Damien

[Functional Artist]

Now, lets see how this one works

1.) The bracket sits nice-n-flush on the top of the swing arm, as to, where the pillow block bearing nut-n-bolt can do double duty & bolt the caliper bracket down too.

2.) It seems to clear the "moving" frame rail
...& holds the caliper "pretty close" to where it needs to be

3.) But, for the brake pads to align with the rotor properly, it looks like it needs to be a bit closer

So, we'll have to "snug" 'er up to/around the axle a bit more

 

[Functional Artist]

I drilled a couple of holes so, I could "lock" the caliper bracket in this exact position.
I used a small screw to actually hold the bracket in place & the second hole was just for a "double check" alignment pin. (I just used the drill bit as a pin)

This way I could remove the bearings/axle & know "for sure" that the bracket did not move or change positions.

I put the bolt back in to "lock it down" for welding.
…& once I had 'er welded down good I double checked the alignment with the drill bit.
Yup, looks good.

Next, I removed the screw & bolt to weld up the "pin" holes.

* I had to over drill the big bolt hole (for alignment purposes)
...so, I "filled in" welded around it a bit (to re-establish the edge).

Then, re-drilled it to the proper size.

 

[Functional Artist]

After installing a brake cable, everything seems to work well.

Next, I need to make some spacers.

* These bearings & hubs (sprocket & rotor) have set screws to lock 'em in place, on the axle
...but, the wheels (rims) don't.

A couple of simple spacers will help keep 'em in where they need to be.

First, I marked the edges of where the rims, bearings & hubs stop, on the axle
...then, did some mearurin' & cut some spacers

The bolt heads for the rotor are in line/in the way of the spacer sitting flush
...so, had ta do some machinin'

 

[Functional Artist]

One of the last few things that I wanted to do was add a foot bar.
...somewhere to "prop" your feet.

It would act as a cross bar, strengthening the upper frame
…& also add some tie rod protection.

One of the "unused" dash bars that I made up for the Atom kart seemed to work well.

So, I just "notched 'er a bit on each end, cleaned the areas up, covered the wheels & welded 'er on good.

 

[Functional Artist]

a few more pics of the "foot bar", after weldin'

 

[Functional Artist]

I measured, marked & cut a piece of aluminum to use as a battery box liner

The cutter removes ~1/4" of material while cutting so, we need to be sure to cut on the "outside" of the piece that we need.

To "highlight" this concept & make sure I don't cut on the wrong side of the line, I marked the "cut" with a sharpie.

Yup. fits pretty good
...then, I cut & threw in a piece of ~1/4" rubber to use as a bit of a cushion.

 

[Functional Artist]

Battery "hold down"

I'm gonna use a piece of "channel" steel to secure the batteries.

I have found that it works better than just a piece of flat steel, to hold down a row of them.
...because it provides consistent pressure across/to all of the batteries (not just the ones on the ends)

I measured, marked & cut it (to the same length as the swing arm), rounded the ends
...& drilled 1/4" holes thru each end of it (& the frame too)

I went ahead & tapped the frame holes.
...but, I didn't want to rely on just 1/8" thickness of threads (the thickness of the swing arm tubing) to hold/secure the weight of these (4) 10lb. batteries (in a potential crash or roll over situation)

So, I welded a couple of "tall" nuts to each side to add extra "threads" to increase the holding capacity.

 

[Functional Artist]

Final clean up

I think everything mechanical is done
...so, after a quick clean up, we'll seal 'er up with some primer.

I disassembled everything then, started smoothing/cleaning
...every single piece, every nook & cranny

After going over this thing 100 times, every time that I think I'm done, I find more roughness
...or splatter
...or sharp edges

After cleaning (4 hours later) I gave everything a "good" wipe down with paint thinner.

I cleaned & primed the frame on a small workbench
...all of the small pieces, I hung from a clothes line

* Since most of the frame/pieces are bare metal, I am using Self Etching primer.
It's supposed to "bite" into the metal & help the paint stick better.

 

[Functional Artist]

I let the bottom side of the frame & a first batch of small parts dry for ~1 hour.

