This is my latest aquisition and I am at a bit of a loss about what to do with it. It's a steel fount and the original paint is mostly gone but the original warning label is 95% intact. The obvious thing to do is repaint it to protect the steel but I would be very reluctant to destroy the warning label. Would appriciate any advice. What would you do with it? Cheers, Sid.
Perhaps the solution is to photograph the label closely and to create a new label. Then after you have restored the lantern stick the label on with some lacquer and then coat the label with lacquer to secure and protect it, Jeff.
Yeah, I suppose realistically that would be the best way to go. I had though of masking it off and painting round it but I don't think that would produce a good result. As it's steel I would also like to treat the inside. I've seen POR 15 recommended in other posts. Does anyone know of a UK supplier of this product? Cheers, Sid
www.frost.co.uk tel 01706 658619 You need three products. Marine Clean which is a very good cleaner comes in two sizes and I use the large one. Then Metal Ready which is an etching fluid. Then the stuff itself s102 Petrol Tank Sealer. You want the small tins because one is enough to do several lamp tanks and it does not keep well once opened. So :- 1 x S204 Marine Clean 1 x S205 Metal Ready 1 x S201 Sealer ::Neil::
Excellent, thanks Neil. Would you recommend using this on brass founts as well or is it not really necessary? Cheers, Sid
I have only ever used it on brass to seal up stress cracks. Otherwise there is no point as brass does not corrode from the inside like a steel tank can. You need to be careful as well. This stuff sets like concrete so you must make sure the feed tubes and pump check valves are not coated or blocked because once set you will not be able to remove the resin from those tight places. You also want to be careful about keeping the resin away from any threads or you will be spending time recuting threads. I remove everything possible and where there are threads either cover with masking tape or screw something in there so the resin does not get in the grooves. Once you have the stuff inside a tank and have pourd out the excess then if you have tubes in there you need to blow then clear before allowing the stuff to set. There is a 4 day cure time and I ventilate the tanks by blowing air through them using a fish tank air compresser. Works well and in a Vappalux it will do a very good job of sealing any small ppin holes in et base plate and also protect from further corrosion. ::Neil::
I always worry about giving advice like that because with this medium it is not always easy to explain with clarity. Better to see the job done for real and then you take away a better mind picture of procedure. Incidentally I don't want to worry you but I found out the hard way how much it costs to replace a ceramic cooker top like yours. I broke mine when a ball of string fell on it from the shelf above. OK a healthy sized ball of string with a cardboard core but it destroyed the ceramic. That was about two years ago and the replacement was around £340 as I recall. I made a cover for mine with a piece of MDF with felt pads underneath. Looks rough but saves the cooker top. ::Neil::
Your advice is much appreciated. Without it I would've probably sloshed the stuff everywhere and ended up with a rust proof paperweight. That's some expensive string you have there. Didn't realise those things were so fragile. 'Er indoors has her eye on a new one anyway. But first I have to replace those hidious orange tiles. The "to do" list continues to grow.
I learnt this the hard way. Just once spending three hours cleaning out a thread with a dental pick taught me to be careful where not to slop that stuff around. Yea I thought easy to clean was the way but now I wish I had bought a cheaper cooker with a rather less delicate top. I got that bill paid from the household insurance but they will not look kindly on me doing that twice and anyway that wa a couple of years ago now when the cooker was near enough new. It is actually my supply of asbestos string so is truly priceless 'cos you can't buy it any more. Dangerous maybe but damn handy for some jobs like stuffing lamp generators. ::Neil::
