Here's what I started with... 1. Note that the shade holder post that screws in to the top of the burner snapped so I had to drill out the remnants of the steel screw in the burner and re-tap it at 10-32 UNF. I made a new shade holder post using the end of a Primus NRN and a rod of brass that I threaded. 2. The burner caps and tubes were full of mud wasp nests and grit and one of the steel gauze flame spreaders was rotted. The caps came off but the burner tubes were on tight so I cleaned the burner with them in place. I made a new gauze from stainless steel mesh using a Dremel (quite tricky). I gave the whole burner a soak in citric acid and then a session in the unltrasonic cleaner. 3. The paintwork was irreparable... 4. ...and it took me a while (and some consultation with Neil McRae) to be satisfied that this was a 159X, as X was about the only thing that could be read on the base stamp. 5. I stripped the fount back to brass and re-painted the tank, taking a very liberal interpretation of the Coleman style for these lamps. I used a cheap manual potter's wheel to do the highlight spraying. This is not quite the finished product. A bit more gold and clear coat was required. 6. On testing, the check valve was not working at all, so I removed it with a Korean-made Coleman check valve tool, gave it a good clean and re-placed it in the fount. 7. The preheater cup was leaking, so I decided to silver-solder the tube back on the the cup itself, only to find the tube was aluminium and it disintegrated! I fitted a new brass tube, first by flaring one end, then silver soldering it in place: Note here that the tube on the pre-heater cup that came on the lamp (left) has a smaller diameter than a similar NOS Coleman preheater I was using. 8. I did rescue the globe/shade holder but decided to replace it with a "Universal" shade holder so that i could use a glass Coleman shade with the lamp. Anyway... At the end of all that, plus multiple flushings of mud out of the fount, it all came together: I'll post more finished photos in the Reference Gallery. Cheers Tony
Great save on that one Tony! Sometimes they just need everything What kind of wick material are you using in your pre-heat cups?
@Toby Garner I am using the fibreglass rope that is sold as door sealer on wood fuelled fireplaces. Cheers Tony
I am trying to acquire one of these models at the moment but hesitated because I considered the condition a bit rough. I am truly inspired by the thoroughness of this fettle and will now forge ahead with the one I hope to buy. This really is a great save. Do you have a decent spray painting outfit or do you use spray cans; if so what brand and type do you prefer?
@David Cully I use spray cans. On a job like this I use Dupli-Color car paint or a similar automotive ceramic enamel. It’s important to use the correct primer/etcher for the paint, so I use the same brand primer if it’s required/available. After the paint had dried, I bake it in an oven (in the shed - not kitchen!), for an hour at 65°C, or at 94°C (94° if that’s what the paint instructions say). On tanks and soldered parts don’t use a paint that requires baking at high temperatures because of the danger of melting solder. I didn’t bake the wooden handle. In the absence of a baking oven, allow the paint to dry for a week or more so that the paint cures and hardens. Curing properly makes the paint resistant to fuel spills. Cheers Tony
