Cleaning, polishing and preserving.

@MYN

Two days! (Did I mention impatience)...

I should explain my last comment above about F v C: I use an oven in the shed, with all the doors open, because of the fumes. I also use a dial thermometer placed inside the oven to check the actual temperature rather than rely on the oven dial. The first time I did this, I set the oven up for 200F (as the paint can said) - but I was initially misreading the dial thermometer that was graduated in both F and C. I realised my mistake very early and well before anything was placed in the oven.

I must talk to the automobile paint shop I use to get colour matched paint mixed about the ambient drying times for their paint.

Cheers

Tony

 

Fortunate of you @Tony Press to realize before getting 200°C.
I don't know if Matty got the oven to this high before the paint or anything in the fount bursted into flames.
Far as I know, its normally better to allow a slow rise in temperature while curing the piece. And a slow cool down too.

 

@MYN

I’m sure Matty knew his correct temperature setting.

By the way, when I am ensuring that my tanks are free of hydrocarbons, I do a penultimate soaking with “Marine Clean”; then dry; then a final rinse with acetone; then dry again (being very careful not to be seen taking the hair dryer out of the bathroom).

Cheers

Tony

 

Anybody looking for a cheap battery charger needs to pickup a computer power supply from a thrown out computer.
They have 12 and 5 Volts available at reasonable amperage to run as a battery charger, or an Electrolysis Power Supply.

 

Electrolysis:

Can electrolysis handle extreme rust or is it more for surface rust?

 

Electrolysis can handle very heavy rusting, but it will remove the rust and take the object back to what's left of the unrusted iron or steel.

For example, a heavily rusted pressed steel trivet might be so rusted that when electrolysis is applied, you end up with holes in the trivet. I use electrolysis regularly on lantern and stove parts.

Cheers

Tony

 

As a collector of old computer bits and pieces I'll have an old pc power supply knocking around somewhere. Excellent information, thanks, @Digout

 

Electrolysis.

By way of example:

Here is one of two anodes from the electrolysis of two Companion trivets (the other anode looked the same):





Tony

 

Electrolysis:

I've been weighing up the pro's and con's of what I do v's what some of you blokes do - electrolysis. I am only thinking what works best for me. I am not suggesting anyone shouldn't do the same.

I have been working on a Basford suitcase stove. The case has lost all of it's original finish and has surface rust all over it. It will need to be completely de-rusted and re-painted.

I considered why not use this case as a electrolysis process try out. I'd have to find a non conducting vessel big enough to hold the suitcase, I'd then have to find a large enough sacrificial piece of metal. I'd then have to find a place to set it up. I'd have to build the electrolysis unit so it worked as it should.

After the electrolysis has done its job, I'd have to scrub the suitcase to get rid of the black junk that is left behind after the process. I am then left with a suitcase that requires immediate attention as it will just start to rust again,

I then thought about using vinegar and what I need to do. Drop the suitcase in and come back to it the next day and rub it down with a nylon brush under running water from the hose. Vinegar seems to kill rust, depending on how long the object has been immersed in vinegar, so there is less urgency needed to spray the suitcase for protection.

I'm going to stick with vinegar. Still, one day I may set up an electrolysis station just to see how it performs. Boy, oh boy, I have some fettling to get through before that happens.

 

I soaked the Basford overnight in vinegar and first thing this morning I gave it a scrub with a stiff nylon brush. I put it back in the vinegar went and mowed the lawns and a few other things and some 4 hours later I repeated the nylon brush treatment and washed it down with a hose. It came out terrific,

In the Cleaning, polishing and preserving topic, some may have noticed I am showing mainly stoves. There is a very good reason. I am trying to get a number of stoves that need attention all prepped and ready for under coating. I figured if I have enough to do it will be worth getting the compressor and spray gun out and do them all at the one time.

I'm not trying to introduce stoves to the lamp forum, I am introducing items that need cleaning, polishing and preserving and the way I go about that topic. At the moment I just happen to be working on stoves.

