I was thinking about a truck I'm going to paint in the distant future, when I saw some threads about $50 Rust-Oleum paint jobs. I got to thinking about an old pump that was up in my attic. I was going to reassemble it and sell it as is, but then I thought why not try an economy restoration on it. Good or bad, we will have a result. You can follow along on this adventure.

Here's our test subject. It's an early 50s Wayne 505 that has been apart for years. It has been in pieces for close to if not over a decade. I bought it on Craigslist cheap because it was missing one upper door and a lower door. I found the replacements, took it apart and had it sandblasted. I remember trying a new sandblasting company and they charged me almost $300 to blast it. I couldn't believe it. Needless to say I'm in the hole on this one. I sprayed primer on it to keep it from rusting, then life got in the way. It ended up just kind of being around. I moved a few years ago, and just kind of piled up the parts here and there. That's where we come in now.

Here's the idea. See the sign below. I have chosen option one. I want to see if I can do a good looking basic restoration. I want to make it look GOOD, not great, not showroom new, not car show winner great. I want to do it on a budget. I want to do it down in my messy basement workshop. I can't spray paint down there, and I can't spray outside as it's late fall in Michigan.

I have been digging through my parts boxes trying to gather up all the parts. I remember everything was in a five gallon bucket at my parents house. I think my dad filled the bucket with salt by mistake at one point. All these small parts are super rusty.

There was a huge dent on the nozzle side panel. I had a photo of it, but that one didn't turn out. (My phone's camera hates led lights for some reason) The dent was so bad the front door couldn't close because it hit it. After about half an hour with a hammer, the dent is mostly gone. A little mud should take care of the rest.

At some point in the pump's life someone made this huge shackle out of flatstock to lock the nozzle into the cradle. I welded up the holes, then ground them down smooth.

Some mud over the welds and the side is done and looking good. I have this electric dual action sander and I love it. It makes this kind of work easy and fast.

The top is perfect. The reset side is nearly perfect. There is a mild dent near the reset crank, but I'm going to leave it alone. A wise man once said "Better is Good's worst enemy"

I'm test fitting everything. So far so good. With some mild tweeks here and there, the alignment of the panels is starting to look good.

On to the doors. One door is pretty nice. This is not that door. This door has been hit several times. It has a huge dent, a bunch of small dents, and is bent. I'll do my best, but the metal is really streched and there is a ton of stress in the metal already.

Thanks for sharing your project - can’t wait to see how it turns out!

There was some sign screwed to one of the doors at some point. I welded up those holes. I have a problem that needs to be addressed. These pumps have a left and a right lower door. That has to do with where the hose guards go. I have two lefts. I don't have the hose guards either. I looked all over, I don't think I ever had them. I made the decision to fill the holes for the hose gaurds. I may find a solution later. We'll see. I worked on the better door, got some small dents out, did some fill work. I still have some fill work to do, I put some mud on, and will pick this back up tomorrow.

Make it your own ! If you are satisfied that’s all that matters . Everyone of us started somewhere . Will be watching your progress .

Cool project Mike. Thanks for sharing.

It's prime time. I have some 2k surfacer primer. With support chemicals it's $225 a gallon. Not on this project. Consumer grade is the name of this game. I sprayed it out in the garage. It's 36 degrees and raining snow. No, not snowing, raining snow. It's a Michigan thing. Anyway, the paint will dry, just very slowly. I let it flash in the garage, then bring it down in the basement to fully cure.

The good door is as good as I think it will get. Remember I said this pump sat around for years? It picked up some shelf rust. I sanded it down as best I could, and covered it with rusty metal primer. That stuff does a good job of burying rust. I'll go over that with gray primer to make it all the same.

I filled some serious rust pits in the top, sanded off some shelf rust and gave that a fresh coat of primer. I used a heat gun to help make the primer flash.

I had used a different darker primer on the reset side, and went over that to make it all uniform. I noticed a few small dents in the wet primer that I didn't like. I decided to fix them as it will be a quick easy fix with some mud and the D/A.

I got the dents taken care of on the reset side. That's primed and done. Let's take a look at these upper valances. The one on the right is perfect. Just gotta get some shelf rust off. The one on the left has a huge dent. I got to work with a hammer and had it on the run. I got just so far, and then the bracket was just too in the way. I drilled out the spot welds and got the bracket out of the way. The dent came right out after that.

