What happened? When the door and hinge were epoxied together, it looks like a clamp slipped off, pushing the hinge away from the door opening. As a result, at first glance, it looked fine but when I went to open the door and check the radius, I could tell the hinge was crooked.
Further complicating things was I had used a different epoxy. I used GOOP instead of JB Weld on these, since I have a love/hate relationship with JB Weld. For somethings, it works really well. For others...not so much, especially the Qwik version.
That said, I had to find a way to remove the GOOP adhesive. Being an epoxy, I found that toluene will dissolve and is suggested by GOOP to remove it. I went to my local hardware store since no one at the big box store had any idea or personal experience with the solvents. It was suggested I use a paste/gel type solvent, lightly brush it on, let it sit, pry a bit with a scrapper, then do a bit more in a few hours.
This is really, really nasty stuff so I did this outside, in the garage, with the door open.
(Incidentally, it seems EVERYTHING is bad for laboratory mice)
Once I had the door and hinge off the skins, I let them dry in the sun for a few hours. I need used the mouse sander to remove the larger residue. For the rest, I used the Dremel sanding flap to bring the surfaces to a shine yet rough enough for a good bond with JB Weld (later today).
So, if you have lost track of what I am working on...me too!
Progress will be focused on R2-D2 #2 now, maintaining my first one until #2 is ready to take over. Once #2 is up and working, I can come back to the first one, paint the blue pieces pink and do a complete upgrade and rebuild into the new frame.
(That plan may change in an hour tho!)
