# Restoring a slightly abused cart



## Ilovemyarab (Jun 1, 2010)

Hello all,
I bought a cart last summer and had many happy hours with my little guy pulling it. In the fall, it was stuck in the corner of a barn and left for several months. :-( I would like to get back to driving but want to get the rust off the cart and keep it in good condition. Any suggestions for removing rust and then, I don't know, maybe using a sealant or something to keep it rust free? Any particular product work good for anybody? I'm not showing, so it doesn't have to be beautiful, but I want it to last a long time. Thanks!


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I just use a wire brush on my cordless drill. Wipe with paint thinner then apply Tremclad or Rustoleum. Both controll further rusting. Watch that neither brand is water based, a newer product. It's the fish oil in the others that helps prevent the rust.


----------



## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

Careful not to inhale the paint dust, could have lead in it!


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Lead was removed from paints years ago.


----------



## goodhors (Jan 25, 2011)

*Check the Mechanicals*

You will want to pull and grease the wheels, check and tighten the nuts and bolts over the whole vehicle to keep it safe. Moisture can collect in the hubs, no grease, so you tear up the axle or lose bearings. Loose bolts can finish working loose, make big wallered out (technical term!) holes so parts give way while being used!!

Just tipping the cart up to view and test the nuts on bolts for tightness, is a big step forward in being safe.

Just guessing, but cart is probably an inexpensive metal one, bike tires like in many sale catalogs? They are very cheaply made, so you really want to look at things close to prevent problems. You can easily tighten things down as you look them over. Wheels come off fairly easy, need the hubs and bearings to have LOTS of grease to prevent metal wearing down as it rubs together. Check air in tires, should give you numbers on the sides of tire for inflation level.

Go over your harness, add some conditioner if leather, to keep it soft and pliable to buckle things. Check all folds for wear, cracks, dry, probably need to be replaced before they break. I use leather conditioners, NEVER use Neatsfoot oil because it is so harsh on leather. NOT what your Grampa used to use!

Synthetic harness needs you to open and shut each buckle, check for wear in the folds, before using. All folded places need checking for wear that can break on you. Worn places need attention from the harness repair person, maybe replacement to prevent breaking. Usually cleaned easily with just some Ivory liquid dish soap, soft brush on dirt, with a good rinse to remove soap. Hang to dry. NO conditioners, which will actually damage many of the synthetic products.

I do not recommend using any snaps on harness, they are cast metal and often break under very little pull. All harness parts should be removed from cart after each use, so you TOUCH them to feel any wear points.

This total checkover of harness and cart is recommended each year or if you haven't used them for a while. You can't just put them away and expect them to stay greasy, usable with no attention over time. Leather in particular is subject to breakage from wear, mouse chewing, dirt wear on stitching, so you need to look it over closely. One part failing, can lead to other parts breaking in stress, so then there is a "Driving accident" with your equine, that didn't need to happen.

Be safe by going over things before hitching, so your driving time is ALL fun.

Sorry, no help with rust and paint choices to get the shine back on. Cordless drill and wire wheel for rust sounds good. You DO want to wear some kind of mask and safety glasses when removing paint so you don't breathe it in. Same with painting new stuff on. Even with new paints, the tiny pieces dry or new paint drops will get in the air to get breathed in. That air laden stuff gets into your lungs to coat it. Doesn't work out easily. Prevent the problem with a mask for removal and painting times.


----------



## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

Saddlebag said:


> Lead was removed from paints years ago.


 
Yes lead was removed from paint years ago, but who knows how old the cart is?

Plus paints from other countries are not always up to US regulations. Who knows where the cart is from of what country it was made in. 

I would not want to take any chances.


----------



## EvilHorseOfDoom (Jun 17, 2012)

Ditto on the lead thing - we knew a pregnant woman who lost her baby because she became ill from lead paint while restoring an old cot. If you must, wear a proper dust mask (not the cheapies), spray the work area with water intermittently, wear gloves and have a shower after working. I've had mild lead poisoning before from working with lead solder in an area that wasn't well-ventilated - it is no fun at all, and the lead remains in your system.

Good luck, have fun and stay safe!


----------



## clippityclop (Jul 12, 2012)

what kind of cart do you have? Sounds like an easy entry type?

Electric sander and rustoleum - that's what I did for mine - kept it going for over a decade. I've since up graded to a trail cart that is a little bigger and fancier (once I knew that the driving wasn't just a phase ;-)

Enlist the help of another driving friend or look up your local driving club and go watch a show. Get to know some folks and find out who they use for trainers, etc. Unless you train horses yourself, you'll want to get some help.

Some horses can be driving in 15 minutes and never make a wrong move and yet others aren't 'settled' enough to take to the cart until they are teenagers. And some of my best driving horses were teenagers when they started driving, too, I might add.

