Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
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Restoring Little Bluey - my 182 FF ClioSport in Racing Blue
- Thread starter Mr Underhill
- Start date
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
In between working, trackdays and everything else, Iāve been buying the odd used parts here and there.
I quite enjoy restoring things and spotted these caliper carrier brackets for sale from @STRBramley back in March.
They suffered the usual brake dust, rust and oily deposits but overall not in bad condition.
So I gave them a degrease, then dropped them in some Bilt & Hamber DEOX C for 24 hours. I wasnāt expecting much but to my surprise, I could see clean metal underneath the crud.
So I wire wheeled them, scraped away at the pitted rust, then dropped them back in the DEOX. With every scratch, wire wheel, hammer tap and dip they got a little bit better.
After many attempts over a period of 2 weeks, these are the results.
The plan is to get them dipped in zinc to protect them, then do the same with some spare calipers and 60mm hubs that Iāve just bought.
Shot blasting would be easier of course, but I rarely do things the easy way.
One other rather easy and very satisfying job was to replace the drivers electric window trim.
The grommet was also missing which played on my OCD a little.
Sorted, although I need to switch the window adjuster over as I realised itās upside down š¤¦š»āāļø
Thank you for reading.
I quite enjoy restoring things and spotted these caliper carrier brackets for sale from @STRBramley back in March.
They suffered the usual brake dust, rust and oily deposits but overall not in bad condition.
So I gave them a degrease, then dropped them in some Bilt & Hamber DEOX C for 24 hours. I wasnāt expecting much but to my surprise, I could see clean metal underneath the crud.
So I wire wheeled them, scraped away at the pitted rust, then dropped them back in the DEOX. With every scratch, wire wheel, hammer tap and dip they got a little bit better.
After many attempts over a period of 2 weeks, these are the results.
The plan is to get them dipped in zinc to protect them, then do the same with some spare calipers and 60mm hubs that Iāve just bought.
Shot blasting would be easier of course, but I rarely do things the easy way.
One other rather easy and very satisfying job was to replace the drivers electric window trim.
The grommet was also missing which played on my OCD a little.
Sorted, although I need to switch the window adjuster over as I realised itās upside down š¤¦š»āāļø
Thank you for reading.
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
Does anybody know if the original calipers/carriers were coated in yellow passivate? Or just a standard zinc coating?
NickReilly063
ClioSport Club Member
182 Trophy Rs265
Love this Jon - where did you get the drivers switch pack from ( can they still be bought new )
I give mind a once over with a Magic Sponge š§½ which has brought them up like new - Ps - I couldnāt live without the tiny caps either š¤£
Last week I gave my pedals a once over too
ššā¤ļø
I give mind a once over with a Magic Sponge š§½ which has brought them up like new - Ps - I couldnāt live without the tiny caps either š¤£
Last week I gave my pedals a once over too
ššā¤ļø
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
They were off my track car, so the previous owner must have switched them over at some point. Far too good for a circuit car.
Iāve never touched the interior other than switch the belts, so Iām working my way through that.
Your car is just incredible Nick. I hate seeing pictures of it š
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
Relaxing day today sorting my tools out for Mondays track day.
Took some better pics of those carriers as the last pictures looked like they were taken on a potato.
Honestly, these are as good as new now. Gave them a quick brush with ACF-50 to stop them flash rusting.
Iād love to keep the finish natural, but thatās not realistic, so Iāll probably just get them dipped in zinc. Unless other people have any suggestions.
Picked up some steering knuckles off @Beauvais Motorsport and started stripping the hubs and bearings out. Again, these are in relatively good condition so will come up lovely.
Iāve left the bearing races in, so the shot blaster doesnāt have to worry about hitting the bearing faces.
Iāll then get these zinc coated and off to @FrogJam Motorsport to get new bearings and hubs fitted.
Thank you for reading.
Took some better pics of those carriers as the last pictures looked like they were taken on a potato.
Honestly, these are as good as new now. Gave them a quick brush with ACF-50 to stop them flash rusting.
Iād love to keep the finish natural, but thatās not realistic, so Iāll probably just get them dipped in zinc. Unless other people have any suggestions.
Picked up some steering knuckles off @Beauvais Motorsport and started stripping the hubs and bearings out. Again, these are in relatively good condition so will come up lovely.
Iāve left the bearing races in, so the shot blaster doesnāt have to worry about hitting the bearing faces.