I drilled all the way through the spotwelds. Once the dent was out, I used bolts to hold the bracket in place, then tacked the bracket to the back in the exact spot where it came from.

Weld it up, grind it down, smear filler all around

After some filler work, the valances looked great. I tapped out the little metal brackets that the screws thread into to hold on the retainers. I put them on, and the fit looks good.

The last of the bodywork is the lower door that was hit. I have spent almost five hours on it so far, and seems to be only making it worse. I had to give that a break. I worked on the small parts yesterday. I tried citrus orange for the first time. Seems to work ok. I painted and reassembled the sight glass assemblies.

Thanks for sharing this as you go. It is interesting to see you find issues and then work through them. Good luck the rest of the way!

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement so far. The last door was really bad. The pump had been hit by a car and squished down the edge of the door to almost 3/4 of an inch. I beat it back into rough shape with a rubber mallet. This put a ton of stress into the metal, and that put a ton of stress into me. I have more time into this one door than the rest of the work combined thus far. I talked to a friend that is an actual body worker, and he gave me a few pointers. I hammered on it more tonight, and used a sheet metal bender to bring the inner edge of the door back up into shape. This took much of the stress out. The door is still a touch bent, but not bad and doesn't fight being latched to the pump. I ground down some highs and prepared for tomorrow when I fill with special ridgid filler that will help keep it in shape.

Michigan is expecting a heat wave. It got up to 45 degrees today. I thought I would seize the opportunity and paint the frame outside in the sun. I quickly knocked apart the pump. The boss is checking out the base in the first picture. I got all the frame parts painted outside in the sun.

With most of the major bodywork done, I think it's time for the mid project clean up, wouldn't you?

MIke, I am a fan of the mid project clean-up. I am intrigued by your use of old ironing boards as work supports, GREAT idea. Thanks for a great thread. Keep 'em coming.

Thanks Randy, I pick up used ironing boards at the scrapyard for a buck each. I always get the ones with expanded metal tops as excess paint just falls right through. They are perfect for painting small lightweight parts. When they get too loaded up with over spray I just take them back to the scrapyard and get another.

Final reassembly of the painted frame. Gloss black for the base, semi for the frame.

Here's the paint. Not auto paint, not base-clear, not single stage. Just good'ol Rust-Oleum. Even this stuff is expensive in this day and age. The quart was $17, and the rattler was $10. There are limited colors in Rust-Oleum, so oil co. brand choice was a bit limited. I noticed that the color code on the quart matched the rattler, so the plan is to cut-in the spots on the parts that will be tough to get to with a roller. I could use a brush, but this is faster and easier.

I sprayed the areas that will be too tough to get with a roller or brush.

The cut-in is done. I ended up just spraying the inside of the top as the paint was covering really well. It's just the inside, no one will ever really see it.

Are you going for a show car shine? Or a rustoration?

I'm going for Rust-Oleum shine 😉

The biggest problem with Rust-Oleum is that it takes forever to dry.

The nozzle boot got super rusty. I took it apart and cleaned and painted all those parts. I absolutely hate this part of any restoration. Cleaning all these little fiddly bits. I usually do that first so they are done later. It feels good to know I can just grab all the done parts during reassembly and know I don't have to stop to wait for paint dry.

Well the big moment is finally here! The brand reveal! I got a shipment of repo parts from that website where good gas pumps go when they die. Anyway, here it is. I was going to make it Texaco, but then reconcidered. Texaco is great, but Wayne 505s look best two toned. With a limited color palette in Rust-Oleum, I chose red and white. What's red and white? Mobil Special.

Ok, so knowing the pump will be mobil special, I need to make a decision: upper valances white or red? Original is white, but I don't know what I like best.

The wiring is done. One less little task to do.

I have rolled the inside of the sides. They will get two coats on the inside. I will have to wait until tomorrow to paint it again.

