom differ I've long been fascinated by the workings of reels and have been tinkering with and servicing reels of my own and those of others since I first started angling. In this sphere of interest there's factual goldmine I'm fond of published by a great Hawaiian chap called Alan Tani. There's a lot of great reel mechanical information on his site and forum.

[Crucian]

Good write up, good photo’s, and a great result, well done

[Rockape]

Good write up, good photo’s, and a great result, well done

Thank you Crucian.

[JimmyBobkin]

Fantastic work.

[Eddy Pools]

Rockape, thank you very much for this very interesting and informative thread - congratulations on an excellent outcome
Geoff

[Rockape]

Fantastic work.

Thank you

[Rockape]

Rockape, thank you very much for this very interesting and informative thread - congratulations on an excellent outcome
Geoff

No problem Geoff, and thank you.

I did leave a few of the more obvious details out of my process, like using an air duster just before applying the first coat and being careful not to spray propellant over the metalwork.

Making sure the paint cans are at room temperature (soak in warm water for 15 mins), wear a good mask, especially for acid etch primer.

As a side note, I did notice how difficult it was to scrape off the red primer overspray from the inside of the aluminium castings (unlike a test coat of acrylic black I tried on my first ever refinish attempt, which just flaked off under my fingers), and because of this, I have been wondering if I even needed an etch primer at all (no evidence of it on a factory sprayed Mitchell reel, only the red!?). If this is indeed so, then the coats will be fewer and the paint clearance from the script will be easier, making for a neater finish (a have some spares here which I will experiment on. That said, etch primer on aluminium has always been recommended, but I think its worth a try?).

On the subject of a mask; I got one with the two external circular filters from B&Q for £15...blue rubber nose and mouth mask; take of the black plastic moulded cover first, unlike me on my first painful attempted...lol!. I also bought some plastic sheeting to cover everything; the paint 'dust' from overspray can get everywhere, so be careful where you decide to spray it.
A garden shed or garage is ideal, as long as the temperature is not too low (too low and the paint will 'bloom' into a milky effect....as you can imagine, not all of my work was plain sailing).

When sanding either a paint bubble or spraying imperfection near any edges, be extremely careful, as it is super easy to suddenly see bare metal!

When spraying, I articulate the mounting jig (whichever system you choose to use) with my gloved and sleeved left arm/hand and keep my right hand spraying finger bare, because I had an occasion where the tip of the rubber glove interfered with the spray fan, and I ended up with a paint splattered reel body....heartbreaking! You will get a little paint on your spraying finger though.
Do this in good light and check the entire piece carefully for any missed areas; you heart will sink as you come to assemble it and find a small area not covered properly.

I find cotton buds make not only good hole fillers, but the stems provide fixing points too (old tired side plate screws to lift the main body from the jig). Dont let any stray cotton fibres get in the way of the target surface.

I use thin masking tape to cover the rotor cup centre surface, and then I cut a slot in it to push the zip tie through and the buckle of the tie acts as a stop inside the cup (I tie it off onto a suitable anchor point for it to dry....not easy with plastic, as it wants to spring open, but it can be done; I'm sure there are much better ways to do this). Masking tape around the rotor gear and up around the zip tie and its cotton bud side supports (this means you can hold the rotor by the plastic tie without it flopping around (my photo in that regard was before I decided to use the support sticks).

Well, so much for a listing a few obvious points, it looks like I have written another war and peace..lol!

But to re-itterate, I am not a seasoned professional in this line of work (quite the opposite), and (on request) I am just passing on my newbie experiences to others new to refinishing mitchell reels, and I am prepared to be schooled on the subject (I would welcome any advice or shared experience).

And thank you everyone for taking the time to read through all this and again for all your kind comments.

Cheers!

P.S please excuse any typos.

[Liphook]

All great information and much appreciated Rockape