Then, set the frame down level & hung a second batch of small parts.

This Self Etching primer dries into a kool bluish-green "patina" color.

 

[Bansil]

Did i miss what color? Or was it the wine yesterday's

 

[Functional Artist]

Did i miss what color? Or was it the wine yesterday's

IDK maybe...

 

[Functional Artist]

Gettin' ahead of ourselves.

Before we get to paint, I noticed that I got the nooks & crannies cleaned up pretty good
...but, I just scuffed over the long straight bars.

There was chips & scrapes in the paint on the some of the pipes
…& they showed up really well after priming.

So, some (lots) more smoothin'

Yup, that's better.

 

[Bansil]

 

[Functional Artist]

Black Mirror

I have been doin some research lately on different painting techniques.

I'm really interested in these "chameleon" or color shifting paints
…& also chrome paint (for rims, steering wheels, linkages etc.)

* I'm NOT talkin' about those "fake chrome" spray paints
...more on that later.

So, from what I understand both types/techniques require a really shinny black base to produce/enhance their effect.

So, yup I gave everything a few coats of high gloss black.
...bottom side first (always) & let 'er dry for & 45 min.

Then, set 'er down level & layed a few good coats on the top side.

At first just a real light "pizz" coat
...spraying the edges & nooks & crannies
...then, the smooth straight surfaces & bars

I let that "flash" or get tacky
...then, layed a nice-n-glossy coat
...let that tack up a bit & then, layed another.

 

[Functional Artist]

While that stuff was drying, I went to work on the rims.

I have (4) new 6 x 5 rims but, the rears are white
...& the fronts are silver/grey

So, I'ma gonna paint them to match

* I'm not sure if they are painted or powder coated (the white ones seem to have a thicker coating on them)

I scuffed 'em up with a "Scotch Bright" pad to knock off the shine/gloss (this will give the black paint something to "bite" into)

I also cleaned up, masked & sprayed the back side of (2) of the plastic/composite rims (off of the Torsk kart)

I wasn't sure how well the paint would stick to this plastic
...so, as a test, I primed (1) rim with the self etching primer (don't know if the "etching effect" will even affect plastic) & just scuffed the other one up like I did on the steel rims.

** I leaned the table on, on a bit of an angle to get a better spraying angle.

 

[Functional Artist]

I let them dry for a couple of hours then, flipped 'em over, wiped 'em down & sprayed the front side.

First a light coat then a couple of good gloss coats.

* I didn't do the front side of the plastic rims
...still want to evaluate if priming is needed or helps

They seemed to come out pretty good.
...circular black mirrors

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

THOSE RIMS!!!

 

[bthompson224]

Krylon makes an excellent rattle can paint for plastics. Same thing, scuff 'em a little and spray.

 

[Functional Artist]

DIY paint booth

I've been wantin' to finish paintin' the Damien kart for nearly a week now
...but, we keep gettin' on-off rain

I figured why not throw together a DIY paint booth?

Nuthin' fancy, mainly just out of the weather.

So, I simply lined the inside of one of the box trucks, box with some plastic.

I ran the plastic up one side, across the top & down the other side.

I kept it below the roll-up door so, It would still be closeable.

 

[Functional Artist]

Usually, your supposed to "rough up" a surface before applying a "top coat"
...but, most of the research that I have done says that a glossy black "back ground" works best with Silver/Chrome paint & these Color Shifting Pearls.

As far as I have ever heard this usually leads to "delamination" (top surface not adhering properly to the base)

I/we are gonna find out.
So, lets just clean 'em up good & see what happens.

I didn't want to rub the dust/dirt in to the glossy base so, I blew them off good with the air gun (still dusty)
...then, I tried a feather duster (still dusty)
...then, I tried a microfiber cloth (seemed to remove most of the dust)
…finally, I went over them with a tac cloth (about the best were gonna get)

I was gonna spray them to have a chrome look
...but, the Unelli tires look like a racecar tire & most racecars have just black rims.

So, I'll just put a coat of 2K clear to protect/harden the surface.