I've just bought my first R1 and it's now been fettled and is working well, it just needs a good clean. Can anyone please advise the best and safest way to clean and polish the radiator bowl? Mine appears to be speculum plated and I don't want to damage the finish. Many thanks, Phil
I have used: 1. Wash thoroughly in warm, very soapy water (protect the Tilley transfer if it has one). 2. Then a polish with a non-abrasive aluminium polish (automobile wheel polish).
Tilley radiator reflectors are hard chrome plated over copper. Not easy to damage so generally polish up well with a good chrome polish such as Autosol. ::Neil::
The plating on my reflector seems pretty fragile. After gently washing with warm soapy water and a sponge, the copper was starting to show through where the plating has pitted. So I desisted! As the before-and-after-cleaning photographs show, the heater is not in good cosmetic condition but it certainly works well. Can I ask a question about the slight flaring outside the gauze? The flames look nice and blue and steady but I'm wondering if the vapouriser jet might be slightly worn. This is the first R1 I've worked on, so I'm not sure what normal combustion looks like! Thanks for any advice. Phil
Yes you might get a little halo outside the mantle. Maybe the vaporiser is a tad worn but in a heater this is less of a problem than in a lamp. Since you are only interested in heat output an over fueled burn is not important and so long as it runs then it is OK. ::Neil::