I break/train my own horses and also teach them to drive (well, the ones that have the right 'stuff between the ears' that is) and LOVE it. I currently only have one who drives right now (my half Welsh) but I've already begun ground driving and dragging things with my big 16hh foxtrotter.

He's coming along slowly - most definitely not the one who picks it up in 15 minutes - he's probably going to be the one that needs weeks and months of practice. But he is a dead broke, solid and safe animal under saddle so once he realizes the cart isn't going to eat him, we will be home free. 

Lot's of patience and time. Find someone who has done this a bunch of times and enlist their help. I say start a progress blog and have some fun with it!


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Ilove, when are we going to see pics of this cart? We're waiting, Lol.


----------



## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

Saddlebag said:


> Ilove, when are we going to see pics of this cart? We're waiting, Lol.


 
Yea, I was thinking the same thing.


----------



## clippityclop (Jul 12, 2012)

Yeppers me too!


Sorry about the horse training part of my post - I was two-timing with another post and that was a different poster - I just copied and pasted it where it needed to go so ignore all that part...can't edit it out...oops!

For what it's worth, there is nothing more back breaking than pulling the wheels and regreasing an old antique Dr. Buggy - that takes some serious overhaul! WHEW! Who knew those wheels were like 100lbs?

I'd love to know what kind of cart they have............


----------



## GreySorrel (Mar 5, 2012)

clippityclop said:


> Yeppers me too!
> 
> 
> Sorry about the horse training part of my post - I was two-timing with another post and that was a different poster - I just copied and pasted it where it needed to go so ignore all that part...can't edit it out...oops!
> ...


IF those wheels weight that much, you do not have a Dr.'s Buggy. The wheels aren't that heavy and I can move them with ease. 

Does it look like this:









This is a courting buggy.


----------



## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Pics pics pics!


----------



## clippityclop (Jul 12, 2012)

GreySorrel said:


> IF those wheels weight that much, you do not have a Dr.'s Buggy. The wheels aren't that heavy and I can move them with ease.
> 
> This is a courting buggy.


 
LOL! I was being a bit sarcastic.....It was a hot day (mid-August) and I was getting my first lesson on greasing up an antique cart and they were pretty heavy for me, anyway..

THAT CART IS BEAUTIFUL! I would love to own one like that but I'm currently shopping for the perfect buckboard - they are a little harder to find around here.

No the cart I was working on before had a top - Let me see if I can find a picture....(I love talking about carts!!) - we called it a Dr. Buggy because it looked like it came from Little House on the PRairie.......










this is the closest pic I could find - it is almost exactly like this one. We also had a really large red-fringed surrey (with red seats) that was pulled by a percheron mare and an old buck-board that still had the lumber company's logo painted on it from the late 1800's. 

A very dear old friend owned all of this stuff and he kept it in a huge barn in LaGrange, TX. Opening those doors was like going back in time. It was chocked full of Model T's, too! We dug it all out and brought it all back to life (well, except the cars), restored/sent wheels off to be respoked and took them in parades and trail rides for many years. Later on he sold all of it piece by piece. I miss those days - that was hard work but fun!


----------



## goodhors (Jan 25, 2011)

Hate to be picky, but your names for vehicles are VERY misleading to anyone trying to understand what you are talking about with no photos.

A cart ALWAYS has TWO-WHEELS. If it has FOUR-WHEELS the carriage is NOT A CART!

Anything with wheels pulled by equines, can all be carriages. But calling a 4-wheeler a cart, makes the wrong mental picture in a listener or viewer's mind. So anyone trying to respond to your posts will probably be confused about your vehicle and maybe give wrong information to help you. We all have used the wrong terms about stuff, it is part of the learning process. So think of this as your "helpful" word of the day. Not trying to be mean, just want to clarify driving terms for you so we all mean the same thing when we say that word.


----------



## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

You can avoid inhaling fumes by painting outside on a day that isn't windy. I re-painted my 4-horse slant w/Rustoleum 2 years ago and just got paint on my painting clothes...on my hands...in my hair...on my toes....


----------



## GreySorrel (Mar 5, 2012)

Thanks but that buggy hasn't been touched or restored..this is one of ours:









An auto top, 3 spring, surrey. Now that the weather is starting to cooperate some, I need to paint the pole for it so I can drive our Percheron team on it.

This is our team:


----------



## clippityclop (Jul 12, 2012)

Well that was just a pic I found online of someone elses - I don't have any pics of the one I drove....

Your team looks quite dashing!


----------



## GreySorrel (Mar 5, 2012)

clippityclop said:


> Well that was just a pic I found online of someone elses - I don't have any pics of the one I drove....
> 
> Your team looks quite dashing!



Thanks Clippity...both mares came from Copperas Cove, TX. From a good friend of mine's ranch. You should get some photo's, always nice to see.


----------

