Hi. Recently got this now quite rare Victa hi arch to do up. Was originally aiming to make it a showroom special, but that would mean I could never use it and I won't have that, so I intend on a refresh to make it presentable again after years of mowing duty. I have become stuck on sourcing an acceptably close match to the yellow gold hammertone finish and the only one I have found so far is a company called Vernici in ITALY that has what seems a very good match, but alas, on contact (via email) they replied they don't sell to Australia, EU only. I may try calling them to see if they make an exception upon speaking with me. I would much rather exhaust all possible local solutions first, before trying my luck that way. Also, can you still get nos axles for this frame, as the stubs on front and back have become loose on the right side(!)? Any leads would be appreciated immensely. Here is the mower, a budget model hi arch series with 125cc and a pic showing the repair I have done to the badly worn edge of the aluminium deck.
This looks to me to be a similar colour to the Mayfair Gold. The No.1 expert for 1970s (or 80s) machines is Blumbly (on this site). Perhaps he might have some suggestions.
For me, the issue of hammertone paint remains mysterious. I don't know whether - in part - the hammertone process involves a specific application process.
I feel there must be a local solution, and am hoping a member might offer a solution.
Yes...I saw that while lurking here a while ago. If only mine was in that standard of condition, it would have been an easy restoration indeed.*Sigh*. Fantastic tip find. I feel privileged to have got my hands on one at all though, and my neighbour, in the late 1980s had my exact version, with the Victa 125cc, and I used to envy his hi arch base and space age styled thumb latch catcher, over our relatively daggy looking (but very capable) late 70s Waltons store brand 160cc flat decked model with north south engine orientation. If anyone has any knowledge on when this model was produced and what grade it was positioned at on the marketplace, it would be very welcomed by me. My theory: made into the early 1980s and took over the price point of the former flat decked store brands and was produced along side the electronic ignition side starter 160cc models as a budget level aluminium hi arch mower. Clues are non bearing wheels, screw knob folding handles ,standard handles and ,of course, the smaller capacity engine. It could be from late 1970s but most likely 1980-1982, one of the last iterations of the 125. Thanks CyberJack for your encouragement. I just know it will impress when it gets done.
Yes still looking. Have you got anything? I have rung around a few Sydney paint outlets and none lead me anywhere. One I did find that told me over the phone they could mix some couldn't assure me of a decent match when I brought the mower deck for them to have a look.
There is an Italy based online company called Vernicispray who sell a yellow gold hammer tone colour that looks to be a great match who told me over the phone they don't deal outside the EU and said I would need to nominate an address in Europe to send to. I also discovered a metallic non hammered paint in a can made by Dulux that is a very close match. I might have to use that for now.
I thought I'd bump this topic up since I believe I have finally got the paint I want (but still not sure it's a match -will find out once I start applying, but I have seen a pic of some applied and it looked promising) so have started sanding the base. I have done half of the top and both sides. I'm not sure if I'll retain the Victa label or replace with a reproduction one. Threw present one has degraded with a few pock marks and missing print.
Hi Bonnar Bloke, Still in the sanding stage. I will hopefully finish today and start on the etch prime which I bought from a panel beater's supplies shop. Looks to be top grade stuff and reasonably priced at about $13.00 for a large can. One of the staff gave me some helpful painting guidance. I also obtained some green enamel paint I think is a very close match to the green commonly used on 1980s Victas.
If anyone has any knowledge on when this model was produced and what grade it was positioned at on the marketplace, it would be very welcomed by me. My theory: made into the early 1980s and took over the price point of the former flat decked store brands and was produced along side the electronic ignition side starter 160cc models as a budget level aluminium hi arch mower. Clues are non bearing wheels, screw knob folding handles ,standard handles and ,of course, the smaller capacity engine. It could be from late 1970s but most likely 1980-1982, one of the last iterations of the 125.
I think you are about right MF
This one has a briggs engine with date stamp 20/4/1980, then add several months to get from USA warehouse into Victa stock, and a few more weeks to make its way onto a mower
After I started a thread to find out when 125 production ceased, no one could say for certain but the consensus seemed to be some time in 1977 or 1978. Victa may have had a large inventory of Mark IV 125s which had the G4 barrel due to the majority wanting the beefier 160cc. Victa may have devised this "2 stroke" model to run out the last of their 125 stock by offering it on an alloy high arch chassis, but with basic wheels and handles, at a value for money price point compared to a 160cc model. These were a hidden gem of a machine as they still had plenty of grunt and are actually more durable than the 160.
