Cleaning Painted Reels

jc04008 · Post by **jc04008** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 9:18 am

Hi all,

Any help with cleaning reels that are painted? I've been watching the dishwasher/sonic cleaner discussion below, but that's not in the cards at this point.

I'm curious as to your experience with not only painted, but paint-filled engraving. I've got some real dogs that I need to get cleaned up, but I can tell they'll be gems if I can keep from messing up the engraving etc.

Any thoughts or advice at all would be great. I've soaked in soapy water, but that's not quite doing the trick.

JC

Ron Mc · Post by **Ron Mc** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 9:36 am

the dilute vinegar (1:4) works on everything except painted brass.
I limit the soak to an hour (on paint) - and of course take it out when it's clean, even if that's 15 minutes. Use a light toothbrush. Follow by soap and water and rinse.
Copper is such a cathodic metal, it generates hydrogen gas which blows the paint off the surface.
But I've had no problem with painted aluminum reels

jc04008 · Post by **jc04008** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 9:38 am

Thanks Ron,

I'll give that a try.

JC

Dale Noll · Post by **Dale Noll** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 1:05 pm

Ron,
Do you use any heat with painted reels?
Thanks,
Dale.

el Lawrence · Post by **el Lawrence** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 1:11 pm

What Ron recomends sounds like a plan... and shouldn't damage paint OR annodized reels. If it comes to polish do not use anything that has much in the way of abrasives in the formula if any at all...

Caphlon makes a cleaning paste for use on anodized surfaces (though I don't recomend it for painted surface... be sure which you have), and I would use a product of the level of say Zymol or Novus (the fine formula) or that Renaissance wax I like on a painted surface if you feel a real need to clean and polish more than just the soap and water level. Or after the vinegar/soap/ and water cleaning if you want to shine and protect a good (lightly applied) car wax like the Zymol wouldn't be out of line. It may also help keep paint from fading or showing wear... even out worn or discolored areas a bit. Just don't rub your way through the paint... check your cloth to see if color is coming off. If there are any already existing chips or flakes be careful when you work around the edges, it is easy to lift and flake off more if you get up under the edge with your cloth. I would also maybe stay away from the pure mineral spirits as a cleaning soak as you don't know what will act as a solvent for your paint.

A good rule of thumb would be to treat annodized reels as carefully as painted surface (and visa versa)... both can be scratched through very easily.

Ron Mc · Post by **Ron Mc** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 1:17 pm

Dale Noll wrote:Ron,
Do you use any heat with painted reels?
Thanks,
Dale.

Hi Dale, yes
the solution always works better warm - warmer than you're fingetips. Not painful to put your fingers in (less than 120oF).

jc04008 · Post by **jc04008** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 10:09 pm

first of all, thanks for the vinegar trick. it works WONDERS! of course now i've got a backlist of reels that i "thought" were clean.

Brian, or whomever, can this discussion go down in the new cleaning/restoration forum?

Thanks

JC

Ron Mc · Post by **Ron Mc** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 10:30 pm

on unpainted brass, you can use the dilute vinegar soak up to 3 hours. It will even help remove rust from steel spindles.

You're welcome, but I can't take credit for it - I learned about trading e-mails with fishbugman (Rich) a few years ago.