With the paint process finally worked out, I moved on to the next critical puzzle piece, the bulkhead. The weather was beginning to cool and if I was going to any meaningful work done over the winter I'd need this bulkhead prepped and painted.
The original bulkhead was kaput. It was patched (poorly) in every typical spot, and in every other spot its material appeared more similar to garden soil than steel.
Back in 2021 I had picked up this rust free LHD bulkhead that needed a few minor dent repairs. I had planned to convert it to RHD, but later found myself not wanting to, and not wanting to deal with the repairs at that time either. I had more than enough to work on already. Also, with all the galvanizing that had been fitted so far, it would be nice to continue the theme.
Then in late 2022, this box arrived.
I had been looking at bulkhead options and happened upon SP4x4's new offering at the time. I liked what I saw in the photos and how its construction was described, such as using thicker metal in key areas. The price was good, so I decided to take a chance on it, and here it was.
Compared to the originals, it appeared very similar with only a few differences that wouldn't have much impact, such as having a few more or less holes in certain places and a TD5 style expansion tank mount.
Bulkheads are heavy and awkward to work with, so I built a simple wood stand to bring it up to working height.
The downside of a galvanized bulkhead is that you can't just abrade and prime. HDG surface is far too rough and uneven to deliver a factory appearance without a ton of prep work. Here, I began with 40 grit mesh discs to bring the surfaces flat as fast as possible.
Losing light while hitting the many difficult areas with smaller discs on a die grinder.
End of the first day. Most areas are roughly sanded. Probably 4 hours of work.
Day two: Media blasting all the impossible to sand areas. Then about 4 more hours of sanding.
Day three: Die grind all the galvanizing runs, sand them, and then sand the entire bulkhead again with 80 grit. Roughly 6 hours.
After the three day marathon of grinding and sanding, it was time to prime, and quickly before the zinc oxidized.