Square peg in a round hole? I noticed that your ad glass has 90 degree corners. Your upper ad glass panel appears to have curved corners. Let me know how that works out. I have a 505 that needs an ad glass replaced so I'd like to know what I'm in for. Do they have rounded corners for 505's. Thanks, Bob

Yeah, I thought that too, but that is what the parts website listed for this pump. I have never seen an original ad glass or the rubber that holds it it. I'll let you know how it works out.

Two coats on the inside of the red parts. That's all they'll get. Doesn't look the best, but it's the inside. I for sure have to thin the paint. It is way too thick, picks up a heavy orange texture and looses gloss. Of course I will cut and buff on the outside, but still the paint is way too thick and heavy.

Mike, keep me posted when you install the ad glass. Thanks, Bob

The real experiment begins. I tried thinning the paint. I think I thinned it a bit too much. This is the first coat. It looks rough, but I'm sure it will look better after a few coats. The plan is to build up the coats then sand out the orange peel, and polish the paint. There are a few things that could go wrong here. The paint may not dry, may not sand, or may not polish. This is the heart of the experiment.

Mike, are you using hardener? I always try to use hardener in the acrylic enamel. It helps with the cure, shine, and added protection. With the small stuff, I will even put in my powder coating oven. I have even used hair dryers, heat guns, and the sun. But you are correct, without the aid of heat or hardener you may be fighting an uphill battle. The only other thing is a lengthy cure time. Love your project.

I thought about trying the hardner for valspar tractor paint. I may have some. I'm worried about reaction between layers.

2nd coat tonight (no pictures). A few thoughts and first impressions:

1. The paint seemed super thick on the inside. I thinned it a bit, and it seemed really watery on the outside.

2. Odor is acceptable, but a bit strong at first.

3. This seems to be really messy. I usually keep the area clean when I'm paining, but this stuff just seems to go everywhere for some reason.

4. Reset side got a light sanding with 800 grit before recoat. I want to compare that to nozzle side and see how the paint reacts.

5. This stuff take forever to dry.

6. Dirt is a real problem. I know my shop is not the cleanest, but come on! It looks like I painted it outside in a dust storm. It will take a lot of post paint work to make it look nice.

7. Orange peel is a fact of life here. Thinning helps, but it only lays down just so much, and then that's it.

8. I didn't realize how wonderful surfacing primer really is. It will take a lot of paintwork to hopefully fill all the sanding scratches that primer normally would. It seemed ok untill I got to see it with some gloss.

9. On the positive side, paining is actually fast and easy. I can do a coat on all the red parts in about 10 minutes. When I'm done, I wrap the roller tightly in a plastic bag and that keeps it from drying out.

So I had decided to wait to try and sand down the orange peel. Years ago I read an article in Hot Rod Magazine about paining cars with rust-oleum. They advised sanding with 600 grit between each coat. They said it makes it much easier. I had planned to build up the paint then cut it down. After seeing the second coat, I was really concerned about the scratches in the filler coming through the paint. I was relieved to see that the paint cut well with 800 grit and the scratches seem to be filling well. You can see the scratches in the first picture as the dark red lines. The second picture is after they sanded out.

It sure is a mystery where all this dirt in the paint is coming from. I just can't figure it out. Oh well, some mysteries will never be solved I guess.

After much hemming and hawing I decided to make the uppers red. White is original, but I like red more. I cut them in with spray paint

I gave all the red parts four coats of paint. I started to knock down the dirt and orange peel on the sides. I roughed it up with 800, then moved on to 1500. There was so much dirt in the paint.

In the interest of science, I broke the experiment up into two parts. I sanded the sides between each coat, but the top I just layered on more paint. Although the paint on the top cut just fine, I noticed it took MUCH more effort to get the orange peel out. I ended up cutting through the paint in several spots trying to level it out. Lesson learned: sanding in between coats is the way to go. I will have to put one or two more coats on the top. Oh well, I have to paint the valances anyway.

The suspense was getting to me. I decided to focus on wether or not this is going to work. It will succeed or fail in the cut and buff process. I sanded the reset side down with 1500. I got MOST of the orange peel out. There were a few tiny specks here and there, but this is when better is good's worst enemy. It is easy to cut through the paint trying to get one tiny blemish out.