A few more pics showing the filling jobs I did with epoxy filler ready for paint. All four axle locations were worn away and so I applied Selleys Knead It Steel. The brighter aluminium in contrast to the dark grey epoxy filler shows how worn they were.
Gave final sanding with some 320 and applied first coat of etch primer. It has shown up a couple of small blemishes but they will be concealed by the engine and fuel tank.
The paint went on today and I can confirm it is a very good match to the Victa Mayfair Gold the mower base came in. At least 90% match, if not 99% and the finish is superb but those Ultra-Color hammertone cans clog up quickly. You're lucky to get half of it out before it falls on it's side. I will have to try Bonnar Bloke's method of 10 minutes shaking before baking in the sun for several hours (at least three to four??) to dissolve the skin he believes forms in these cans. I recommend using a respirator as the smell is like nothing I've experienced before. I hope it isn't isocyanates like 2 pack has! It doesn't smell healthy. I had to use two of my three cans and managed to get them to spray again for a few seconds at a time after clogging up by forcing some thinner down the tube with a compressed air gun. Thus would only revive them for a few seconds spraying at a time before I'd have to repeat the process again. Sometimes it was the can's tube and others it was the nozzle itself that I had to force air through backwards to get a few seconds out of it. I managed to get enough out of the two cans this way to finish the job to my satisfaction. This paint is very forgiving stuff and you can go over parts that didn't get sufficient coverage without ruining the rest. What a shame these Ultra Color cans give so much grief but the finish has blown my mind. Only negative is I'll have to give the engine a lot of attention to be a match to this now new looking base!
Yep these things certainly will give plenty of grief.
Honestly I don't know how they could ever sell these at a retail outlet as customers would constantly be bring these back and the retailer would be refunding every time, resulting in an eventual fall out between supplier and retailer and we all know where that leads to don't we.
Such a great product but what do you expect from that powerhouse of manufacturing.......................China ?
Regardless of that the end result looks fantastic and yes now it's up to the engine to make it all look as good as the base currently does.
I used a tip from this video to successfully get one of my cans restarted to go over a couple of spots I felt needed a thicker amount, after they were hot from hours in the sun. A can of carburettor cleaner and a compressed air gun as the cleaner is mainly acetone and the straw is a handy way to to get it into the jet. I was able to touch up what I needed without the can blocking. I squirted a bit of the cleaner into the tube of the can and cleaned the nozze before putting it away.
One other point I'll bring up while we're on the same topic and that is this paint will take weeks to properly cure out so please don't be in any rush to do the fit out on it. Also don't place anything on the surface while it's sitting around curing as it'll mark the surface for sure.
In the current climate I'd leave it out in the sun for a solid week if you are also getting 38~42 degree days like I am at the moment.
I don't know what it is, but this paint just doesn't go hard quickly like us blokes generally do, but the colour and depth in these makes it worth the wait I reckon.
Cheers, BB.
PS. I couldn't resist that one it was there to be expanded on.
I want it hard as glass before fit out. Should I use clear coat? The finish already looks grand as is. When it did work properly, I couldn't believe how the gold paint transforms to the desired hammered finish before your eyes as if by magic. This is quality stuff. Well worth buying multiple cans.
I'm not so happy after seeing the difference with the bit of pristine original paint I masked off where the label went.
I wanted to see a sample of the paint before I applied but with the reputation these cans have and the pics I'd seen this paint, I was convinced it was the one.
There was this hammered paint by Hammerite I never tried out as their gold looked to have tooa much of a green tint to me. I may have been on the right track according to this contrast revealed below.
The Ultra is a far better colour than the original, it's much more brighter gold while the original is just dull and boring, much the same as my Verti-Cutter that is far brighter and better looking than it's original dull green.
If my bullion in the safe was the colour of the original Victa then I'd be checking to see if it was real gold or fools gold, while with the repaint I'd never be asking the question.
I'm still bothered as I have been waiting years to find a close match to the original only to find this is more different than I expected.
I take the point from Bonner Bloke that the Ultra Color green is a very attractive shade of green that really pops and this gold certainly does that just as well. It does fool my eye into thinking it is more or less the original colour without the direct comparison. It would be such a shame to sand back such a successful hammertone finish just to make it exactly as it was in the late 1970s, should the other paint turn out a better match. I think I'll run with it seeing as it captures essence of the original without being exact and it looks excellent.
I'll move onto other parts of the mower while I think it through.
Well, I've decided to run with this colour as my eyes have adjusted to this more golden hue and I'm just happy to see it with a badly needed new coat of lacquer that will last years.