Iāll then get these zinc coated and off to @FrogJam Motorsport to get new bearings and hubs fitted.
Thank you for reading.
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
A bit more restoration of old parts.
Had the steering knuckles shot blasted, then soaked overnight in DEOX-C. After that, they were sprayed with Atom-Mac to prevent flash rusting. Finally, they received a couple of coats of Hydrate-80 for added protection.
Did the same with the caliper carriers.
Unfortunately you canāt apply zinc plating to cast steel, so I bought some Simoniz Silver and Black VHT paint and applied a few coats.
As good as new.
I also found some old genuine calipers, so Iāll tackle these this week as I have a few days off.
Iāll box the knuckles up and get them off for new bearings and hubs.
Thank you for reading.
Had the steering knuckles shot blasted, then soaked overnight in DEOX-C. After that, they were sprayed with Atom-Mac to prevent flash rusting. Finally, they received a couple of coats of Hydrate-80 for added protection.
Did the same with the caliper carriers.
Unfortunately you canāt apply zinc plating to cast steel, so I bought some Simoniz Silver and Black VHT paint and applied a few coats.
As good as new.
I also found some old genuine calipers, so Iāll tackle these this week as I have a few days off.
Iāll box the knuckles up and get them off for new bearings and hubs.
Thank you for reading.
Last edited:
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
A few days off work to get some outstanding jobs done, plus mess about with car parts.
Dug my original Renault calipers out and gave them a clean down and degrease.
A company also sent me 5 litres of their RUST-E Rust Remover to evaluate - nice of them - so what better opportunity than to try them on my calipers.
It recommends leaving them soak for 12 hours, so weāll see how they look after that.
Got the steering knuckles sent off to @FrogJam Motorsport and they soon set about putting new bearings and hubs in.
As I donāt own a press, itās good to know the lads will supply and fit new ones and ship back to me as part of their service. Highly recommend.
I have a slight leak on my air con, so to save faffing around, I bought a new radiator off them while I was at it, to go along with a new condenser, dryer and seals. Job for later.
Thank you for reading.
Dug my original Renault calipers out and gave them a clean down and degrease.
A company also sent me 5 litres of their RUST-E Rust Remover to evaluate - nice of them - so what better opportunity than to try them on my calipers.
It recommends leaving them soak for 12 hours, so weāll see how they look after that.
Got the steering knuckles sent off to @FrogJam Motorsport and they soon set about putting new bearings and hubs in.
As I donāt own a press, itās good to know the lads will supply and fit new ones and ship back to me as part of their service. Highly recommend.
I have a slight leak on my air con, so to save faffing around, I bought a new radiator off them while I was at it, to go along with a new condenser, dryer and seals. Job for later.
Thank you for reading.
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
So these were the calipers after a 24 hour soak in RUST-E. Pretty disappointing.
Itās barely touched the surface corrosion, let alone the pitting.
I guess thatās the downside of having a premix solution. Probably better for lightly rusted metal.
So, I wire wheeled the old paint off and dumped in a bucket of good old DEOX-C.
24 hours later.
Pretty much all the pitting has gone with just some stubborn areas underneath.
Iām not overly worried as I can arrest that with Hydrate-80.
Iāll give them one more overnight soak before removing the piston and a lick of paint. Thank you for reading.
Itās barely touched the surface corrosion, let alone the pitting.
I guess thatās the downside of having a premix solution. Probably better for lightly rusted metal.
So, I wire wheeled the old paint off and dumped in a bucket of good old DEOX-C.
24 hours later.
Pretty much all the pitting has gone with just some stubborn areas underneath.
Iām not overly worried as I can arrest that with Hydrate-80.
Iāll give them one more overnight soak before removing the piston and a lick of paint. Thank you for reading.
Advikaz
ClioSport Club Member
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
Yeah, theyāre spot on. I could get mine done at work but theyād give the job to the apprentice. What could possibly go wrong š
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
The DEOX-C doing its job.
Pretty happy with how these have turned out.
Before.
After.
Managed to get a few coats of Hydrate-80 onto them in preparation for paint at the weekend and then I can start rebuilding.
Thank you for reading.
Pretty happy with how these have turned out.
Before.
After.
Managed to get a few coats of Hydrate-80 onto them in preparation for paint at the weekend and then I can start rebuilding.
Thank you for reading.
