Marx light tower restoration

[philo426]

i re-painted this Marx Light tower several years ago.Came out great but I only had one.I recently obtained 2 more that I have decided to restore. Here is the original.  

[philo426]

Here is the first one.Solid but the paint is chipped and it has some rust.   

[philo426]

I used 2 medium grit sanding drums in my Dremel to take it down to bare metal.    

[philo426]

Here are the parts in primer.  

[philo426]

After 3 coats of silver I masked off the middle section with typing paper and blue 3M masking tape.  I then painted the red.  

[balidas]

Looks good!

[philo426]

Thanks!I ill post more updates as progress continues!

[Seayakbill]

Excellent work in restoring those guys.

[balidas]

Please do. I've got several pieces to restore myself.

My only question is where to get those open rivets so you can connect pieces together and be able to pass a wire through.

[philo426]

The only rivets I had to drill out were for the spotlights themselves.The body is held together with metal tabs that are twisted.I carefully straightened them and pulled the body apart for painting.to re-assemble simply twist the tabs back carefully to avoid breaking them.I used small machine screws and nuts to hold the spotlights after they were painted and wired.

[philo426]

Okay I took off the paper and tape and re-assembled it.Looks good next to the first one!  

[philo426]

Okay! I soldered the wires to the lamp bases and tested them(lit ok).I then masked off the lamp base and stuffed paper towell into the socket to protect the threads and bulb contact.Airbrushed ,primered and painted the spot lights.    

[philo426]

I had a little trouble wiring it.I didn't realize I had to put a non-metallic washer between the base and the positive terminal nut.THat solved the problem.Here it is!