Now onto painting the dress cowl. I've already found a very good matching colour to the original shade of beige. Only negative is it's gloss. I'd rather it was satin as the original plastic would not have had much shine to it but I'll have to be flexible as finding such a good match to the colour in a rattle can was a blessing in itself.
Any advice on prepping the plastic before paint would be appreciated. You can see it's very patchy with parts of the textured surface worn off and scaly over the years and some bad yellowing from spilt fuel around the filler. The dirt you see is ingrained into the plastic. Does this need to come off though thorough sanding or can it be painted over after a basic rub down?
I have had to apply body filler to a couple of damaged spots (one is circled).
It is plastic, so I would just give it a thorough wash with extra strong car wash, then paint once dry. It already has a matt finish, so the paint will stick well (so long as it isn't water based paint haha).
Also, are you sure the colour was beige and not white? 1970s and 80s plastic (think old computers, think old lego, etc) tended to yellow due to the fire retardant and plastic composition changing in UV light.
I went over my VC cowl with some methelated spirit / isopropol alcohol before I painted it green to get it grease free. Give it a good rough up with a green kitchen scouring pad, I also used a plastic paint primer coat.
I recon that cowl must have been white 30 odd years ago?
Hi there Alan and Sapper, very helpful ideas from both of you.
I used the relatively pristine underside as my guide and it is very much off white, further confirmed by my removal today of the label off the front for the first time since leaving the factory several decades ago (see pic below). It was like archeology lol. I was fortunate to come across a can of Plasticote brand paint with a near dead on match compared to other beige like colours I directly compared it to. It'll look incredible once painted up and fitted to the mower!
Alas, still not a sure thing, as any retro nerd that uses/repairs old plastic from that era will attest. I have ripped many a label off old computers, etc, and the effect is still there. Only looking at old photographs showed what the true colour was. Even computers that were taken out of sealed boxes still had the same issue, only lesser, due to the fire retardant they used in those plastics back then.
That being said, I am certainly not a colour nazi, so by all means, paint it whatever colour you choose. I have seen some doozy fights amongst people over what the 'proper' colour was of something, and it ain't pretty!
Speaking of paints, I saw a spraycan of 'High Heat' paint the other day in Bunnings, and one of the uses on it was for spraying motors. And after picking up the old Mustang (of which I will add to my old thread when I finish the diagnostics on it. Quite a list so far) I was wondering whether to scrape off most of the rust from Mufflers (the Tornados muffler has also started rusting) and hit them with some of this paint.
Just wondered if this is what you are hitting your muffler with?
I was pondering that last night and while I don't mind the rusted look since that's it's natural state, I wouldn't mind painting it up since I have it apart. Prep may be tricky though. How long would it last and how thoroughly would I need to scrape away the scale?
I did intend to use it so maybe I shouldn't to all out on this or I won't want to. It's really a refurbishment, not a restoration.
I only thought of it because even power torque mufflers are at least $20 to $30 used, let along full crank mufflers, so for the cost of a $12 can of spray paint, I thought I might get a few more years out of them, it will be worth the effort. You don't have to removed all of the rust, just give it a good wire brushing and then a brief sanding to get rid of any last scale and then hit it. Oil based and lacquers don't breath like water based paint, so the rust is starved of oxygen and water, which it requires to do its thing. Not saying it will last forever, but hey...
I know you can get hold of mufflers off dead mowers, but those will eventually dry up with no more being manufactured.
Here's the front axle I just painted quickly with some cheap silver rattle can paint. It's called "aluminium". I didn't bother applying primer. I just quickly rubbed it down with medium steel wool and wiped with metho.
I took it off a spare chassis as it's in good condition. The original is rusty all over and has a loose wobbly axle stub.
PS: just ordered a set of brand new axle bushes -this is becoming a restoration.
I'm thinking of getting a 4 liter can of Hammertone paint and I'm wondering how long it takes for this to harden up properly. I have used it previously brush painting my pool fence but I never really took too much notice as to how long it took to dry. I will spray these bases any thoughts?
Bonnar_ Bloke advised to wait weeks before fit out with the UltraColor gold hammertone can I used on the base as it can still be soft underneath when the paint feels hard and fully cured on the surface. He mentioned that the wood grain on the bench impressed on his work after resting on it after he thought it had dried thoroughly. May not apply to other brands.
This is one example where it pays to procrastinate on reassembly of the mower!!
