My new acquired project, a 1941 B Coleman 500 stove. I passed this stove by 3 times, over a period of 2 weeks at a indoor flea market. It looked really terrible, not worth even the $13.50 that I paid for it. I could kick myself for not taking before pictures. I was really amazed that it cleaned up as well as it did. The bolts, nuts and fittings came loose easily. There was only a couple of specks of rust in the tank. I think this stove was used very little, then shelved for many years. It just looked bad.
I replaced the pump leather, fuel cap seal and repacked spindle and light and burn control with new graphite ribbon. Cleaned out the tank a bit with Coleman fuel. Surprisingly the generator was really clean. I wanted to keep orginial colors the same, black grate, base plate and burner. What does not show up in the pictures is the many specks on the nickel plated font. I only cleaned so much, as not to damage the finish. I guess being almost 75 years old I should be happy with the way it is.
Here is the flame shot first time being lite after many years. It fired up right away. I knew the black paint would burn off the grate. I will probably use this stove, many times this year, alternating with others.
The date stamp for the year, the number 4, is a little light. I read that some other stoves have the same look. Now maybe I will keep a lookout for a Coleman 500A stove.
Hello Doug Thanks for looking. The paint is Dupli-Color engine black enamel. Code DE 1613 Gloss Black. Its rated at 500 Deg. F. Nothing works on the grates, but for the rest, it will hold up just fine. Any auto parts store carry a line of engine ceramic paints. ....roby
roby03 you did a splendid job,be realy proud of yourself,what a wonderful stove,congratulations. Regards Willie
