REPAIR SHOP

HOW TO RESTORE A TOY Another fun project of taking a toy that was in the scrap bin . The only thing that this TONKA backhoe/ digger had going for it was the set of rubber tracks. The first picture shows a pile of rust and bent parts after dis-assembly. The second picture shows the finished product ---- WITH ---- artistic privilege !!!!!!!!!!! The driver, on the dozer, is ( NOT )  an image of the  restorer of this toy !!!! Image:  The pictures show the before and after condition and they were very poor with much rust and most joints froze solid with rust !! The yellow WOODRIDGE dirt hauler had to be separated by using a heat torch and a lot of penetrating oil. We went on-line to find the proper colors and what stickers we needed. There are sellers on E-bay that have the decals but nobody sells the proper push nuts for the axles. The paint is KRYLON because the spray nozzle is adjustable and the primer and paint lay well and dry quickly. After tear down and sand blasting, we primed the metal and , where there were pits, we primed and sanded them until they were filled. The MODEL dirt pan, has the original paint on the tires but the WOODRIDGE wheels had to be sand blasted and primed and painted. We used MARVEL mystery oil to clean the rubber tires (USE SPARINGLY !!)   IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS --- WRITE US !!!  AND ---- think --RESTORE ----yes you can !! Image:  Image:  The pictures show the two Model Toys that will be restored. The one is a WOOLDRIDGE toy by Doepke. It is mostly heavy gage steel but the front parts are die cast metal. It was completely rusted tight and did not articulate. We sprayed it with the product --Blaster--- and after a couple days, of soaking, we were able to get the two sections separated. The other toy was also rusted shut and more Blaster did the trick !! We were able to order decals, on line, from ---toydecals--- but can't find some of the other parts we need. Sometimes, we just buy another rusted toy and take the parts we need and put the balance back on line for sale. We will add pictures as we progress. HAVE FUN !! Image:  Say hello to the world of repair and restore.   We took good old FRED FLINTSTONE and his FLIVVER apart because the motor plate was severely bent from pushing down too hard to get the friction to work. The tin is very thin and care must be taken. Look at the picture of the tools used to disassemble as shown in pictures. The pliers are flat  3/8" wide and 1 1/2" long at the jaws. We filed the serrations off so as not to scratch the toy. You might also put electrical tape on the jaws. The little tool is an allen hex wrench. We ground the short end to a sharp point. You can poke it under the tabs and pull back raising the tab enough to straighten it out. Work one tab and move around . If you work them a little at a time, they don't break as much. IF YOU BREAK A TAB--save it and after you reassemble the toy, put a LIGHT drop of DURO super glue on it and replace it. You won't see it's broke if you put the same tab at the same place. Any time you use the glue, USE A VERY SMALL AMOUNT! It works great! The anvil is used to press the metal back where it belongs. We push with a piece of hard wood wrapped with tape. After the toy is apart, we clean all parts and oil the motor with sewing machine oil or some very light oil. We also wax ALL sides of the metal. We use a product called Rain Dance. First, if the toy has dirt on it we use a tooth brush wrapped with a terry cloth patch and blow off the dirt with a hair dryer on COLD. DON'T scratch the metal. If you never have restored a toy, it is very satifying to take what others would toss out and make a show piece out of it!!!   We paint toys, make new parts and other restoring projects and it dosen't take much more than what you have around the house to do it!!   GET THAT OLD TOY OUT AND GET TO WORK. Don't forget to take a picture BEFORE & AFTER !!!   If you have any questions or if you have a better way to fix a toy, PLEASE mail us and we'll put it on this page.   Bud,Kobie&Dan    E-mail us your questions by clicking HERE!!!