The moment of truth. If the paint didn't harden, it will melt into a gooey mess that smears all over while trying to buff it. Years ago I painted a Tokheim 39 with an industrial paint. When I tried to buff it, it just smeared all over. It was a huge disaster. I'm using a cheap buffer from that Port Cargo store. It works well for me. The secret is to get good buffing heads for it from a real auto body supply shop.

So far so good! The paint seems to respond well to buffing.

Initial buffing went well. I got the rough shine on. Sanding scratches and orange peel buffed out well.

Next is a foam head with machine pollish. That shine looks pretty good to me!.

I have been following your journey since the start. I wish I had seen this before I hired someone to shoot automotive paint on my restoration. To me, a restoration should look like it would have back when the item was in service. Paint jobs were not nearly as good in the 1950s as they are today. I also distinctly remember seeing in-service pumps that had been "refreshed" with brush-on paint. I like what you have/are doing and think the final product will look great!

The reset side is done. I wanted to make some progress, so I decorated it. Looks good.

One step forward, 2 back. I was polishing the nozzle side, and I got in too much of a hurry, and burnt the paint. I'll have to sand it down and put another coat on.

I sanded down the paint on the nozzle side. I had overworked it and burnt through in several places. I gave it two more coats, and then worked it more carefully with 1200 grit instead of 800. The bummer here is the time wasted on a screw-up. I have enough paint, so that's not a big deal. It's the 24 hour dry time that's the killer. Oh well, not the worst thing to happen. After a new polish job, it looks good.

I started to rub out the top. I'm taking my time with this. I've learned that 800 is just too aggressive for final rubbing. I'm using 1200, then switching over to 1500. The area around the louvers is an issue. There's really not much I can do in that area as there is no way to polish it. The metal in that area is really wavy from the factory. I imagine they really had to work the metal in that area to get the louvers, the flange on the bottom edge, and the complex curves of the rest of the top. I'd love to see how this piece got stamped back in the day.

I'm done cutting with 1200. It took almost 45 minutes. I need a break, and then I remembered the thing I ALWAYS forget on every gas pump restoration I've ever done. I had to redrill the top for the reproduction globe holder. You have to change the "lug pattern" from the original to the new one. This should be done as early as possible in the process before you paint. I forgot again. The danger here is I will have metal shavings all over my new soft paint. I will have to be super careful to clean them both from the part, but also the work area. Just one shaving could get caught in the sandpaper or a rag and put an unrepairable scratch in the soft paint. I made a template from cardboard to match the new bolt pattern of the holder, and offset it by 45 degrees from the original.

Why not drill the globe holder and leave pump original?

The screw holes for the original globe holder are too far out and wound interfere with where the globe sits in the holder. The new holes are inside the globe when the globe is attached.

Top is done. Polished out and looking good.

I was going to attach the nozzle boot, but I could only find one of the brackets that hold it to the side panel. I had to make my own out of angle iron.

I've been putting the coats on the valances. I'm up to five coats. Hopefully this will be enough. These will be the toughest parts to buff and polish.

If you ever need to cover a workbench, a cheap option is to go to a dollar store and get one of these party table clothes.

Here's where i am at so far.

These valances are proving to be quite difficult to work with. They are so wavy from the factory that I keep cutting through the paint in random spots. Also there is almost no way to hold them down to buff and polish them.

I've been working on the uppers for a few days now. I have come to the conclusion that this is one of those "It is what it is" moments. There are just too many highs and lows on these parts. It's just the way they're made. I'd get the peel to level out well, then I start working out the peel on a low area and cut through the paint on a high area right next to the low. I've just accepted that there's going to be some peel on these parts.

The next problem was how to polish these. They're are just too small to hold on to. I tried to hold one down and polish it at the same time, and was rewarded with a nasty grinder bite on two of my knuckles. I didn't know what to do. I tried polishing them by hand with a rag, but I was just not getting the cutting action out of the compound. I couldn't get the fog out and the clarity back to the gloss by hand. I took a break to think it over. I grabbed some scrap 2x4s and came up with a rig to clamp them to. Then I put all that into a vise. This got it done.

Finally it looks good. I'll do the other one tomorrow.

Today I installed the ad glasses. I was asked to document how I did it. I called GPH, and they said you have to clearance the rubber for the corners, or they make an acrylic ad glass with radius corners. I suspected this was to be the case. Here's what I did. Start by marking the center of the opening. Start installing the rubber around the opening starting at the mark. Trim the excess. Complete the install of the rubber all the way around.