I guess I'm not going to give them a lot of coats my aim is to just sand all the rust off and give it a lick of colour just to freshen them up. I have been doing this all along using a Rustnot spray can but the place I was getting these from has closed up. It was good paint because it was petrol resistant and it covered well. I guess if I repair 10 bases I can line them up and paint them all at once and then they can sit around for a while before I need to use them
Generally Hammertone paints are applied far thicker to obtain a good gloss finish and were used to pretty up rough casting finishes without much surface rework prior to painting, thus it was used on workshop machinery items where components were made of cast iron etc. like lathes and drill presses. Lawnmowers that were made of cast alloy were prime candidates for this type of paint, thus why it was used on so many early Victa bases around the VC-125 ~ 160 timeline and Scott Bonnar where there was quite a bit of external welding that was visible and looked much better when basically bogged up with a thick coating of glossy paint.
Generally a high temp baking oven is used to cure out as much as possible but remember there is a silicon content within and this will keep the paint somewhat soft for quite some time after the curing process has long been completed.
I remember the old AEC buses I used to sometimes catch to school had lashings of gold hammertone paint around the drivers area and just under the windows from memory. The bodywork was built by the bus company itself so they must have seen the benefits of it!
I have found some Hammertone at Pompies Marine they claim it is touch dry in 10 mins and dry enough to handle in 20 mins. I will get a tin of it on Monday and see how it goes.
Hi BB, it is obviously thinners based, I'm not expecting a fantastic hammertone finish but for $44 for 4 litres I can't go wrong. I will line up a heap of bases I can repair today and spray them all at once.
MF, never thought I would say this but the Talon bases are much better quality than those rubbish Victa Tornado bases. Biggest problem with the Tornado bases is that when the motor fails the mower gets pushed up the corner of the backyard under a tree for years before they finally get dumped
Isn't just about anything better than a Tornado base though? Those Talon bases aren't bad at all by the looks of things, same with Gardeners Choice. I really hope you can find a viable way to fit LS Powertorque motors to them.
MF, I am fitting short shaft motors to these because I don't have any long shaft ones here at the moment, at least running ones. To get the blade height I have had to press the center of the standard PT oval plate up 20 mm. Bit of a pain but best way out of the problem with these bases. Only other thing I have had to do is drill the 4th hole for the PT motor and move the height adjuster spring to the other side which also required a 3/16 th hole drilled in the base
That's a way to do that I suppose. How do you support the blade disc in the press? No worries with distortion, buckling etc? Usually a bent blade disc is very obvious. Perhaps I could fit PTs or FCs to some of the many Rover bases I have or can get easily? I have plenty of good Rover catchers but have started to dump the bases. I can tell you nothing else works to solve that problem I have tried everything.
Hi Jeff, it is doable, but there is a number of hurdles to overcome. First is the height adjuster bar would need to be stepped out to go around the head. The second is the which Rover you are talking about, the alloy bases have step ups for the Briggs motor to sit on and the re- drilling of these could be a problem. I haven't really looked into it once I saw the initial problems. The blade carrier pressed out easily, just closed the hole up about .5mm which was easily cleaned up with the die grinder
FC's might be easier. Just make up an adaptor or just cut out the centre of a worn out FC base as I have done. PT More difficult particularly on an alloy base. Stepping out the height adjuster bar does not take long.
Front axle clear coated with Rustoleum satin and fitted on the base with new bushes. Victa repro label looks great on this. Riveted plastic height adjust detents.
Great resto and great thread. I'm in a similar place now with my VC Auto Drive. I've decided to give the deck a good repaint, seeing as it is back to bare aluminium. I'm worried though that any Hammertone paint out of a can will not be properly fuel and oil resistant unless cured in an oven. I'm looking at the silver direct to metal by Hammerite.
The other curve ball is that I don't have a lot of room for painting.
Any advice you can give? Otherwise I will try to take it to perhaps an auto shop and get them to do it.
Any advice you can give? Otherwise I will try to take it to perhaps an auto shop and get them to do it.
Hi Mystyler and others, advice I have been given is to use etch primer on aluminium first before applying your colour. If you are concerned about petrol, test your paint with some on another object. For instance, Rustoleum 2x had proven resistant to petrol on speedies refurbishments of various mowers he has shown here but they are flat colours, not hammered finish. It won't be a concern to me as I don't intend to use mine when it's finished, but some Scott Bonnar 45 restorers have been using the same hamnered paint as mine, so it is likely suitable. Also, let the paint cure as long as possible, two weeks at least, before fitting parts back on as it can appear cured, but is still soft underneath, at least with my Ultra-color brand.
Thanks for the kind words as well Bigted, Tyler and NormK, this paint is very forgiving -at least while it sprays!
