Refurbishing Trio – Graphic Photo Warning

[TheSmiths]

A park has granted me permission to do repairs on their two old Trios. I understand I can purchase most parts from Erva. That said, I'd prefer to refurbish with original spaghetti rails rather than replacing them with modern single rails or making my own from aluminum. Does anyone have any old spaghetti rails or their clips that they would be willing to sell to me? Any other spare parts would be appreciated as well.

I'd also like to know how to repair the break that sticks and squeals horribly when raising and low. I'll try to post a video in the next few days.

Thank you.

[4th Gen Martin Fan]

Easy solution to the squeaking of the idiotic break on the bottom of your MSS12? Remove the thing and throw it in the recycle bin for someone to recycle the aluminum. I personally cannot stand the things and refuse to deal with them.

I have so excited that you are going to refurbish those Trio MSS12 houses!!

[TheSmiths]

We are thinking about removing the break and rope and replacing them with the Erva/NatureHouse winch conversion kit. They are just a bit expensive for what they are and, having no experience with them, we are unsure how well they will hold up.

Suggestion for outdoor paint for use on aluminum that can withstand the elements?

[Matt F.]

Great job taking on the Trio renovations!
I wholeheartedly agree with Mark - dispense with the lanyard locking mechanism. It was a novel idea, but turned out to be more troublesome than it was worth.
I do have to give Trio engineer Arthur Vail credit though - it was a very simple, and inexpensive design, that did what it was supposed to. Here is one of the original patent drawings of that mechanism, to give a better idea of how that device functioned:
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis ... page-3.png
As for the Nature House winch conversion - I highly recommend it. I've purchased a few of those, and love them. Though not the most substantial looking winch and cable, they are tried and true, and there are some that have been in service since the late 60s that still work perfectly.

[TheSmiths]

Anyone have experience with an excellent long-lasting outdoor paint for metal?

I know there are several members here who have rehabbed Trios but I didn't find paint info when I searched the forum.

[PMDavid]

Good day to the smiths. Re; the paint. I’m gonna bet judging by the mess the house was in that you’ve now removed the doors ,floor etc. I’ve allways been into painting so I recommend as follows. Get a 5gal bucket of hot soapy water and a slightly used green scotchbrite pad and reall scrub everything super clean . The old white paint is gonna come off a bit and probably show some metal color,no worries,your gonna paint it. If you can find some self etching metal primer spray paint that would be optimum. If not just metal primer. White,.....I prefer krylon brand,good paint. Spray a light coat of primer,let dry a few hours. Top coat with some krylon white,try to find satin finish so it’s not so shiny. It dries quickly so it can be reposted in an hour or so. 2 light coats are better than one heavy coat. BEFORE painting the outside use some krylon flat black and just lightly mist in the the interior of the cavities so as to darken them a bit killing the shine inside down a bit,the birds like a darker area rather than a shiny inside. THEN begin your applications of the white. If the porches are green you can spray those first then shield them with some paper as you do the ends of the house,the doors can all be layer out on cardboard and sprayed. Good luck with it and can’t wait to see the finished product!

[PMDavid]

Oops, porches and rails,good ole John Deere green looks good.

[Dave Duit]

It is good to see you refurbishing the old houses. I assume you expanded the compartment sizes to 12 inches in depth. Maybe you already had and I just overlooked. Congrats on the work as I know it is no small undertaking. I re-did four grandpa style metal houses and they now look drastically different. thank for the before pics. My neighbor across the lake has houses that look just like the old pics and he thinks the martin should swarm to the housing. No matter how much I try to steer him the right way, it is in one ear and out the other. He hasn't had martins there for over twenty years, but continues to keep the old ones up that never get cleaned out and every compartment is bulging from old sparrow nests.

