I just picked up a Skil 100 7.5A Type 4 planer that needs a bit of work, and though I have a pretty good idea of how I am going to go about restoring it; I just wanted to get a bit of clarification before I went into everything. The planer body isn’t in horrible shape and only has some mild corrosion on the top of the back shoe, so I plan on neutralizing the corrosion and then soda blasting the exterior surfaces of the front and back shoes, motor housing, handle, etc and then I want to paint it back to roughly original paint.
My first question is if anyone has a recommendation on paint that would get me as close as possible to factory paint.
I plan on replacing the cord, strain relief, belt, brushes, bearings and screws/bolts where needed. The motor itself shows no signs of overheating or extreme use and rotates true, so I feel there is no need to touch the windings or armature at this point. The blades are in pretty decent condition and should be fine after having a good professional sharpening.
My main concern is that I’m not exactly sure what to do with the nameplate in regards to removing it and then restoring it. I believe that it is mounted with spline rivets, and if so, these should not be too difficult to remove, however, are there replacements available if they receive too much damage in removal? Furthermore, the nameplate is quite faded and most of the areas that should be red have faded to orange or yellow. Is there a company that professionally restores the nameplates that someone could recommend, or do I just have to find a quality restoration company to tackle the job on my own.
All in all the planer is in great condition mechanically, however, cosmetically it definitely needs some work.
Would love peoples input and or suggestions on tackling this job.
If it is in good mechanical condition; fire it up and put it to work. They are made to use, not look at . They don't belong in museums or on the mantle. They belong in the hands of a capable surfboard shaper.
No need to neutralize corrosion, aluminum doesn’t rust and it’s irrelevant anyhow if you blast it. The motor grille and belt cover are steel, so you’ll have to paint those after blasting. Soda blast isn’t coarse enough to remove the old paint and oxidation, bead blast with 180 grit media @ 125 psi (even that takes some time). My experience with paint, clear coats, powder coat, or even anodize is that it will all eventually wear off on the handle and front by the lever. It will really looks like crap. If you look at most Skil’s you’ll see this on the factory paint which was several coats baked on. Unless it’s going in a glass case somewhere, leave it natural, it’ll stay that way . On the nameplate, just mask it before blasting. If you want the nameplate restored, these guys can do it but it will cost: http://www.ricksrestorations.com/restoration-fees.php. (yes, the TV show guys). Don’t forget to polish the bottom of the shoe and baseplate.
I used a few coats of a high heat automobile engine enamel from the hardware store on this one after it was blasted. Looks very close to the original factory paint color. Not sure how it’s holding up, maybe the owner can chime in if he sees this. As an afterthought, I probably should not have painted the bottom as PeteC suggested and instead polished it out because that is likely where it will wear off fastest.
I just did a rebuild on one of my skils. silver spray paint 4 bucks gray primer 4 bucks as for the name plate i took mine off. all u have to do is pull the moter apart and u can push out the 4 name plate pins from inside the motor housing i used a flathead , hardest part is not loosin the pins tiny littlie shits dont pry it from out side. name plate thin soft aluminum. Bearings alone did mine heaps . before it sounded like i dropt it in the sand now she hummmms.
I’m a decade late to the party, but those splined rivets for the tag are pretty easy to find on ebay - I was into restoring vintage steel frame bicycles for a while and a few of my bikes used those for the headbadges. There are lots of sizes available and they are inexpensive.