You can lay the glass on top of the rubber and get a general idea where the corners will land. I used a sharp razor blade to cut through the inside flange of the rubber. The I cut a little further around the radius. This does not need to be very much, about 3/4" from the first.

Once all four corners are cut, pull the rubber out. You have to whittle out the inner flange for the glass to extend past the rubber. Using a sharp utility knife carve away the inner flange between the two cuts. Once all four corners are carved out reinstall the rubber around the opening.

Next is to carefully work the glass in and under the flange. I started on the long edge without the the cut where ends of the rubber where it butts together. This is a bit stressful, you have to keep pressure on the glass, but if you push too hard in one spot you'll break the glass. This is a bit hard to describe and document, but it's a 3 step process. You have to get the rubber in to pull up and over the glass. Fist you get the glass to kind-of go into position. Then you use a full flathead screw driver to pull one corner of the rubber inside the opening. You have to then slide the screw driver down the length of one of the edge. The rubber won't really just go over the edge until all sides are "roughed in". Once you get the glass "roughed in" you can use a paint can key to go under the rubber flange and pull it up and over the glass. The glass won't fully seat until all four edges are in the rubber.

Here you can see how the glass isn't seated in the rubber. You have to pull the rubber back before the glass will seat.

Paint can keys work great to pull the rubber back, up, and over the glass edge.

Here's what it looks like once installed.

You can jockey the glass around in the rubber once it's fully installed in the rubber to adjust the centering of the word. I will say the fit of the glass and the rubber is not the best, but it's the best we have. If I do this again, I think I'd use double sided tape instead of the rubber.

Installed on the pump.

So, that is how you fit a square peg into a round hole! Nicely done.

I cut in the lower doors on Sunday. Just put the second coat on the inside tonight

First coat on the outside. This time I'm trying adding a little hardner in the paint. The hardner is made for another brand of paint, so we'll see how this goes. Thinned down the paint a bit, and rolled it out.

Here's the latest on the project. I had two coats on the lowers up to this point. The white is really tough to work with. It is as thick as latex house paint and won't lay down nice at all without thinning, but here's the catch, when it's thinned, it has very poor coverage. I tried to sand out the peel, but there's just not much coverage. I'm going to try more coats. On the plus side, the hardner really seems to help. It drys quicker and seems harder when dry. You can feel it when cutting it with the sandpaper.

I've learned that the white paint will only level out just so much. I have tried for hours to get the orange peel out, but there is still some that just won't come out. It looks ok though. Just don't expect that perfectly flat liquid mirror look that comes with base/clear.

Experimenting with some layouts

I know it's not original, but I thought I'd add two stripes to give it a bit extra. It just seemed too plain just all white. I masked off the stripes and shot some navy blue.

Did the layout and decal work tonight. Still have to cut and polish the other door, but I don't really have that in me right now.

Looking really good. Thank very much you for taking the time effort to post all of your work. That in itself is an extra chore. Keep up the good work.

Thanks, I like to share what I'm doing with family and friends. In the past I didn't take pictures of what I was doing. I always just took photos of the final product. I regret not doing a journal on my projects in the past. This is like a public journal. I hope others enjoy seeing the progress.

On to the Veeder Root. At first glance I thought this computer was in pretty good shape. Once I took the lockout mech off and the side covers, I quickly realized that this one is unlikely to ever run again. It was full of a mouse nest, and many of the steel parts have rusted away. I tried to reset it, but NOTHING moves. I tried turning the variator but that's locked up solid too. This one will get cleaned up and will be a static display. I've got them running and resetting in the past, but this one's just too far gone.

I took the computer down to the car wash today and blew all the junk out of it.

Time to put in the permanent wiring. I went to the store last night and got these parts to make that happen. I usually like black cords, but this white twenty footer was on clearance for $7. Can't beat that price.

I really feel safer with the switch and connections in an enclosure. In the past I've left connections and wires loose in the pump, but this is better. This is an outdoor weather tight conduit and is intended to be a place where you could pull wires from. It has a removable cover on both sides. I'll remove one cover, reuse the gasket, and run the screws right through the pump's skin to attach this to the inside and use it as an enclosure.

