Hi folks, just received an army spec vapalux in its original Military green and black hood. The vent below the hood is also mat black. Is this original, if not what is the best way to strip paint off brass? Does Nitromors work, or will this eat the brass? Also what is the best way to pre-treat the pump leather before instalation?
Soak the pump leather in oil. Olive oil or any mineral oil will do, but I have some neatsfoot oil which I use. Cheers Tony
I found out since that the lower part of the hood is brass and turns black with the heat. A soak in the citric acid and then fine wire wool did wonders, then polish. I tried this method with another 300x hood and ended up with pitting. I put this down to electrolysis caused by dissimilar metals in the bath. As for the pump leather I found the pre-treated ones superior, now I tried melting some beeswax furniture polish in a tiny aluminium cup such as a used tealite and letting it soak in that. Remove while hot and place on a tissue to absorb the excess. I think this should work.
It's probably much less of a faff-on to use some olive oil from the kitchen cupboard! Or, in fact, just about any animal, vegetable or mineral oil you find except boiled linseed oil. The best is reckoned to be neatsfoot oil and I've a can of that large enough for several lifetime's use - it cost about £6 IIRC. If I can't find that, then it's off to the kitchen cupboard. To be honest, I don't notice any real difference between the oils. Yer pays yer money...
I've read on CCF that the acids in vegetable oils rot the leather. The recommendation was to use neatsfoot oil or a mineral oil like motor oil.
On the other hand, this Wiki page concerning Neatsfoot oil suggests that mineral oils can be responsible for the deterioration of leather over time. Who knows, eh, and it would be interesting to read the CCF data - got a link, please? In any event, leather is organic and won't last for ever whatever treatment it receives. It'll wear out with prolonged use, anyway, and replacements are cheap and readily available these days. Realistically, I think it isn't going to be a problem, particularly with 'hobby' use...
....As a novice i can only repeat what I've seen when examining the relatively few pump washers I've come across.... ...The ones that are still soaked in oil still worked, even when worn to a frazzle !... ...The ones unused for years have dried out so much that they fall to pieces....or have shrunk so much that no amount of soaking can revive them..... ...I have used Colt's Neatfoot oil on leather on Bellows and it is good stuff, .....but can't help thinking of the close proximity of the pump washer to the paraffin ? ...Maybe if it's a lamp that is to be little used and stored without oil in it then the Neatsfoot mite the way to go?...... ...But probably if used regularly then the washer will wear quicker than rot???...
Thanks everyone, its more about performance than length of service, and this would depend on the quality of the leather initialy and how well it forms a seal in the bore of the pump. The reason i posted the question is i had a variety of these from various suppliers, I put a premium pre-trated washer on a Vapalux 310 and it was great. Then a cheaper non treated one on a Tilley 246B which I pre-soaked in olive oil to make it more supple and it was awfull! Twice the amount of pumping required.
Sorry, but you're not comparing like with like which is the first rule of any scientific investigation. You need to standardise all variables except the one you're investigating. OK, you found a difference in performance but was it due to premium/non-premium? Pre-treated or non-treated? Pre-treatment (with what?) or olive oil? Tilley or Vapalux? And then we need to look at sample size...
...I've used Olive oil on metal before on something and it had the opposite effect......all went sticky and started to seize up..... ...Yes!....hinges it was ...on a door, and they were brass..... Had to use tons of 3 in 1 to free off and clean.... made a right mess... .. "Olive" and Learn, eh?....
Nice one! I like it. obviously I have much to learn! And that's where you guys come in. Olive oil now off the menu.
Well, yes, but that's a completely different environment to the inside of a pump-tube so there's no comparison and therefore conclusion that can be derived with any confidence. Jeez, didn't you guys do any Science at school...
..Hmmm...It was my only experience using Olive oil in that way.. ...Maybe to you David it's a completely different scenario, but Olive oil isn't a good substitute for a lubricating oil.... You can probably check out it's qualities by looking at it's molecular make up?......I have to make do with what i know, which is more hands on.... put it under any sort of pressure and it fails.. Cooking- excellent! Industrial- poor
Well, on the door hinge it's exposed to the weather and all kinds of air-borne debris whereas in a pump-tube it isn't. To me, the difference is that obvious. Well, I daresay olive oil would also fail in a car engine, gearbox, differential or track-rod end but that wouldn't be any reason to condemn it for use to soften pump leathers. They're completely different applications. All I can say is that I've been using olive oil on the pump leathers in my lanterns for almost 15 years and I've never had any problem with it so I'll continue to use it without hesitation whenever my can of neatsfoot oil isn't to hand. Each to his own, though...
