again.” In most cases, he has to spend a day or two carefully tapping out
dents and patching and soldering on the tanks.
“We take it all apart, bead blast everything and I primer the brackets
quick so they don’t flash rust,” Schirmer said. “Then we go around and
pull all the connections out and rebuild the cooler if needed. I de-dent
everything. Then we go and silver-solder inside the top tank. Lenny
takes it and pressure washes it and throws it in the boiling tank. We let
it sit in the boiling tank for approximately 20 to 30 seconds, to
neutralize any acid or fluxes that are on there, because you do use a lot
of active chemicals in soldering a radiator ... Then we dry it inside and
outside. I go over it with my band file, which is a little tool that is
Scotchbrite on a roller. It gets solder off the brackets and all the little
nibs off the tank ... I go all over with a acid etched primer so the paint
isn’t coming off within a year, and I spray it with Sherwin Williams Ultra
7000 — two coats for the tanks and one for the core. I spray it all black
with a little hardener and a little flattener to give it about the same look
the factory did.
“Sometimes you have to ask the guy, ‘Do you want me to clean it up
and make it look good, or do you want me to leave eall those solder
drips, put it back the way the factory did, make it look kind of crappy
when I’m done. Some guys want it crappy, some guys want it nice.
Schirmer chuckles and adds, “Thankfully, most guys want it nice,
because it takes more time to make it look crappy!”
Clearly, Schirmer knows he has plenty at stake every time he works on
a radiator for a customer — most of whom he will never meet in person.
Not only does he have the reputation of his father and uncle’s company
to preserve, he also has a Chrysler licensing deal on the line.
singke
(singke)
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