Gluestick

It seems from a web search, that Carol Drinkwater has passed away.

I would agree, Catalpa. In our French house, my wife and I have quite a few books, now. A friend, years back, kindly sent me one of Drinkwater's books about the old dilapidated Olive Farm, she and her French spouse, Michel, purchased. Frankly, whilst I found parts of the book interesting, Drinkwater came over as a very affected person: inevitably, so typical of actors, actresses and for want of a better description "Show Business" people. The small olive farm was over run by Sangliers, who were constantly damaging the olive trees and old drystone walls: however, Drinkwater would simply not allow Chasseurs to cull them, despite Sangliers in Provence being classed as vermin and "on licence" 12 months per year. A bit of a Liberal Bleeding Heart, I felt. After an horrendous motor accident, Michel departed for Paris, to try and save his film production business. Drinkwater was then on her own and struggling to manage. Sob, Sob etc. A far better book, was The Ripening Sun; the story of an amazing lady, Patricia Atkinson, who relocated to near Bergerac, with her banker spouse to run a small vineyard. Truly inspiring lady! There was a TV series about her, too. As a writer and a cynic, I could not believe the tale and managed to contact Patricia and she assured me it was all true. https://www.decanter.com/magazine/living-the-dream-rural-france-249484/ https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Patricia+Atkinson+was+the+woman+with+it+all+and+she+gave+it+up+for+a...-a0101276615 https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/winemaker’s-life-… Of course, in the early 90s, escaping to La Belle France was all the rage; a wee bit different now, post Brexit and worse, the appalling Covid-19 Pandemic.

I agree, Norman. All fora have a life cycle and it is clear that many very active members of the past have departed. I am sure important contributory factors for French-Centric fora are both Brexit and the pandemic. There was a period when Brits were very attracted to enjoying a holiday home in la belle France, driven by low relative property costs and a booming economy in the UK. A local cultural centre town in the Pay de Calais was Hesdin: the town square was jammed with UK registered cars back in circa 2000: not so the last time I was there a couple of years back. Both Brittany and Normandy were also hotspots: not now, however. And, as you say, this forum is hard to navigate: we shall see...

This place is weird! Looking at General Discussion, The posts (Page 1) start at 2015 and go back to 2005: and page 240 goes back to 2002! Nothing current is in view??? Except the one thread reference "New Forum Software. Additionally, with 4,800 odd posts to my name I am now classed as a "Newbie"?? Plus all the profile data (date you joined, area in which you live) has evaporated AND also my Avatar! I note from the Admin post, they are using Windows Server 2003... This is so archaic, Microsoft Support for this product ended on July 14th 2015! If it aint broke...

And yet another archaic member, visiting from Mars, or somewhere. Confused the hell out of me! Posts dating back to 2006...Are we in a time warp?

[quote user="mint"]Sorry, Gluey, OK, all read!  I know about that link you provided; have a very wealthy American friend who has put in megabucks. [/quote] So what's the answer??                                   [8-)]

Minty. Check your PMs!! [:D]

[quote user="mint"]Apologies, Norman, for not responding to your post.  Alas, we have not been able to get Arte since we moved from our previous house so your post is very much appreciated. Gluey, yes, we are admirers of Elin Manahan Thomas, and not just because she happens to be Welsh[:P] It was Norman, BTW, who introduced me to Victoria and now I am really "getting" his music and find it very moving. However, can't agree about SRB...................I am no fan. [/quote] Don't be put off, mint: it is after all, the Sixteen and singing in some of the most wondrous European centres and birthplaces of music. Simon only presents and does the voice overs.

For those (which includes Mr and Mrs Gluey) who adore baroque choral music, Harry Christophers and The Sixteen are the very pinnacle. My own particular love is Elin Manahan Thomas ( q.v. ) who sings with The Sixteen, and her fantastic rendition of Verdi's Nulla In Mundo Pax Sincera. She has a fantastic easy vibrato and her short duration trills are awesome. A few yeasr back I was laying in my bed one afternoon, suffering a nasty virus and feeling bloody awful! I had left a classics programme running in my office, quietly and awoke from a fever, to hear the sound of an angel signing! This was Elin! Emailed the presenter, traced the album and immediately ordered it online.......... This track is in her triumphal album Eternal Light. Here is Christophers and the Sixteen's programme about Tomás Luis Victoria another much ignored genius. Q.V. Additionally, Youtube carries a BBC series, presented by the wonderful Simon Russell Beale, which is really worth watching: all epsiodes. QV

Ah! We only used a half T*** or so! Perhaps the most spectactular coolant failure for me was one of my Midgets at Lyddon. Unbeknown to myself, a coreplug decided to jump out; now I had fitted the temp gauge sender in the top of the rad header tank. And, naturally, as the coolant level dropped the sender was telling me what temperature the brass top of the rad was reading and all seemed well. Until I came through Chessams at full bore and stopped suddenly as the lump seized fairly dramatically and gouts of that nasty smelly steam gushed out from the car. The only consolation, perhaps, was that it wasn't my engine! [IMG]http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/qq332/PercyPee/Picture%20Delights/haha-rire-395.gif[/IMG]

