Started the week by continuing to strip the emergency door. Firstly removing the beading, trying to save the half-round horizontal piece but that may not be usable. Next, the window frame – this is definitely not repairable and was well rotted, especially around the bottom. Next job was the removal of the locking mechanism for the door, then the plywood inside panel. This revealed the frame was in excellent condition and apart from a few holes to fill will need no work. Collected the first batch of seat cushions from Ifor on Wednesday, very pleased with them. Rehung the emergency door to investigate where it was sticking, it soon became clear that it was at the top; this required the removal of the internal wood cappings around the door aperture which in turn required the adjacent light fittings to be removed and they were quite stubborn. After doing this, I started to relieve the top of the door aperture and got it to the point where it will close properly without sticking. I turned my attention now to removing the corroded outer panel so I could see where it was catching at the bottom. Slow progress but forwards!
15/7/2024
Started the week by applying a second coat of grey paint to the back of the new window frame. I noted that the weld-thru primer did not adhere well to the bare metal on the frame so I had to to rub it off. At this point I decided to glaze it, then repaint it with red oxide. Before I started to put the glass in, I removed the remaining seat cushions, cleaned them and loaded them in the car with the moquette for delivery to Ifor, which I did on Wednesday. Attempting to put the glass in revealed that the pane was just too big, so the original template was adjusted and a new piece ordered from Dunmow glass. I sprayed the frame with Jenolite red oxide then started on dismanting the emergency door; this gave me some difficulty with screw removal, requiring some drilling. It also revealed how rotted the emrgency door window frame was.
7/7/2024
Started the final assembly of the window frame I have been constructing. By the end of Wednesday I had completed the top rail, two sides and part of both lower corners. When I finished the corners I was able to check the galss went in, which it did. I finally finished and zinc primed the frame last thing on Friday. A little bit of filler was needed to smooth out the joints and corners but it was actually not bad at all. A coat of primer revealed a little bit of fettling still required. The 5m of moquette from Eastgate trimmers turned up on Thursday, having been delivered next door a few days ago. According to Ifor the trimmer, we now have enough to do the whole bus. Next I drilled the screw holes in the new frame, sealed the welds and painted the rebate for the rubber with cream to match the other windows. Final job was to apply the protective coat of grey to the rear surface over the sealer. This will require a second coat, which will be the first job of next week.