My grey Citroën had spent its life stuck to a model train layout, firmly affixed with a mixture of grey gunk and polystyrene glue that had left melt marks underneath. It could be opened by inserting a thumbnail inbetween body and chassis after a bumper had been pressed downwards, and then pressing back the rear window. That way the body clears the lower edge of the window, after which pressing on the windscreen makes the body come loose.
The same thumbnail managed to pick off bits of the hardened grey gunk, though most of it was sliced and cut and carefully levered off with a cutter. A few toothpicks also gave their lives in this operation, breaking while being inserted in gaps between chassis and gunk.
Steel wool got rid of remaining traces on the inside of the wheels - basically by pressing it down on a wheel with one hand and then turning the opposite wheel with the other hand.
In the end it all came off, leaving just the glue marks on the chassis, where nothing can really be done about those.
Being able to run around for the first time in probably decades, the reassembled car looks very good indeed. Having been stuck in place out of harms way at least kept the body from accumulating any play damage.
This is a Citroën type DS, which the French pronounce as "Déesse" (pr dayESS) which means "Goddess." We Dutch are a bit more prosaic, calling it a "snook" because that's what the front reminds us of.
A second grey Citroën had a broken axle mount at the front. Inside the chassis the axle is raised up by two little protrusions that sit close to the original mounts.
I'd run out of sanded-thin window frame (see Morris repair in later post) but a broken window pane had a useful thickness so that's what I used. First I cut a notch to match the remaining axle mount on the other side, and then I cut the part to size. After having scratched the paint off the inside to have a better bond, the mount was stuck in place with acetone.
With body and glass insert having had a polish, the Citroën was reassembled into a very nice looking example, running along on all four wheels like new.
Other than that it could use cleaning and perhaps a polish, my white Citroën is a good example of when to leave well enough alone. It's in very nice condition except for a scratch on the nose. Which I'm not going to do anything about because of the rounded shape of the bonnet. I think there's no way that scratch can be sanded out without affecting that rounded shape in some visible way. One to just live with.
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