The only snake oil product we did use frequently was the Bar Seal things: looked rather like something a small non-house trained dog had left on the carpet, and accordingly, called by my vulgar mechs small dog T****s! We used them on race cars, particularly single seaters where the rad was in the front and the engine in the rear and the coolant was carried through long Dural tubes and multiple rubber hoses on either side. Which always dribbled no matter what was done. However the Bar Seal always worked: so became an invaluable part of the racing spares. [:)]

Let's hope you don't finish up with a deep blue strake right around the sides, Jo! [:D]

[quote user="Chancer"] Dont forget the Batman pills (Bataid) [;-)] I will never know if it was the Kraus paste or one of the liquid rebores but the Mini that my sister bought had been dosed with something which prevented crankcase breathing just long enough to sell the vehicle and for her to drive it home, it smoked like a pompier thereafter! Perhaps these re-enamelling kits, (now there is a lie if ever there was one), have some anti-gravity additive to allow the self levelling to work on the sides of the bath [;-)] [/quote] Yes I'd forgotten Bataid! [:D] Dreadfully off topic. but all of this brings to mind the interesting games played by used car traders working from bombsites when even pre-war cars had quite a value: to muffle a really noisy gearbox they melted thick grease and poured this onto the box mixed with sawdust! A handful of iron filings added apparently created a nice metallic gear feeling as gears were slid in! And noisy back axles were also muffled by the expedient of poking in old stockings which wound themselves around the diff.......... But perhaps the best one of all, was taking the head off a non-runner (You could sell those too!) with no compression; and placing a sorbo-rubber ball into each cylinder to synthesise compression when the punter wound the engine over with the starting handle! Back to the old adage Suck Squeeze Bang Blow! Right: back on topic.  

I fear Chancer and I, T, have seen all too often miracle products which square the engineering circle. I used to particularly love the Kraus stuff sold in the old Exchange and Mart many years ago. You didn't need a rebore: you just poured this magic liquid down the plugholes and all was solved! Noisy backaxle? Kraus could solve this with yet another magic liquid: same with noisy gearboxes. Also the "Instant" chrome plating kits, for which you used an old car battery and their magic brush! Comes up like new Guv; straight up! [Www]

My favourite for rads, JRC, has always been Hammersons Smoothrite brilliant white: with the rads taken off the wall and laid flat for re-finishing. Heat resistant and doesn't go yellow. Expensive yes: but lasts years.  

See Here: See Here Twin Pack Aerosols See Here: It seems some are brushed on: some use a roller: and others aerosols. Obviously, the two pack epoxy should give the best result, however, since most of a bath is vertical surfaces, obtaining a smooth non-curtain finish should be fun! Even very viscous paints like Hammerite run on vertical surfaces when applied with a brush. Dunno: perhaps it works. [8-)]

I agree totally with Chancer's appaisal. It all depends what type of material your bath is made from, firstly. Old (Victorian Roll Type on Claw Feet for example) baths can be worth reclaiming if the user is seeking absolute authenticity and longevity. However the process, which replicates the process originally employed in manufacture (Dry Vitreous Enamelling) is horrendously expensive. See Here: Drummonds are one of the few equipped to do the job properly. Stove Enamelling or Dry Powder Coating is the conventional process for finishing and re-finishing these days, but again, is relatively expensive: since in either case the re-finisher needs a high temp. oven able to accommodate a bath. Expecting an air drying synthetic paint, albeit it Two Pack Epoxy to provide the gloss, coat adhesion and durability, desired, is frankly unrealistic. It would also stain rather easily, I fear and fade quite quickly. Achieving uniformity of surface from aerosols is the other problem: the professional re-finishers use conventional commercial spraying equipment: however, it is still air drying, all apart from the chemical curing process. See Here: Same caveats, however concerning Two Pack Chemical and Air cure. About the only air drying two pack finish I have seen which rather impressed me, was a self-levelling clear lacquer used to re-finish a Victorian mahogany bar top: however this was poured rather than sprayed, since the surface was flat.  

Ho Boy! You have opened two distinct cans of worms with this one! Welcome to the forum, BTW. [:)] If you use the "Search" Facility (Top Right on the page) and search using various search fields, there are any number of threads on spraying walls. You will find cynicism; helpful advice: and any number of positive suggestions, from as wide apart as HVLP solutions, to conventional old pressure pot-meaty compressor concepts. Bonne Courage !  Now, on the matter of paint, conclusions and recommendations are fairly divided between, "Must use French paint on French houses!", to: "French paint is rubbish! It is thin and doesn't cover and takes three hundred coats!" As in so many things, you pays your money and you takes your choice! My lips are sealed on this one: that said you might hear the words Leyland which like most, uses Pliolite resin licensed by DuPont and is 99% breathable. But you would need very good hearing! [:D]