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M-42 Duster refurbishing project-a question


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IIRC we only used stencils. Remember “aquired” vehicles in RVN were driven in the shop, bumpers ground to just about bare metal, painted OG, then stencils hanging on wall were used to ID to our unit.

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We found some of the tools inside, deep in the hull, and badly rusted--plan on working on those on rainy days when we can work outside but so far every Thursday morning (our work time) has been clear---really hot but clear...and I'm curious about the lettering---it doesn't look like stencils....maybe pressed on letters and a sealant?

 

Lettering looks like ink stampings. Not sure what to call it, but they were rubber material stamps with raised letters. Ink ( or paint) was rolled onto the raised surface then they were impressed onto the surface. Ordnance uses ink on pads also.
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  • 1 month later...

Here's a quick update---still a lot of work to be done but we are making visible progress---one of the guys has even made 2 new Loader seats for the turret--- the old ones were unrecoverable--as are the Gunners' seats.---in the top photo you can see the brown wood of the new seat---makes it a lot easier to work on the lower sections of the turret without having to crouch...

 

We are still trying to figure out a way to keep rainwater from collecting and sitting in the road wheels after we have finished them and moved the duster to its display pad---suggestions?

Al

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Looks good, been tied up, so not doing much but packing and throwing stuff out. No easy idea regarding water standing in road wheels other than paint and repaint.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We actually took one Thursday morning off in August but we are still making serious progress ---the turret area is rounding into shape and we have actually begun to work on the inside crew area....there is a sense of urgency as it appears we will soon be adding some more vehicles to our "to do" list....

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you can't keep the rainwater out, unless you move it inside, but what I would recommend is a serious 2 part epoxy primer which will lock out water from the metal of the wheels

 

This should prevent rust from eating the wheels themselves

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As rain water in the road wheels....under a cover is the best option, 2nd best is to "tent" the tarp when you cover it...instead of securing the tarp to the vic, use guidelines and sandbags (or other weights) to pull the edge of the tarp beyond the road wheels...this should keep most rain out, apart from squals with heavy winds blowing sideways. You might also try parking her against a wall of a building to the west, as most storms on the continent blow West to East. Not perfect fixes, but better than nothing.

 

EDIT: sorry didn't see you were moving back to an outdoor display - thought you were outside until further restoration work. In that case, the answer above with the epoxy is your best bet!!

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Just a comment about the road wheels collecting water. Not sure how much time you want to invest, but you can make " hubcaps", or in other words fill the wheel section with detachable foam inserts or plugs. Cheapest would be 3/8 plywood and cut the circle to fit inside ID, then a groove for a large O ring or foam. Second choice, line inside with heavy mill plastic, fill with expanding foam, let sit overnight. The foam will fill the cavity, , being lined in plastic would make a custom tight fit easily pressed in/ out....

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Gents---great suggestions---we may try several of them and see which works best---We also have to do some remedial work on similar wheels on a Walker Bulldog---same chassis as the Duster---we had a good high pressure hose today to work on the hull and tracks---man, there was some gunk coming off --- not sure when it last ran through some red southern clay but we cleaned out a lot---we figured that Dorian will wash away any of the stuff in the work area that our clean up missed....

 

Al

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  • 2 weeks later...

Gents---we are continuing our work on the Duster---we are trying to refurb as much of the crew's cabin in the hull as possible and powerclean the engine compartments---lotsa dirt, gravel etc but we unplugged the drain holes so they look much better---about 20 degrees cooler today than the last 5 or 6 times we've worked----the VA NG also recently took possession of this DUKW and it is going on our list of things to work on next but most of the guys want to get at the Sherman --- me too....

s/f

Al

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  • 1 month later...

And the beat goes on---we made it through the hot months and continued our every Thursday work detail...as you can see we have made major strides in getting the first coat of paint on the exterior and the turret is starting to come around---we finally got the radio operator's seat out of the cabin and you can see that inside is pretty rough---but with the seat gone we can finally get around inside and have salvaged two old tube operated radio sets--they are in display inside the HQ.

 

more to follow as we also start work on the WW2 40mm Bofors that is parked next to the Duster.

Al

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Al, outstanding!! Been tied up working on house( with 1 hand, arthur in left thumb), hope to sell before Christmas. Moving back that way so may stop by.

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Al, outstanding!! Been tied up working on house( with 1 hand, arthur in left thumb), hope to sell before Christmas. Moving back that way so may stop by.

 

Come on up --I'll be glad to show you around----we might even have the Sherman for you to climb on by then.....

Al

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

End of year status update on our Duster---

 

we haven't done much in December because the temps have been too cold to use the rust converter or the paint so we have done a lot of inside work (inventorying the VA NG Historical photo collection, inventorying the 1930-40s boxes of documents from armories around the state) but I felt I owed you a quick update---

 

still a lot to be done so we are hoping for a mild January.. as reminder here is the original look and what it looks like as of yesterday. One thing we are looking for is a good copy of crew battle drill SOP--if we want to maximize the educational value of this vehicle, we need to put it into a context of how it operated.

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Great progress. Your enthusiasm shows. Hard work. It will be wonderful to continue to see it. I have fond memories of driving an M-41 at Camp Drum in the mid-50s. I was a 17 year old NG troop. 101st AC. NYNG. Bobgee

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Great progress. Your enthusiasm shows. Hard work. It will be wonderful to continue to see it. I have fond memories of driving an M-41 at Camp Drum in the mid-50s. I was a 17 year old NG troop. 101st AC. NYNG. Bobgee

Bob--thanks for the kind words--We have a M-41 out in front of the HQ that will need some touch up pretty soon--You're more than welcome to join us...as much fun as it is working on these big metal chunks of history, the best part is that all of the guys are Army (and 1 navy and 1 USMC) vets so when we sit down to lunch, it's like watching a tv show on US military history of the 20th Century.....

regards,

Al

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  • 1 month later...

A quick update---we have been waiting our the weather to get back to painting the Duster but in the meantime, we have started work on our 1919 dated French 75mm....

 

that sort of psychedelic purple on the wheel rims is actually rust converter---when completely dry it will be a matt-black color.

 

 

Overall the cannon is in really good shape and only needs a little surface rust removal on the barrel and recoil system--and best of all we can work on it inside.....

s/f

Al

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  • 2 weeks later...

Al, looking good, lots of hard work. Going to be late spring ??? before can get up that way.

We'll be ready when you are---here's some samples from today's efforts----we had to raise the tail to get at the rust underneath---a lot more than we thought--so we scraped it and put on the rust converter---we also started to patch the cracks and splits in the wheels---and the last step, we tested our paint to make sure it's the right color----new on left, old on right---

 

s/f

Al

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