Cleaning an old vise but keeping original paint

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

JZiggy

Joined
Oct 12, 2010
Messages
900
Location
GA
I recently acquired a great early 50s English bench vise. It is a crusty gray color with bits of overspray. But I realized that it is actually a dirty "crust" over top of the original blue enameled paint! It scrapes off very reluctantly and I hesitate to use an abrasive or brass brush lest I hurt the paint underneath. Mineral spirits don't seem to dissolve the crust.

Any ideas how to soften, loosen, or otherwise remove it without harming the paint?

Will try to post a picture later... that will help clarify the situation.
 
I'd try TSP, trisodium phosphate. It's available in the painting section of a hardware store. We mixed some up at work and used it during a big "clean-up". It works wonders. We cleaned a bunch of machine shop type tools, including an old Bridgeport milling machine. It lets you wipe the grime right away.
 
How does going after it with a plastic scraper? Elbow grease with a little loosening with a spray of soap and water might be good.

Maybe mix some dawn and water in a spray bottle, and just wet the crust down then give it a work over with the plastic scraper.

Follow up with penetrol or boiled linseed oil or similar.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
I restored a nice old vise. I just sandblasted it and started over.


+1 This....blast, clean, mask, prime,paint
 
I'd hit it with brake cleaner and a rag. If it still works at that age I think it's quite cool to have some patina, it all adds to the authenticity of the piece
 
Tried a few things:

Brake cleaner took the crud AND the paint off very quickly, so I scrapped that.

TSP was helpful for softening the crud, but after too long of a soak (10 min or more) it started to also go after and discolor the paint. It did, however, turn out to be a helpful final degreasing dip.

Plastic scraper worked in some cases but could not get into areas where the cast iron had a deep texture (which is most of it).

Turned out that straight acetone was the most effective. The crud was basically layers of paint overspray and dirt built up. Acetone and a nylon brush took the crud away gradually and I was able to wipe it off before it got too aggressive with the underlying paint.

I'm happy with the results. Still working on pictures
smile.gif


Note: had to change cr*p to crud. Looked pretty profane when I first posted!
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top