[ARC5] Rebuild or No: A Poll

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

On 21 Mar 2018 at 12:54, Michael Bittner wrote:

> It's a tedious job, but it can be done and I've done it, but only when the 
> surfaces with the holes are painted.  These surfaces must be cleaned and be 
> free of any protrusions that would interfere with a sanding instrument after 
> the hole has been filled with a filler compound.  This may mean some major 
> disassembly.  Before applying the filler, small holes only need to be 
> covered with masking tape on the inside surface, while large holes require 
> some backing, such as a piece of scrap aluminum with wax paper on one side 
> to prevent the compound from sticking to the backing piece.   Clean the 
> holes and their surfaces, apply backing, fill the hole, wait for it to cure, 
> sand the filler till it's flush with the outside surface.  Paint the filled 
> hole and adjacent surface with matching paint.  If it's wrinkle paint, use 
> Dave's trick of using silly putty to match the texture of the newly painted 
> area with the existing area.  Finally, remove the backing and you're done. 
> Mike, W6MAB

Yes, to all of the above. I use JB Weld for such jobs. Even so, after filling and painting, the 
scars remain.

In addition, JB Weld, although it contains steel, is, in my view not a good substitute for the 
original contiguous aluminum. For one thing, when used on a "bare" receiver or transmitter, 
it must be painted in order to match the color of the bare aluminum. For another, how good, 
really, are the shielding properties?

FYI, I have 5 ea BC band "ARC-5" receivers here. All of them have been hacked (my 
description), some far worse than others, and all have unnecessary holes. I have all the 
necessary bits to "restore" them to at least LOOKING original, and to probably working at 
least as well as they did when new.

But, I most certainly would never attempt to sell them as "museum" quality pieces to any 
collector.

They are NOT "original".

Ken W7EKB

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