How to restore the 4x4 Blue Front Hub lock knobs?

[tjsblazer]

How do you go about restoring the Blue Front 4x4 Hub locking knobs? I'm wondering what others have done and if it was successful as far as lasting. The set I have are just faded fairly bad like most are.
Thanks for any help.

[tjsblazer]

ttt

[DeadheadNM]

Subscribed - I'm interested as well. I've wondered if there is a plastic buffing/polishing compound that would burnish up the face of the dial to like new. 3D printers don't seem to lay down a fine enough surface to mimic OEM yet.

[70']

One option would be to simply upgrade to Superwinch hubs, they have a blue finish.

[c20pickup]

there was a thread i came upon once, i dont remember the details but from what i rmemeber, for deep gouges he used a clear filler with some blue dye (i think) and then sanded the small scratches and imperfections outs. then he used the computer to print out the label on the inside of the lockout, then when it was all finished he covered it with a light coat of bar top acrylic. i wish i could find that thread! they looked awesome! even without the thread, maybe this can help you some

[Kennuck]

I worked in the plastic industry a few years back and we would "flame treat" stressed plastic to get rid of the white stress marks. This works for faded plastic as well. You pass the flame over the plastic quickly and the fade disappears. It works by melting a very thin top layer of plastic and restores the color. Don't let the flame stop on the surface or it will melt the part. Get an old piece of faded plastic and practice on it first. You will be amazed. You can also use a heat gun.

[1972RedNeck]

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/13...-now-what.html

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/11...storation.html

[tjsblazer]

Originally Posted by 1972RedNeck

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/13...-now-what.html

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/11...storation.html

I read these threads (never been on a Ford forum before ). Sounds like dying them might work.

Who is going to go first? Pete?

[tjsblazer]

Originally Posted by Kennuck

I worked in the plastic industry a few years back and we would "flame treat" stressed plastic to get rid of the white stress marks. This works for faded plastic as well. You pass the flame over the plastic quickly and the fade disappears. It works by melting a very thin top layer of plastic and restores the color. Don't let the flame stop on the surface or it will melt the part. Get an old piece of faded plastic and practice on it first. You will be amazed. You can also use a heat gun.

I never thought of this. I work in an Auto plant and many years ago we used to carry around bic lighters and would use them to fix whitening on plastic interior garnishes if they got stressed during install. I wonder if it would work on weather faded items. It is definitely an art form to be successful.

[Ironhorse]

subscribed to this. Knobs on my '71 4x4 1/2t are faded and washed out looking. Interesting thread.

[DeadheadNM]

Once I'm back home I'm trying the hair dryer on my dials. "Uh, not sure how the grease got on there hun. Movers maybe?"

[undertaker72]

pete, let us know how the hair, or air dries

[DeadheadNM]

LOL! Will do.

[71blksuper4x4]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

LOL! Will do.

Hair dryer really doesn't get hot enough. Heat guns work great on a lot of faded plastics, but I don't recommend it on the dials. The heat will work great on the outside edges and center handle but doesn't work good for the recess. You end up melting the edges of the outer dial. Ask me how I know..........Trevor

[Ironhorse]

How about using Krylon "Fusion" for Plastic paint? I used Krylon Fusion Black on a steering wheel several years ago. Build up of light succesive coats until the last one and then just a bit heavier. Seemed to do fine, far as I know. Was from a '72 Nova and guy who bought it from me has never complained about the wheel flaking. Still see him from time to time, awesome looking body off restoration. Had forgot about that, may have to look in to it. Not sure if would be a close enough shade or tint of blue tho.

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by 71blksuper4x4

Hair dryer really doesn't get hot enough. Heat guns work great on a lot of faded plastics, but I don't recommend it on the dials. The heat will work great on the outside edges and center handle but doesn't work good for the recess. You end up melting the edges of the outer dial. Ask me how I know..........Trevor

Did you shield the outer edges and did the treatment work more-or-less outer aspect of the dials?

[71blksuper4x4]

Pete it will work...there is a quick line though between enough heat and too much. You just want to flash the surface , not bake it. Trevor

[Kennuck]

This is where the flame works better than a hair dryer or heat gun. You can get in the recess with the flame. Practice on something else first the flame only takes a split second to change the color.

[slikside]

Sub'd.

I don't have a 4X or locking hubs, but this is great info for tired old plastic in general.

[Daaaanz67]

I don't Have a 4x4 yet I'm in.

[AirSpeed]

I bought a cnc recently and finally learned how to use it, wonder if the knob could be cut out on my machine? I'll have to look at my old one. Be pretty cool in different colors of acrylic! I'm gonna add that to my list of experiments! Designing a new instrument cluster now.
Mine were pretty cracked and ugly and a pain to turn so I bought a set of stainless Mile Marker hubs. Had them a few years and still look and work great.

[AirSpeed]

You could probably paint them, clean them up then use a sand able primer, sanding between costs until all the cracks and pores are filled in then paint those suckers with some quality spray paint. Might have to be careful not to build it up so much that they rub around the case.

[AirSpeed]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Once I'm back home I'm trying the hair dryer on my dials. "Uh, not sure how the grease got on there hun. Movers maybe?"

That's funny. I was polishing some small aluminum parts recently and thought about using my buffer, walked into the bathroom a little later and saw a little battery powered face buffing thing I guess chic's buff their face with, anyway a light bulb appeared above my head so I grabbed that sucker and polished the rest of the parts! Worked great so I stole it from her.

[57taskforce]

Originally Posted by AirSpeed

That's funny. I was polishing some small aluminum parts recently and thought about using my buffer, walked into the bathroom a little later and saw a little battery powered face buffing thing I guess chic's buff their face with, anyway a light bulb appeared above my head so I grabbed that sucker and polished the rest of the parts! Worked great so I stole it from her.

The admissions that come out when our wives aren't around! Haha I've used her glow in the dark nail polish to clean up night sights on my rifles before. Never really thought to check her stash for other useable things tho.

[AirSpeed]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

The admissions that come out when our wives aren't around! Haha I've used her glow in the dark nail polish to clean up night sights on my rifles before. Never really thought to check her stash for other useable things tho.

Chics have some cool stuff if you think out of the box! When I was little I wanted to be a doctor, doctors need to give shots and I had no needles so I grabbed my sisters tampons as a substitute syringe. I use my wife's nail polish remover when I run out of acetone, finger nail adhesive when I run out of super glue, her makeup sponges work great for small polishing pads, I tore one of her curling irons apart because I found it had the same heating element as my broken soldering iron. The bathroom is like a mini hardware store!