I've figured out where I want it on the inside, and am transferring the measurements to the outside. Nothing like drilling into fresh paint to really get the cold sweats flowing. The big half inch hole for the toggle switch is always the most nerve wracking.

Here's the idea. The gasket from the cover is up tight against the inside of the skin, and the wires are pulled in and are almost ready for wiring.

All the cool kids on youtube say these wago connecters from Germany are the cool new thing in wiring. I saw them at the store and thought I'd try em out. They are pretty easy to use.

All wired up and closed up.

I cleaned up the VR and reinstalled it. Looks good, but a static display only.

The last parts to work on are upper doors. If you've never work on a Wayne 500 or 600, these are a real weak point of the pump. They are really flimsy. It's common to find these bent and misaligned. This pump is no exception.

Another common problem is that the spot welds on the hinge are often broken. It's not unusual to buy one of these pumps with the upper door laying next to it and the hinge still screwed to the frame.

A good thing about these is that the stainless steel is really hard and forms a strong metal memory, and will almost return itself back into shape. Little work with a hammer and you can watch these come back into shape right in your hands.

If you have a pump with the hinge broken broken off, here's an easy way to fix it. Get 3 #10-24 flat top screws, these are the same size as the screws that screw into the frame. Grind the old spotwelds off of the hinge. Clamp the hinge into position on the door. Drill through the hinge and the door. Using a countersink bit, carefully enlarge the hole on the hinge until the head of the screw sits flush with the inside of the hinge. You can now put a nut on the inside of the door, and the hinge can close without interference from the screws.

Ok, back at it. With the hinge attached, I can test fit it back on the pump. The alignment is good. There really isn't a good way to adjust the alignment on these doors. You have to physically bend the metal until the alignment is where you want it. Again, good's worst enemy is better in this situation.

With the fit good, I got out the polishing wheel and compound. This stainless is super hard, and it is super hard to polish. I'm getting it to brighten up though.

With the door brighten up, I can install the window. I chose acrylic for this. I believe it was acrylic originally. I have always avoided glass on these pumps because I feel the door is too flexible, and could stress and brake glass easily. This is just my theory, please feel free to disagree. I could have used the rubber that I used on the Ad glass, but here I'm using another option. This is double sided tape used to hold trim and emblems on modern cars. I got this at an auto body supply shop. If you've never seen or used this stuff, let me tell you it is CRAZY strong. I have bent fenders and hoods trying to pull emblems off of cars in the junkyard that were held on by this same material. I had considered using this to hold the ad glass in, but used rubber there. I peeled the tape off the roll and put it on the inner flange of the door. Then I peeled the backer off, and just stuck the acrylic in place. Just like that, done.

With the window in, now is time for the lock. I didn't have a key for the originals (yes, I looked, i was an actual gas pump mechanic for years and used to service Waynes. I have quite the collection of pump keys in my collection) The originals are probably frozen anyway. I found this lock set at that big box store that likes the color blue. It is nearly identical to the original. I installed the cylinder and the blade.

Now that the lock is installed, there are a few minor adjustments that need to be made. There is not quite enough tension on the blade to hold the door shut all the way. Taking the blade off and giving it a few tweaks with a hammer should help.

You can also bend the tab on the frame in or out to adjust the tension on the door.

There, that's better. Now the door closes tightly.

Only one part left. I had this nozzle laying around, so that's what I'll use. I used to use real gas pump hoses, but they are really stiff and don't hang well. Also they are too long. I'd have to use the hose retractor, and I don't care for using them because the hose and the hardware rubs up against the pump. I used heater hose here because it's soft, flexible, short and hangs nicely.

And here's the final result.

Upper view

Sweet conclusion - thanks for sharing your journey…BTW - is that a Joker Poker lurking in the background?

Thanks for taking the time to document this project! The pump has a good look to it.

I've enjoyed following along with your restoration, thanks for taking the time to post it.

Nice Job!

In the background is a Target Alpha, a Jack-in-the-box, and Card Wiz. The TA plays but needs a tune up, but the Jack-in-the-box and the Card Wiz are both projects. Neither game will start.

Great job!!! Beautiful!!