B_B that's exactly the thrill I experienced with each milestone of the build. I highly recommend it! The Victa label compliments that shade of gold perfectly. I made the right choice. Nudge nudge wink wink indeed!
I'll have to say that the Ultra-Colour paint is really beautiful on the eyes indeed but as we've both worked out the curing process is rather painful and long drawn out to say the least, especially in this current cold climate as well.
I would very much suggest that it should be baked thoroughly and a whole complete mower base just isn't possible in a domestic oven. The issue with taking it to a crash shop is that it would have to go into a baking over that is being used at the same time to spray a vehicle which would probably end up having some overspray settle on the mower chassis which isn't what one wants.
Also a major point is that this Hammertone requires much longer in an oven compared to a vehicle where they use a 2 Pack paint which has a catalyst hardner within and plays a major part of the curing process, while Hammertone doesn't and just requires heat and time to properly cure out hard, rememberrng it contains silicone which also plays a major part in the "slowing down" of the curing process.
It's a bit of an issue to solve. Just remembering when I did the Phoenix 45 it was a Series 1 machine where the chassis can be separated into individual components and thus I could use our domestic oven for the whole lot, now if it was a Series 2 then I would've been in strife here in Adelaide where its much colder than ......say Queensland.
Hey Gizmo, My base was worse as far as the left side extremity. I grew up using a Waltons store brand mid arch with an orange top and similar coloured green base and wished it was a high arch like yours. I would have loved that back then! I'm glad you have a new found appreciation of your mower now. A very capable machine with the 160. Mine has the 125.
PS: if you fit a set of 7" ball bearing wheels at the back and 6" at the front, it will be a much nicer mower to use until you decide to restore it!
B_B no change to wheel diameter. I recently swapped the rear axle on another so I could upgrade it to 8" rear ball bearing wheels. Much better mower to push around.
Ok yep I get it. I must admit that once you get used to pushing a Honda mower around and then you get behind a Victa or Masport with the small front wheels you feel like you're playing with a babies plastic toy mower.
BB, During the lockdown if you want a real workout, try pushing one of those useless under designed Honda self propelled with the self propelled not working. Then you can really appreciate how good a Masport or Vica can be to push around. No need for any gym equipment if you have one of those.
Yes Norm you are correct that those self propelled Honda's are without the drive engaged are a huge lump of shite. I've had a couple but moved them on pretty quickly as they are way too big and cumbersome. I'll stick with the HRU19 that I worked so much on to get it to the stage of it being a good reliable machine that starts first pull every time, yes the one you helped me on is a keeper that's for sure.
And MS, "you're still feelin' it" with the Greenfield I gather ? as my mate loves his to bits.
BB, I am. The only complaint is that the catcher worked itself loose. I suspect that one of the lugs may have been bent during shipping. I attempted to bend it to keep the catcher on, and snapped a bolt! No matter, I got another from the fixings shop, a little bit more gentle bending and it seems right.
I'd kill for a poly catcher, but I've had no success in chasing one up.
Oh, the only other thing is the engine. It's a soulless new Briggs. Works well enough, when I haven't managed to tip oil into the cylinder, but just very appliance like. It's the only mower motor I have that isn't a start-on-the-first-pull job.
Regardless, I'm not giving it up!! Best "mower" I've ever pushed around. I know it sounds silly, but Theo just got the handling "right" on this one.
Still waiting for more parts for the VC. It's also been raining here and looks like it will be for the foreseeable future. Not great painting weather. Just gives me more time to decide what I'm going to use on it. From what I've read, the Hammerite stuff is no primer required...
I fitted the lower cross member bit back onto the chassis after wirebrushing decades of grime and grunge as well as some rust then applying satin clear to protect from recurring rust. The air powered rivet gun is handy but it's jumpy as it pulls out the stem and damaged the paint as it rebounded and knocked the paint each side, leaving marks, so I artist brush painted the marks out with some paint left in the can. Barely detectable, especially when the wheels go on.
Hi NormK, is that the one you operate with two hands and has a criss cross expanding section? I have a simple hand riveter I use only for smaller aluminium rivets as it hurts the knuckles to use on tougher rivets. My air one needs an oiling and greasing of the bore. It's taking two pulls of the trigger to complete the job.
Yes Norm I was thinking that re working room. They're very good though. The air one is fantastic, especially if you have several to do. I got it half price clearance from $160 to $80 at Super Cheap Auto years ago.
Axles and height rod and spring fitted today. I recommend using a piece of rag as protection where possible eg: knocking down the locking washer that retains the spring end onto the base. I burnished the metal with the socket I used. A layer of rag would have saved that.
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Those big Hondas are like trucks.
