Afternoon folks, Hope this finds you all well, I'm a newbie here, and for a wee intro, I'm a 30 something, island lass living, and working near Edinburgh, and I'm hoping that I can pick your brains. I did some lurking on the site a couple of years back when I scrubbed up an old tilley belonging to my parents- just a clean up job, but one that I enjoyed and I think that is where I caught the bug I've been on the hunt for a tilley for a while, and as fate would have it, today I found a job lot of lanterns, oil lamps, and a couple of pressure lamps- both of which I believe to be tilleys but I could be wrong. After I eventually got home and had a good look at my bag of swag I realised how badly these poor lamps have been treated. One had the globe shattered, but otherwise they both appear to be intact. The bigger problem is that they have been slathered in a thick brass effect gloss, although I have managed to release the main portion of the painted valve on one I dont want to force anything else yet until I know what the best way is to approach them- I'll have to see if I can re-size the photos as currently they're too large to upload. I have no clue as to what state of disrepair they're in under the horrendous paint, but they are in need of some serious TLC But I guess my first question is what's the best way to remove the bad paint job, I've read that a few hours in a soapy crockpot is a good way of removing paint from metal work, but before I risk doing damage or reverting to serious chemicals I thought I'd ask the professionals. Many thanks in advance and look forward to chatting to you soon Gracie
Welcome aboard Gracie! The image optimiser tab is located at the top of the page and photographs will help us to assist you, Jeff.
Jeff, a gentleman and a scholar so y'are, Apparently it's easy when you know how! Here's a wee look at what I've got to play with... let me know the prognosis! Gracie
Hi Gracie, They look very shiney I do not know how to remove the paint but you should probably make shure to get the gold off the hoods, as otherwise it might burn off when you light the lantern. The first lantern is a Tilley X246, a late variant of those, and the second one is a Tilley X246B, an early one of those.
Ha ha, well they may be shiney but I fear it is shiney for all the wrong reasons! I amn't going to attempt lighting them until they're cleaned up a bit God knows what kind of noxious fumes would come off them if I risked it just now Thank you for the model details, appreciate it, I wouldn't have had a scooby in trying to figure out what type they were, but all in all, 2 oil lanterns, 4 oil lamps and 2 tilleys for £20 wasn't a bad haul, even if there are a bunch of parts required Gracie
Hello Fellow Newbie! Ye gods, the paint looks as if its been put on with a trowel! I would be tempted to try a bit of nitromors to remove the paint, but making sure the stuff is completely washed off and the metal is bone dry afterwards. BUT before you go rushing down to your local B&Q there are more experienced people on this forum who might say nitromors is a not a good idea. Short of using a chipping hammer I don't know what else to suggest ! Have Fun....
20 £ is less than I could have payed for just one of the Tilleys so I think you made a good deal. And the Tilleys actually look like if they are in a quite good condition so they will no doubt get up and running in no time.
Thanks guys- I've been scouring ebay for a while, so yeah, I was quite chuffed with the price! I have a bit of an irrational fear of nitromors-so it's something I would be inclined to avoid like the plague- but thats only because my mother in law thought her heavy usage of the stuff was to blame for leaving her riddled with cancer, sorry too much information I do have a couple of heat guns if that's worth trying? Both of the fonts appear solid, no dings or gouges- least nothing that's visible through the paint job, the cap on one appears a little pitted but nothing alarming, so I'm quite optimistic that I can tart them up and get them running. Gracie
Hello Gracie, the lantern which you call smaller Tilley one, is an X-246 Guardsman and it's a later example, so it may be date stamped on the base plate of the tank and it is the better quality lantern. The second lantern is an X-246-B and it will be date stamped on the base plate, the paint jobs are terrible, but using a heat gun may effect the solder joints, emery paper which can be used wet or dry and elbow grease is what i would start with. The link below is for the reference library, but it's only open to subscribers, Jeff. http://0flo.com/index.php?forums/7
I noticed when looking for paint recently that some of the types available were not resistant to petrol and paraffin - so maybe it is worth a try to wash part of a lamp with this and see what happens?
Thanks folks, the first lamp has a " Made in England" and the stamp 12560 on the base The second one is printed with 1169XA thanks for the heads up about the blow torch, I wont chance that if it risks damaging them They are now steeping in hot baths and we shall see what comes off in the wash! xx
The tophoods should be enameled and I did earlier succesfull a cleaning where I used my owen's "pyrolyse"-program in the kitchen. The Owen heats up to a selfcleaning temperature and if your Hood is there you can just blow the paint-dust residuce of afterwards. No soldering or enamel is damaged on tophoods here. BTW open a window when doing it. The Owen wont smell afterwords but also maybe ask your wife. Claus C
Hmmm, maybe Gracie can get away with that one. Being a 30 something lass, you'd have no problems going and getting some nail polish remover. I get funny looks but you'll probably be alright. That has worked quite well for me in the past.
