Well, as I have been instructed from my posting in the gallery, my plans for restoring this old 4M should be documented here: So, this is what I am starting with: A rather well used, abused, and if I may say so: Crusty example. So far, I have used a great penetrating oil called "Automatic Transmission Fluid" to liberate the bolts and screws that held the burner heads and manifold in place. The primary burner head was of particular concern, since the screw had been mangled before I arrived: The rest is just your usual rust, with spider webs and bug carcasses: My next step is going to be using an Oxalic Acid bath to eradicate the rust. I plan on using high-temp bbq paint to protect the manifold, but leave the burner heads "naked". The suitcase itself I am not sure if I should try and track down a "Coleman-ish" colour of gloss green, just use any gloss green, or just be silly and hit it with some Olive Drab?
Vis, m'man, if ever there was a bloke who needed a Zap Tank (electrolysis bath) it's you! Very easy to do, a car battery charger, plastic bucket that will fit just over half the case (cooking it in two hits uses a smaller bucket), a steel plate for the bottom of the bucket (or side, depending on how you are doing it) and a box of washing soda sees you fully sorted. Best of all, once you sort the above, you are fixed forever to strip stove cases and frames. No sanding, no icky chemicals. You'll do one and the clouds will part like the opening to The Simpsons complete with chorus of 'It's soooo eeeeezzzyyyyyyy! Cook over night (it's impossible to leave it in too long), remove, hose off and buff a bit with a PLASTIC pot scourer to get the bits of paint and rust off. If the rust and paint flakes don't just slide off, put back in the tank for a few more hours. Shake dry and bake in a brisk oven until utterly dry (I used to do this late at night to avoid awkward questions from 'er indoors) then get a coat of primer or something on while it's still warm.
Electrolysis is definitely a method I plan on trying. I just had heard so much about how easy Oxalic Acid is, I figured, "Why not?" Except....Apparently, it is hard to GET Oxalic Acid crystals up here, because they are a "hazardous chemical"....so I am using diluted Phosphoric Acid (Naval Jelly). I read up on the different acids, but definitely, next time? I am gonna go high-tech!
Oxalic acid is sold as "wood bleach", also used as radiator flush. The amount of things you CAN'T buy up there is mind-boggeling! Murph
Oh, I know about it being used as wood bleach. Problem is, the one store that said on their website that they have it, didn't have it because of "transport issues" Yet their store in Vancouver, Does have it.... I'm sure it is can be found, but I didn't, so I went with something else. Next time, I am gonna give'r the juice. The Electric juice!
A biochemist friend of mine was moving to another University and had hired a moving company to pack up the lab and move it. They refused to move a bottle of "Folic acid" (the vitamin) because they could not transport acids.
Okay, sooo Had everything soaking in some diluted naval jelly (phosphoric acid) last night. This is the paint I picked up for the case itself. Seems to be a close...ish...green. Definitely not John Deere green! Bleh. But, we'll see how it comes out in the end. Okay, I cheated. The acid was bothering me because it was taking its sweet time...I apparently didn't have enough patience for it, so I neutralized it with some baking soda, then washed, and baked it in the oven for an hour @ 200f. Then wire brushed the bejeesus outta it today. Then hung the manifold up and shot it with the BBQ black high-temp paint. (Second burner knob is taped off) Popped the lid off, scoured it roughly with some rough sand paper, and let out some frustration via elbow grease. Did more of the same with the case itself. Rust shall FEAR my might! After that, I switched to some 220 grit and gave the old paint some tooth...and forget everything I knew from reading about automotive painting, because I didn't smooth the rough-sanded areas enough. Vacuumed and wiped down the whole case to remove all dust particles, however. So I'm not totally inept. ...But: The green is looking okay. Sprayed the first coat, then waited 20 min to spray a second. Letting them both cure overnight til tomorrow before I rub'em down with some 800 grit paper and give'm a third coat. Might need a second can. Was windy today, lot of missed spray.
Sanded with 600 grit, knocking down obvious scratches: And painted: Overall, not quite as gloss as I was wanting, but much better than how the stove was before, which was the primary goal; Protecting it from further rust. Just giving it a few days for the paint to harden a bit before tossing it all back together.
Okay, to the point where I need to ask for help: When pumping up the tank, and trying to light it, I hold my thumb over the hole in the pump. However, when I got to tighten the pump down, all the pressure that I had just been putting into the tank, is rushing out of that hole. When the handle is screwed in, it seems that the pump holds the pressure, in, but it is hard to KEEP any pressure inside of the tank while securing the handle. I can't fathom this being normal....so.... Any help?
There should be no back-flow when you stop pumping, without locking the pump screw. There's a little steel ball at the bottom of the pump, that should act as a non-return valve. It is either jammed or has dirt in the seat. Try the following: Unscrew the tank cap to prevent pressure buildup. Squirt some WD-40 or similar solvent into the hole in the pump handle, holding the pump vertical so the liquid drips down to the bottom. Now give the pump a few strokes to force the WD-40 down through the valve into the tank. Now repeat this operation but with motor oil instead of WD-40. This has a 90% probability of cleaning up the ball valve and getting it to seal the back flow. It worked for me yesterday. If it fails, you will have to remove the valve assemble - there are instructions somewhere on this site for doing it. Yonadav
Thanks for the advice, and sorry for the lack of recent coverage of the progress: I had let the paint cure for a couple of days, to try and limit any scratching and damage. Also sanded down the stove supports/lid clamps to get rid of their rough coverage of oxide. Blasted the grill with some bbq black as well, but I really didn't invest enough time into cleaning it up. The paint is going to flake, but that's okay. I'll clean it up better when that happens. But, eventually I put it all back together and lit her up: The second burner is anemic, partly because of the stuck check valve issue... But overall, I am please with how it turned out. Course, once I found the cure to the stuck check valve issue, I remedied it. Though I forgot to get a shot of the pump apart, I used a few drops of ATF. Let it sit for about a week as I got busy and....presto! Valve is unstuck, and working beautifully! Sorry folks, neither coffee or tea for me, just hot chocolate. But with a spiffy handmade mug from a family friend.
Thanks to both of you! It was an interesting project and having learned a lot from it, I plan to eventually tackle to 6J also seen with a bit more...polish? If I keep doing this...I am going to have to get a pop-rivet device to do this all better!
