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Removing side rails (Williams)

Durzel

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Oct 1, 2017
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Bath, UK
Couldn't find a thread about this specifically, just about one with nails that you have to drill/pull out.

Need to remove the rails from my TAF to get painted. They look to be attached by a screw under the lockbar, and ... nothing else.. so presumably double sided tape along the length.

Basically looking for tips for this as I don't want to wreck the decals or bend the rails. Would I be right in thinking that it is a case of holding a hairdryer over the rail and pushing a putty knife or something like that up between the rail and the cabinet, and then just repeating that until it comes off?

Any top tips or gotchas I need to be aware of, besides not rushing? Anyone got a video of the process? :)

Also - reattaching them.. how do I do this with double sided tape without potentially getting it in the wrong position or not straight or whatever and ballsing it up royally?

Thanks in advance :)
 
Yes use a paint scraper, its easy to damage the decal so be careful. I personally would not take off the side rails unless i needed to re-decal the cab or they were knackered as 20 odd year old adhesive can be a bugger to remove.

Drew
 
Thanks.

Pin has been recently restored and already has new decals on it so no issues with ancient tape. The rails aren't really in bad shape but I am keen to personalise the machine a little bit.

A thread on Pinside suggests running a razor blade along the rail to separate the decal...
If you have a Decaled cabinet, you also need to run a razor blade just under the rails, separating the strip of decal under the rail from the rest of the body. This is so if you catch the decal with your Scraper under the rail, it won't tear down into the visible portion.
Is this advisable?
 
I think you would see the cut, if the cab has new decals the tape should be ok to remove try pushing a wallpaper scraper under the rail and it should give you a good indicator of how stuck the rail is. I recently remover the rails on a WH20 and it came of really easy, that said i also removed the rails on a getaway and completely bent them and pulled of some of the cab , it felt like they had been welded on :)
 
I use p wallpaper scraper (sharp one) and had no probs.

Having problem getting the hinge end of the rails off on woz, swapping stainless for emerald trim. No good with just one hand :)
 
:(

If I were anywhere close I'd happily help (though would probably be more of a liability)
 
Stick a wallpaper scraper under the edge of the rail at one end, then gently biff the end of the handle with a hammer. You can biff/slide the scraper all the way from one end of the machine to the other, releasing the rail as you go.
 
Just so I can visualise that, do you mean putting it under at an angle at one edge of the rail (backbox or where the lockbar goes) and then biffing (haha) it all the way down without removing/heating/reinserting, etc?
 
Exactly that. If you put the blade in at about a 45 degree angle at the flipper end and whump (or biff) the bottom in the same direction (ie 45 degrees to vertical, towards the backbox) then you get enough upwards oomph to drive it upwards against the stickystuff and cut through it, and enough horizontal oomph to move the blade from the flipper end a few inches towards the backbox end. By altering the angle of the scraper blade a bit more vertical or a bit more horizontal you can make good progress along the length of the machine and release the entire length of the rail in a few minutes.

Done it several times and once you get the hang of it after a minute or two it is easy and quite satisfying.

The only thing to watch for is that when you are doing this you don't scratch the cabinet with the part of the scraper where the blade meets the handle. I sometime put a bit of cloth around the handle just to soften it where it touches the cabinet.
 
Thanks for the comprehensive description, exactly what I needed :) Do you bother with painters tape or anything along the bottom of the rail, or is that not really necessary using that method?

Also, I'm guessing you aren't heating up the tape through the rail or anything with that method?
 
No problem. No I don't heat up anything, and I don't use painters tape. Might be an alternative way of protecting the area just below the rail.

You will be left with a sticky residue on the cabinet where the rails used to be, but you can rub this off with a rag and some adhesive solvent. That part is probably the most time consuming bit - probably takes about 30 mins per side, but you end up with a nice clean smooth surface for when you put rails back on again.
 
To be honest what I'm looking at now is subtle, basically all black (which the apron already is) but with a subtle purple/blue flake that would only be seen at certain angles.

Appreciate what you're saying about values but it's nothing I ultimately can't replace.

I think the whole "purple glitter" was a poor turn of phrase.

Something like this is what I was thinking..

Also, a black Addams for reference..

2DD46754-B2E7-4CC4-99B0-27AF6B27EFBF.jpeg
EA1625E5-BC38-4EA3-9636-875A9747A08E.jpeg
DAB5979F-1CDF-4E74-B74A-35C88FCE1DB8.jpeg

My apron looks original with screened decals, but it's a bit weathered. Some go for the whole patina thing, but the machine is otherwise fully restored..
 
I have done 2 machines with a hairdryer and a scraper, take your time and you shouldn’t bend or damage anything.
It’s true that the time consuming bit is getting rid of the old glue.
 
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