Properly restoring a Strato Bug

Mud,

Thank you for the tips on restoring. I will have to pick up some Novus #3. I think it is defiantly worth restoring this engine.

Did you happen to see my post on the fake Strato bug I bought a few weeks back?

Jason

Nice post, Mud. Thanks for sharing your techniques.

Do you ever apply any sealant to protect the buffed out aluminum from eventual corrosion and/or oxidation?

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Mudhen wrote:I just saw the post on the fake engine. That blows. What did you pay for it?
Also, although I've had good success with restoring Strato Bugs, wait to see what Mark posts. I'm always interested in good restoring techniques. He may have some info to improve the restoration. I can tell from your engine that it's a diamond in the rough. It should turn out nice.
Mud

It was on ebay so I paid too much! I have sent it back and am awaiting refund. It was sent back insured and with signature confirmation.

I will definately post pics and run it and post a video. It's already a used engine so using it one more time wont hurt it.

Jason

Yeah! You gotcha one!

I personally don't like the 'chrome' look you get from using a cleaner/polish, it does look cool, but it also stands out like a sore thumb if you're trying to restore a engine. I like to use a fine grit of wet/dry sandpaper, water or WD-40 to cut with and recreate the factory machine marks. To do it right you should pull vent tubes or work around, lots easier. I've never done a Strato, but I'm guessing you can chuck the airtube of tank in a drill much like a Babe Bee, if you're gonna leave the tubes in, gently 'sand' the area top and bottom of tubes before you 'turn' the tank, use light pressure, slowly, you don't want to take off a bunch of aluminum. The cast aluminum case is pretty hard unless you got a cheep Harbor freight polisher http://www.harborfreight.com/5-lb-metal-vibrator-tumbler-67617.html I've had good luck with Brasso Metal polish and a stiff nylon brush, using the Brasso as a cleaner more then a polish, when you're done scrubbing, rinse compound with WD-40 or water, then WD-40, don't wipe off as then you're buffing, it’s tuff, as not enough and it's not very bright, too much and it's too 'chrome like'!

The photo of Babe Bee is a mint '57-'58 from a Super Cub, notice grooves in tank.

I like the Dawn idea, sounds like the perfect cleaner to remove the Novus #3 or Brasso.

Were the cast crankcases tumble polished originally or just as cast?

You know i'm not really sure...Help Mudd! I've used the tumbler to clean-up/polished parts.

I guess I was thinking a lot of the early engines (Atwood, McCoy, etc.) were tumbled polished, but now I'm second guessing myself?

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Ok, so surfing thru my old info, about the only one I could find that confirmed ‘tumbling’ crankcases is a article from Air Trails Annual ‘53, the article is titled ‘How a Engine is made’ and show the steps required to build a Herkimer ‘Cub’. There’s even a photo of the tumbling barrel.
Unless there were different casting processes that required the additional step of tumbling to achieve a smooth case, I got to think other manufactures of that period used similar manufacturing techniques?

Lol, we do know that Herkimer didn’t have ‘Temp-Trol’!

It's looking better than when I got it in.

Yeah man, it looks pretty darn good!