Vintage Hip Roof Toolbox Restoration Completed!


I started this restoration project a couple months back and despite all the issues that arose during the course, it's finally completed and ready for it's unveiling. And to be put up for sale. 😀 Which it's sale will help cover the cost of materials of the restoration.

For first time visitors to my Blog you may want to read Part 1 and Part 2 of this restoration project which shows further details of the actual restoration process. In this blog post I'll just be showing the results and custom features.

I made a short walk around video you can watch below for those interested.


And here are some still shots and the details.

The exterior has 3 coats of Rust-Oleum Cobalt Blue Metallic base coat and 3 coats of TransStar 2K Gloss Clear Coat.


There was a reaction between the 2k Clear Coat and the Rust-Oleum Cobalt Blue Metallic base coat in which the only way to repair it would be to strip it and repaint it, which I was not willing to spend the time let alone the money on doing.  Blocking it the clear coat resulted in a beautiful finish but you can still see the effects of the reaction between the clear and base coat under it.



The reaction effected only the look but not the paint integrity. And actually adds to the character since there's traces of the crinkling all over it to one degree or another. I was tempted to sand it all back and try and force the reaction all over the box for a different look, but I didn't have enough Clear Coat to respray the whole box again.

Despite the flaw, it's a really nice finish! You can definitely feel the difference between the number of coats and finish this toolbox has over others with a factory finish. There's no comparison, the finish on this vintage toolbox is far superior.

A very cool looking effect that came out just as planned is the stripping of the hinge which can only be seen on the outside of the tool box. The Aluminum Metallic really sets well against the Cobalt Blue Metallic.



Moving on...
I couldn't find the bumpers I wanted to use anywhere so I opted to custom fit a couple full width neoprene feet I made to the bottom to help protect the bottom paint from abuse.


This actually took testing out different glues and vulcanizing cements and a couple tries before I was happy with the final result. They're 1" wide with a 45° chamfer on the inner side. Not the easiest thing to cut in rubber. There was also a 1/16" x 1/2" lip I had to deal with. They came out nice!

Speaking of bumper feet, I added 4 clear feet to the inner tray as well.


As mentioned in a previous post I was going for a Red, White and Blue theme. Rather than paint the interior white which I felt would just get too dirty I opted for Krylon's Aluminum Metallic with Krylon Red for the tray.



You'll see a liner in both the tray and the box bottom. That was a hard find. For two reasons. I wanted a blue liner. I also thought about adding a Zerust Anti corrosion thing.. finding a Zerust anti corrosion liner in blue... took a couple weeks of searching online. But I finally found one place that had it. This liner offers up to 5 years anti corrosion protection to the box. Reviewers claim Zerust is good stuff so... having it in blue, just perfect for this box. And I have a little left over for another box of I need it.

The one thing I noticed was the lip that holds the tray up was a pretty sharp metal edge. It's a place that gets worn in these type tool boxes. It can also scratch tools I felt so I covered it wrapping the edge with red felt. Which the felt adds to the vintage look I feel as well as serving a purpose.


And it does make a difference. You set the tray down it doesn't clang. If the tray slides in transport it dampens and protects the sides of the tray. In combination with the tray feet, it helps prevent the tray from sliding around too.

So there you have it..  from a toolbox I was originally just going to donate...


Into a Toolbox that should last another 50 or 60 years or longer if taken care of.


And it's better than new with some nice additional features to boot.

So now I'll post it on Craigslist for sale in hopes someone else thinks so too.

Till next time...

Stay creative, and above all else, stay Happy!

Cheers...

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