Just come in from the man-cave (shed) having played around for a bit on my Bialaddin tank. Nitromors is pretty evil stuff, I used it outdoors with goggles and heavy rubber gloves. Having got most of the paint off, I've given it a wash off and then tried experimenting on a small area. What I did was use 3000 grade paper lubricated with copious amounts of WD40. Wiped the residue off, gave it a buff up with a soft cloth and then to finish off I buffed it with some newspaper and its come up really nice. I used the finest grade paper I could get my paws on as I didn't want to "wear out" the tank, hence 3000 grade and the wd40 to lubricate it. This now gives me grief on if I should do the whole lot up or paint it as originally planned. The idea will be to use it as a "working" lamp from time to time on Scout camps and when we are out in our caravan rather than sitting all pretty on a mantelpiece. Hopefully I haven't upset anyone on the forum by that last remark but I don't want to do a lot of effort and then let the lamp collect dust saying "It's capable of working" - I want to use it for what it was designed for !
LMAO, well honestly my oven isnt fancy enough to have a self clean cycle unfortunatley, its just myself that cleans it, although I was very tempted to use my scary 1oven cleaner chemical but didnt want to risk the chemical on them- I've got them mostly dismantled, except the cage is still fused on one from the goupy gloss, I'm hoping its stint in the sink will alleviate that though. My caps and plungers are steeping in the slowcooker with some bicarb and we will see what the result is like. I have started scraping a little off the the reservoirs though, and it seems that under the horrendous top coat there was a very thorough and uniform undercoat on there. It's almost as if someone got bored half way throughthe job and made a half hearted attempt to get them finished. But, as little by little layers are comming off, there's a nice chippy effect starting to evolve, and if I couldnt see how beautiful and bright the brass was underneath I'd be tempted to work it to a worn, layered finish. As for nailvarnish remover- well I'm not really a manicured type and it gave me a right chuckle cause paint removal, pen removal, adhesive residue, they're the only things that acetone would get used for around here! Really appreciate all your help though folks, I will keep you posted as to how these beasties progress and we shall see how they are faring by the morning. G xx
Hello Gracie, those date codes stand for December 1956 and November 1969. Your lanterns will need new seals etc., and they can be obtained from the Fettle Box on this website and the tab for it is obvious, Jeff.
Sorry Gracie - my mistake - No girls is named that in DK so I didnt think woman - well here back home girls can get married to girls - I better be quiet now BTW wellcome Claus C
No advice from me Gracie but you have some good sturdy Tilleys and you already seem to be having an interesting time cleaning them. Cleaning up old paint or rust is always a chore but the finish is worth the time. Oh and welcome.
Morning all, you've all left me weak withlaughter, -I may not be a regular nailvarnish user, but I'm not so masculine as to have a wife! I did however manage to find a long forgotten bottle of nailvarnish remover which started to disolve the gloss beautifully- but I think I need to reserve that for detailed scrubs. So last night, I had got the gloss off one of the reservoirs- thanks to the nailvarnish remover, but the undercoat wsa staying solid- I left both reservoirs and cages in the sink over night and popped the pumps and caps in the slow cooker. This morning I have retrieved the cooked caps and the paint, including the undercoat has all disolved. Both have a few rust spots, nothing major just pricks around the rim- one is fairly badly chipped and the enamel is pretty pocked on the top, although the brim of the cap is better- photos will follow. The reservoirs and cages are still in progress, the one that had the majority of gloss removed didnt seem to gain from the soak, so that got horsed into the slow cooker this morning to try and disolve the undercoat. The other, well -the soaking loosened the gloss and I peeled it like a sunburnt shoulder- oddly satisfying so it was. Anyway, pictures will follow as the day goes on- enjoy your sunday folks G x
Sounds like it is moving well ahead. Maybe it is a bit late for saying this, but the cage, handle, and reservoir on the older Tilley might have been originally gold painted - so it does not necessarily all have to be removed. Then 246B could have had a gold painted reservoir but, as far as I know, would have had a chromed cage and handle. The rust and chips on the hoods are common signs of wear on these lanterns - most of them seem to have such damages.
