Beerhippie
Well-known member
I'm not sure where to post this, but this seems closest--it's about metal.
I picked up a 220E yesterday--not on purpose, but I really wanted the shop-made case it came in and the seller wouldn't break them up:
Anyway, it's pretty nice 220E and I'd like to get it cleaned up and ready to move on and recoup some of my investment.
So I took it down to parts this AM. I ran it for a half-hour with hot lye solution in the USC, then rinsed and put it back in with hot sodium citrate solution to remove the rust. I set the timer for one hour and went out to lunch. After lunch, I ran down valley to do some shopping around the local honey-hole (a total bust). When I got back it was three hours later.
The frame and collar were in the same bucket as the brass parts, and after a good scrub with 4-0 steel wool, look like this:
The frame and collar are covered in splotchy copper plating. It appears that the copper adhered to the remaining galvanizing. If it were even, I'd think it looked great and just leave it that way, but the splotchy look just doesn't do it for me.
The copper doesn't scrub off with the steel wool. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. Anything I can think of that would remove the copper will also remove any remaining galvanizing. The best answer would, I guess, be to nickel-plate it, but I'd have to mix up a big batch of electrolyte and get out the whole damned plating rig, which I haven't much used in a few years.
Any other ideas? I'd hoped to just clean it up, make sure it ran well and sell it cheap.[/img
I picked up a 220E yesterday--not on purpose, but I really wanted the shop-made case it came in and the seller wouldn't break them up:
Anyway, it's pretty nice 220E and I'd like to get it cleaned up and ready to move on and recoup some of my investment.
So I took it down to parts this AM. I ran it for a half-hour with hot lye solution in the USC, then rinsed and put it back in with hot sodium citrate solution to remove the rust. I set the timer for one hour and went out to lunch. After lunch, I ran down valley to do some shopping around the local honey-hole (a total bust). When I got back it was three hours later.
The frame and collar were in the same bucket as the brass parts, and after a good scrub with 4-0 steel wool, look like this:
The frame and collar are covered in splotchy copper plating. It appears that the copper adhered to the remaining galvanizing. If it were even, I'd think it looked great and just leave it that way, but the splotchy look just doesn't do it for me.
The copper doesn't scrub off with the steel wool. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. Anything I can think of that would remove the copper will also remove any remaining galvanizing. The best answer would, I guess, be to nickel-plate it, but I'd have to mix up a big batch of electrolyte and get out the whole damned plating rig, which I haven't much used in a few years.
Any other ideas? I'd hoped to just clean it up, make sure it ran well and sell it cheap.[/img