Mounting Brackets

Cleaned & rust-converted example at bottom,
primed pieces above

With weather on the way, I've turned to projects that can be done indoors.  The alternator is a prime candidate, but I'm still waiting for the brushes to get here. 

That leaves rust mitigation.  At the beginning of the bulkhead job, I pulled a bunch of brackets out of the way.  They were fittings for the master cylinders, speedometer cable, ignition coil, etc.  Each had its own sad patina of rust, grime, and road dust.  So I went over them with the wire wheel while the weather was still good enough to do it outside.

Once they'd all been brushed clean, I wiped them all down with a rust converter and set them aside for 24 hours.  A day later, I came back and primed them.  Tomorrow, I'll hit them with a coat of metallic silver Rustoleum and they'll be as good as new - or, rather, as good as I'm likely to get them, which is more than adequate.

A quick word about my indoor paint setup.  I sealed up the edges and corners of a cardboard box, shoved a wire hook through the side of it pretty deep within, et voila! Indoor paint booth.  Overspray is contained.  The fumes still require an exhaust fan or an open window, but it's manageable.

The wire hook - a bicycle spoke, in this case - is bent to form a handle so that the work can be rotated in the booth to hit it from all sides.  Works pretty smoothly!

Detail of the handle for rotating the work
in the paint "booth"