[4th Gen Martin Fan]

The Erva/Nature House Winch Conversion Kit is very easy to accomplish and is both functional, safer and durable. The stainless steel cable last for a very long time as long as you wind it on smoothly and do not allow a "bird's nest". The weight of the house on the cable keeps the cable straight as it winds onto the spool.
The house is raised and lowered easily and will not drop suddenly because the brake system stops it from falling suddenly. I deal with the rope and pulley system on some mentee's Trio houses but only use the winch system on my personal Trio houses.
If you make the conversion you will not regret it.

[daveh]

I touch up my trio houses with Hunter Green gloss. It's pretty close to the original color. I don't use the rope system on my mini castle, got rid of that years ago. THe winch that I use is the same one on my castle. Works fine. Forgot to say that the paint is from Rust-oleam.

Dave

[deancamp]

On the subject of color, the closest I could find was Grass Green, by rustoleum. Pictured is a comparison between original and grass green. To be fair I think there is a little more difference than the picture shows but very close.

[deancamp]

Second picture, dont know why I can't get it to show as a picture. I compressed to 158kb???

[Whippy]

Deancamp,

In order for me to get multiple pictures within one post I have to compress them down to around or below 100kb. They still come out pretty big on the forum. 100kb isn't the magical number it's just something I stumbled across.

Edited to add: I now see what you're saying. It provided a link rather than a picture in your post. Not sure why that is. Maybe compress a little more and see what happens.

BTW. Your color matching is pretty spot on.

Frozenwhips

[deancamp]

Trying again.Thanks Whippy as I am completely ignorant on this and it is completely trial and error for me and then I can't remember what worked.

Like the signature change. I hope you get to change it back soon.

[Evan337]

We are thinking about removing the break and rope and replacing them with the Erva/NatureHouse winch conversion kit. They are just a bit expensive for what they are and, having no experience with them, we are unsure how well they will hold up.

Suggestion for outdoor paint for use on aluminum that can withstand the elements?

Below is a link to a thread about a trio castle restoration. I had the trio green and white paint matched by Sherwin Williams. The product I used is in the thread. It’s held up really well over the last four years. The trio grandpas are fun to restore. I’ve started drilling out all of the pop rivets so the house is completely deconstructed. Makes it easier to prep and paint. Stainless hardware and pop rivets are the way to go when putting it back together.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34016&p=275542#p275542

[TheSmiths]

Thank you for the info.

Rust-oleum has a white automotive enamel that it claims is weather and UV resistant. Has anyone given it a try?

[4th Gen Martin Fan]

Evan is correct. These Trios are fun to restore. I concur with his advise. Aluminum pop rivets in the houses are easy to remove. Drill them out so that you can prep and refinish the various pieces. Reassemble those pieces with white coated aluminum pop rivets. I may be obsessive for using aluminum pop rivets but my logic is to avoid galvanic reactions between dissimilar metals.
Any previous steel bolts and nuts are best replaced with stainless steel bolts, nuts and washers. Future work on the houses will be much easier with the stainless steel fasteners.
When you finish these Trio houses, you will become a Trio Jedi Knight.

Matt F. is a Trio Jedi Master. His wise advise is appreciated.

[Matt F.]

Matt F. is a Trio Jedi Master. His wise advise is appreciated.

You are too kind Mark, and you give me way too much credit!
I guarantee there a lot of aspects of Trios and Trio renovations that folks out there know more about than I. Numerous fellow Jedi like yourself, Evan, Dorn County, John Miller, Keith, Anthony Neira, Kyler, Mike Scully, Steve Kroenke, Bob Bozeman, Carlton, Craig Haddox, Duke Snyder, James Hill, Larry Melcher, Jack Petty, Brian Naughton, Ken Kostka, Chuck Abare, and probably numerous folks (please forgive me) I'm forgetting off hand.
That was fun remembering many of those names!

[TheSmiths]

I have a few more questions.


• Mark, I noticed you added washers. Is that under the screw head for added stability or do they serve another purpose?

• Some people have mentioned adding foam board insulation in the attic. Have any of you done that?

• Is there a way to polish the roof? They're both a dull blotchy gray.

[deancamp]

I can say I added the foam board in the attic space. I assume it will help in reducing heat, but I have no proof of that.