Eastwood Soda Blaster - just what you need for a new look!

Frost thank all our customers and friends for your support throughout 2012 and wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!! 

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If you are fan of TV car shows (especially Fifth Gear), you must know Jonny - an automotive journalist and TV presenter!
Few month ago, Jonny contacted us and got our attention with his fantasic new project: Enfield 8000 - A Great British Electric City Car! Shorter than a Mini but they cost a lot more in 1975 - The Enfield also was known as a lightweight, green, very rare car (only about 108 or 120 were made). Therefore, after Jonny told us about his idea, we was so excited to see the return of history!

ORIGINAL ENFIELD 8000 TECH SPEC

BODYSHELL: Handbuilt aluminium two-seater
CHASSIS: Square-section tubular steel space frame
SUSPENSION: Coil-over McPherson strut front, four-link rear axle
MOTOR: 8hp / 6kw / 150amps
BATTERIES: 8 x 12v 55-amp hour lead acid batteries
TOP SPEED: 40mph
PERFORMANCE: Erm. Well, 0-30mph in 12.5 seconds
RANGE: 35-55 miles, depending on climate and quantity of hills
WEIGHT: 975kg (a lot for such a midget - over 300kg is batteries)
LENGTH: A mere 2.84m / 112" (a Mini was 3.05m / 120")
WHEELBASE: Just 1.725m / 68" (a Mini was 2.04m / 80.3")
FUEL: 240v mains Economy Seven

Want to know more about the Enfield? Click here...
Want to know more about Jonny's car? Click here...  

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(Smith, J., 2011, Jonny's Flux Capacitor Blog, Internet source: http://www.flux-capacitor.co.uk/blog.php)   

I Hate That Blue Paint

It was time to collect the Enfield from Webster Race Engineering and begin stripping the bodyshell of 30-odd years of paint, filler and primer. Webster had finished everything bar the front brakes.
They’d fitted new hard brake lines, fabricated a new master cylinder reservoir and plumbed in a Moroso line-lock. The latter is for gripping the front wheels when you want to warm the rear rubber. A big naughty smoky poetic burnout.
The paint and bodywork was going to be taken care of Tim at Roadhouse Retro (www.roadhouseretro.com) in Stamford. He’s a good mate and is not only immensely talented, but also has such an infectious passion for the history behind each old car that passes through his workshop. The craftsmanship he did on my ’73 Ford Taunus coupe and ’68 Charger were second to none.
The Flux Cap was put on a dolly, as the back axle still hadn’t returned from the powdercoaters. This was a blessing, as it’ll be easier to paint the newly fabricated rear suspension and chassis mods.
With the weather baking hot, we decided to crack on with paint removal. As opposed to using solvent based chemicals, I decided to try stripping using a soda blaster. Borrowed from FROST  (www.frost.co.uk) the blaster connects to a compressor and basically fires out bicarbonate of soda powder from a nozzle.

It’s no harm to lungs or the environment, which is why I was happy to blast away outdoors. Although breathing apparatus and a cap for your head is recommended. Once I got in the zone, the soda blaster seemed perfect at bringing back the bodyshell to its pure bare aluminium skin, especially in the creases where a conventional sander couldn’t reach.

You can see from the pics that I’m doing the gutters and panel creases first. Because the whole bodyshell was hand made from aluminium we’re finding where all the joins and rivets are. There’s a fair wad of filler in places, and I’ve unearthed some holes in the sill but we’re hoping that the big strip goes smoothly. The sooner that NHS blue paint disappears the better!
Hell, even that (totally obsolete and totally priceless. Probably) windscreen came out without drama.

(Jonny Smith - To read full blog, click here )   

Make it as clean as a whistle

Want your metal looking shiny and new? Well we have just the thing. The Eastwood Soda Blaster. Soda Blasting leaves any metal surface looking as good as new as if it had never been painted. As clean as a whistle at only £195.00, BUY IT NOW at frost.co.uk

New Products

Here is a small selection of the new products available at http://www.frost.co.uk/

The Flexible Metre Long Magnetic Pickup Tool otherwise know as the "FlexiMag".

This is an extremely strong magnet that will pick up over a kilo. It is electrically insulated and can be used by many trades including electricians to retrieve out of reach items such as dropped nuts and washers. A 6mm tip is fitted to a metre long flexible rod providing the user with plenty of reach.

See the video on youtube: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gvzRCIWmyNg

The 36" Endiscope

Now you can see what is happening inside your engine, gearbox, rear axle and petrol tank without the need to dismantle. Using high resolution fibre optics with a built in light allows sight focusing from 20mm from the end of the 6mm flexible shaft. The Endoscope comes with an 11mm outer sleeve which can hold any shape for inspection around corners.

See the video on youtube: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nMJjoYPGMSE&feature=related

The Eastwood Soda Blaster

Soda Blasting leaves a metal surface as clean and smooth as the day it was stamped at the factory. You not only have no damage from heat warping as with abrasive blasting but you also have a nice, smooth, surface to work from. No danger or mess from chemical strippers and no hard labour from hand sanding. You can blast over sound chrome, glass and rubber with virtually no effect on them at all. It also works for damage free paint removal on fiberglass. The soda leaves behind a thin film of pulverized Baking Soda on the bare metal surface which acts as a protective film to prevent flash rust. Blaster takes about 40 kilos of Baking Soda and includes an 8" hose with deadman valve, 4 nozzles and instructions. Requires minimum of 8cfm at 80psi.

See the video on youtube: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GcXpeL0n1Ec