I’m going to get my quite rusty (hence, “Crusty”) Tilley SL 1 cleaned up, de-rusted and fettled. I thought it best to get it running first to assess what needed to be done. Here it is being lit up at dusk: Previously, this search light had its modern debut here: Crusty is at the bottom right of the photo. Cheers Tony
I rather like it as it is - honest, and bearing the patina of the decades. I'm not looking forward to Crusty all shiny and done up...
I'd give Crusty a thorough wire brushing/scotchbrite/scourer-padding and give it a generous rubbing of silicone wax to protect it. Your lamp your choice though Alec.
Crusty needs some very honest rust repair in a couple of important places (eg the door) or it will fail and damage the glass. Part of its “patina” has been being left out in the rain, by the looks. After I do that job I’ll decide what to do with the rest. I’ve repacked the glass reflector. The date on the glass is 23/3/44. Cheers Tony
It’s your lamp Tony, but I believe that Crusty does need to be completely restored that's just my opinion.
Crusty gets the “Ranex” treatment on extensive deep rust: “Ranex” will do the rust conversion, before repainting. Cheers Tony
Hi Tony.. I’m not familiar with the treatment.. Does it leave the ‘crusts’ in situ or do they crumble away to a neutralised dust? I remember you saying you were doing a restrained resto.. are you keeping the crusts in a treated form?
@podbros Ranex is a commercial cleaner and rust converter that converts iron oxide to phosphate of iron. The rust had either removed all the paint and left pitted iron, or was emerging through the remaining paint. I used a light sanding by hand of 200 grit sand paper, then applied the Ranex. My purpose is to keep the metal structurally intact. I will then repaint the lamp over the rust converted metal, and the Friday-afternoon standard of the original paint job. My aim is to have the metal protected from further degradation, and the paint job to be railway workshop standard. Original paint runs. Cheers Tony
Thanks Tony I suppose as I have approached restoring from my industrial work background I tend to think rust removal first, i.e. wire wheel but I can see the benefit of where you want to get to and also you are retaining most of the original paint/finish.. hum.. I must admit the only rust converter I have used in the past was hammerite ‘kurust’ and quite frankly it didn’t work as rust came through quite happily so “Not Recommended”
@podbros What I will do next is to allow the rust treatment to dry completely, then wipe it with turpentine, allow it to dry again, and paint over it using automotive primer and enamel. The phosphate of iron can’t be left unpainted, so at the end of the day Crusty gets new clothes, but I will have kept the integrity of the metal. Cheers Tony
Fettling Crusty Seeing that there is a fair bit of Crusty history here in this thread, I'll continue here with the fettling of Crusty. 1. I made the judgement that the rust was so bad in places that it had to be treated and the light protected from further corrosion. 2. Disassembly. Escaping from a sudden downpour. Heavy corrosion at the bottom of the door where wate had been collected over the years wherever it was stored. The burner. The light has been well used by the looks of the burner holes. The control cock is correct for the period, but out of my new old stock as the burner that was on the light was in very poor condition. Taking the light barrel off the fuel tank. Heavy corrosion. Treating the bolts that hold the glass reflector in place with "Penetrene" (a penetrating oil) before unscrewing them. Using heat and penetrating oil to remove the rusted-in wing nuts. 3. Treating the rust. In treating the rust, I did not want to lose any more metal, so reasonably light sanding was all that I did, before converting the rust with a commercial rust converter, and dealing with other rust related problems. But...the deep corrosion on the bottom of the door required more than sanding. I sanded that section back to bare metal and filled the area with "JB Weld". The JB Weld was sanded smooth, more JW weld added to fillall the holes, them sanded back to smooth. Ranex rust converter was used to convert rust (iron oxide) to phosphate of iron. 4. Re-painting After treating with Ranex and allowing at least two days for it do dry, the parts were wiped with mineral turpentine, allowed to dry, then lightly sanded with 400 grit wet and dry sandpaper. "Dupli-color" engine primer was then applied. Dupli-color Black gloss engine enamel was then applied over the lightly sanded primer. 5. Re-assembly. Putting these back together is like meccano - many small nuts and bolts to hold the various bits. All steel bolts re-fitted with copper grease. The glass reflector was cleaned and re-fitted. The brass fitting at the front of the barrel. The tank painted, and the original transfer masked ad retained. The wooden handles soaked in linseed oil for a few weeks. The burner and vapourise fitted. 6. Testing. Testing the burner. Excellent! Washers and seals by The Fettlebox. I'll post detailed photos of this assembled 1943 SL1 in the Reference Gallery later in the week. Cheers Tony
Jeff I did not have to seal the inside of the tank. The tank must have been left with some kerosene in it as the bottom of the pump was varnished. The corrosion was from the outside. I suspect the light was sitting in a wet environment for a long time. I gave the tank an integrity test by putting three litres of dirty kerosene in it and pressuring it fully, then letting it sit for a few days. No leaks! Cheers Tony