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
NickReilly063
ClioSport Club Member
182 Trophy Rs265
Look amazing John - top work there
ššā¤ļø
ššā¤ļø
JamesBryan
ClioSport Club Member
Good old Deox-C.
Not seen Hydrate-80 go that black before, looks a really good finish that.
Not seen Hydrate-80 go that black before, looks a really good finish that.
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
I think parts like calipers and carriers are fine. Fred from Frogjam Motorsport mentioned they dipped a rear beam for a while, and it damaged the threads. I blasted the steering knuckles and only dipped them briefly to remove flash rust, to avoid that.
I also read a story on here where a guy removed the bearing races, then dipped them in something similar. It damaged the bearing faces so badly that the bearing slid in and out lol.
It was about 10 pm so I think the LEDs made it look darker. It's like a deep rich Purple in natural light. Applied with a cheap brush from Halfords.
You going for the big red rebuild kit?
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
Got the calipers painted up and ready to rebuild using kits from Bigg Red.
You have to have one of these unless you like a fight.
Carriers and calipers done.
Steering knuckles, bearings and hubs done.
Nice, clean, rebuilt brake and steering/suspension parts.
Itās nice to have some spares instead of giving things away and having to buy them back later.
Thank you for reading.
You have to have one of these unless you like a fight.
Carriers and calipers done.
Steering knuckles, bearings and hubs done.
Nice, clean, rebuilt brake and steering/suspension parts.
Itās nice to have some spares instead of giving things away and having to buy them back later.
Thank you for reading.
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
I used Simoniz Black & Silver VHT and some Hycote Clear Coat.
Touring_Rob
ClioSport Club Member
You can zinc plate cast steel mate. I believe they use a slightly different acid that not all places do. The original carriers were zinc plated I think?? Certainly are on other cars anyway, as are calipers.
I recently bought a tub of Evapo-Rust but haven't used it yet, apparently its good stuff and I'm keen to see how it works compared to Deox-C
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Try citric acid with water for rust dipping mate
basically the same stuff at less than 1/4 of the price
Touring_Rob
ClioSport Club Member
Yea that's what I do buddy, buy a bag of citric acid off Amazon, in warm water it's great. I found Deox C slightly better than straight cirtic acid but not enough better to justify the price.Try citric acid with water for rust dipping mate
Evaporust apparently works differently and is kinder to the part. Keen to see if that's true!
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
Hmmm I did question it tbh but a local company said itās not possible. š¤·š»āāļø
Evaporust is really good and used to be my go-to but premix has its limitations, especially when trying to break this kind of corrosion down. Expensive too. The advantage of using a powder is you can get the desired strength.
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
It would be interesting to try it on really heavy corrosion, like the above. Iāll certainly give it a try.Try citric acid with water for rust dipping mate
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
Got her out of storage this morning, checked oil, water and tyre pressures, filled her up and set off to the Lakes.
The weather turned a bit horrible once I was over the North Pennines - bloody windy - so I headed up to Alston, then over to Barney, and back across to the North Yorkshire Moors.
Amazing little car. No warning buzzers telling me Iām going over 30mph. No lane departure systems trying to throw me into a hedge. As Analog as it gets. Just pure, simple, driving fun!
The weather turned a bit horrible once I was over the North Pennines - bloody windy - so I headed up to Alston, then over to Barney, and back across to the North Yorkshire Moors.
Amazing little car. No warning buzzers telling me Iām going over 30mph. No lane departure systems trying to throw me into a hedge. As Analog as it gets. Just pure, simple, driving fun!
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Ive used it on heavily corroded steel with success, i usually mix it a bit stronger and chuck the parts in for a day or two. Good wire brush before to get the thick off to speed up the process.
Yarp
ClioSport Club Member
Clio 182
Fantastic roads, was the photographer out on the hairpin after the cafe on hartside pass?
Touring_Rob
ClioSport Club Member
It works great. Smells bad though š
However citric acid (and Deox) will attack iron albeit slowly as well as rust. I ruined a set of hub carriers with it! Left them in warm water/citric acid for a week and killed the bearing fit. Had to buy new carriers š
My bad for leaving them in there so long.
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
Ah so youāre the guy who did that. I knew Iād read it somewhere. I shot blasted the steering knuckles for that very reason and left the races in place while I gave them an overnight dip. You probably saved me ruining them.
