George: in case I missed it somewhere: what do you think is the best, safest and most reliable treatment for cleaning out the inside of tanks, some of which have residues of old fuel or, in some cases, a kind of white "corrosion", visible near the inside of the filler tube? Best, Peter
Hi Peter, it is actually in the text: The reason I warned against pickling the inside of the tank was: 1. You can't see inside the tank and monitor what is going on, and 2. I have seen residual flux on some soldered joints so these areas are already free of oxide coating and will corrode preferentially relative to the rest of the tank surface. On heavily fouled tanks in the past i have boiled up a solution of water and industrial solvent degreaser (normally used for degreasing engines and components of vehicles) inside the tank, and this has shifted a lot of crud from old tanks, including molten pitch-type deposits. https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/fettling-of-primus-no-85.11409/#post-108882 Trust this helps, Best Regards, George.
ok just a quick question, I have an 8R that I am restoring, it has a seriously dirty lacquor on it. will the citric acid bath remove the lacquor? Thanks In advance HT
@HT Scheg If it's the tank you're talking about, it's probably better to give it a clean and remove the lacquer with paint stripper or acetone before giving it a dip in the citric acid. Tony
yes its the tank... I will pick up some stripper tommorrow then.. thank you. does anyone know of a good lacquer in the States to use?
I'm interested to try the Rust Killer solution on some parts I have. I've used an Electrolysis tank for cleaning up old hand tools, etc. Would that be appropriate for small stove parts? How would it compare to the Rust Killer?
Coming very late to the dance, but George (kerophile) said "...ammonia is prone to cause cracking in alpha-brasses ( the type used in stove construction)." so my question is, how then is it okay to use Brasso, which contains ammonia? John
@backpacker56 Many stove and lamp people do not use Brasso because of the high level of ammonia. Cheers Tony
I admit that I use Brasso on some of my(later model usually) stoves but I also wash down the surface later with warm soapy water using a tooth brush, rinse and dry then apply a light anti-oxidant oil making sure that it soaks into every little crevice(including lettering) before hand polishing off. Seems to work OK as long as you do a decent clean up after polishing. Cheers, John
Have any of you seen/ used these? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142012169827 I have a few and find them very useful for just such occations. The ones I have can be used on a phone or computer and have built in led lighting. I have used to check for rusting in tanks. Alan
Yes. The Eastwood Auto Restoration supply company sells lacquer. They sell a nylac for coating of polished metals. The trick with lacquer is read the ingredients and look for nitrocellulose. If you see nitrocellulose at the top of the ingredients that's a sign it is good lacquer. I know this because I buy a lot of paints and coatings. I have used clear insulating epoxy on polished surfaces before successfully. I prefer an epoxy like clear insulating epoxy or clear GE Glyptol because after it has fully cured it will not yellow if you spill fuel on it. Look at the clear coating that Eastwood sells to seal and protect polished metal. Besides lacquer is antiquated and expensive. I will take epoxy, polyester, urethane, and a catalyst paint that actually drys over any lacquer.
For those later on that come here when the eBay link is no longer valid.... The item linked is: "Waterproof 6LED USB Android Endoscope Borescope Snake Inspection Camera Scope UK"
Just mixed up some GSR for some old blowtorches I am working on, its the business, and you, Sir, are the man !
Hi all, I'm new here and am finding this all VERY interesting. This is certainly guiding me through restoring the Primus stove that my wife's grandfather bought in the 1930s. One thing I've discovered is hammerite rust remover which is a citric acid based gel. I imagine this is similar to the citric acid/wallpaper paste combo. I've bought anhydrous citric acid for cheese making purposes before and found it really easy to obtain from amazon. We also buy it in for work from various companies. Sigma Aldrich is a good start for anything. I think they sell to individuals now- well, maybe not everything they stock - but you can obtain this through other companies in the UK too. Breckland Ltd. is a good place for all sorts of chemicals.