I intend to string a wire between a tree and my shed so I can hang the suitcases and be able to walk around them which will hopefully give me access to most of the suitcases surface area when spraying.

From left to right.

Campingo, Coleman 2E (foreground), Bansford and a Handi double burner suitcase. I intend to marry up the Handi stove my neighbour gave me with another I have here and they will reside in the Handi suitcase.

 

The Handi suitcase is coming along nicely as well as the bracket that the two stoves that fit in the case bolt to.

Is the colour a natch for the original paint - no it isn't. Do I care that it isn't painted in the original colour - no I don't. When I first joined this topic I was more concerned about using paint as close to the original colour as possible. I've mellowed somewhat to consider the preservation factor of this topic. The best interests of the GPA concerned is to preserve first and worry about original colours at a later date or not worry about then at all.

 

That looks like a quality job!

 

Nice job done @Matty.
There is really no necessity to match the paint to the original colour unless you really wanted to.
More important would be the quality of the present coating job. And its highly possible, with today's new range of coatings, you'll be able to finish it into something that's even better than the original paint when new.

 

@ColinG

Thanks. I still have to clear coat the case. I will wait until the paint has hardened for a week or even two. before I joined this topic, I probably wouldn't have waited that long. Reading the advice I have seen presented in this topic, I've taken it on board.

@MYN

Funnily enough, working on the suitcase, I found myself thinking about the paints they used in the old days. They would have had lead in them and I suspect they were likely better paints than we have today. Not from a health point of view of course.

When rubbing back parts of the surface that needed it, I could not find evidence of a primer being used. I have noticed that on Tilley lamps that have been painted. You would think as you went through the layers of paint you would see clear evidence of an undercoat or etch coat. I can't say I have ever seen evidence of that.

I assume the lead based paints would stick to anything unlike the paints of today. I haven't ever seen any evidence of the surface's of various GPA manufactures being roughed up - sanded - prior to painting. For instance, on Tilley brass founts, it would be quite obvious if the brass surface had been sanded as part of the preparation for painting. I have never seen that evidence.

 

At design college on London we were taught various manufacturing techniques as part of the degree course so we would understand the benefits of each one. I've looked at Tilleys and Bialaddins to see if there is evidence of how they were made and from what I've seen most brass parts seem to have been pressed which surprised me as I'd assumed they were spun, particularly the tanks. When you strip down to bare metal you can still see the rolled surface from the mill. Spun parts usually show concentric, spiral marks from the tool.

Like others have said, I've never seen primer coats used, only top coats of paint although how many layers it's impossible to say. But I do think we (most of us) probably go to greater lengths than was originally the case.

 

Colin,

Those marks you speak of, I think confuse some people. I have seen people confuse tool markings for stress cracks.

I'm actually considering buying a lamp manufactured by a company with a reputation for stress cracks. The seller states the fount wont hold air and it has lines on the fount. I have a feeling the fount wont hold air because the fuel cap washer is shot to bits and there is nothing wrong with the fount. I'm known to have been wrong thousands of times though . I may be in this case.

 

@Matty
Of course many of the earlier paints were leaded. There was a reason to be so. In the early days, there were no such stuffs as 2K epoxies, polyurethanes, acrylics for common paints. The only oil-based paints were mostly alkyd-types. These paints, though durable, take a long time to air-dry and cure(particularly the longer-chain types). Normally, they would contain linseed or similar oils that would aid in oxidation with air for drying. Lead compounds would further promote this process...oxidation and curing.
In addition; red lead(I guess lead tetroxide) has a property that it forms a nearly impervious leaf-like flake layer over the substrate. This makes the paints containing it adhere remarkably well to the substrate. I've used them.
I've used paints containing toxic lead chromate. White lead pigmented ones of course. They have their merits that could not be entirely substituted for air-cured alkyds. Its only due to the health hazards that they've been largely superseded.

They do not require a meticulously prepared surface or special primers to adhere or work well in most cases. They are already primer-like on their own.
I reckon that they do possess a special character.