Another Before-n-After / Pflueger Templar 450

[Rick H]

Here's another scrub job...
(keeps me off the streets)

[David M]

~~~~~~~ A bREELliant success! ~~~~~~~

David

[chowell]

That is on SWEET reel! Fine job cleaning it up. Di you use something like Flitz to clean it?

I just won a nickel silver Gulf free spool on ebay the other night and want to clean it up as my first experiment.

any pointers?

Cris

[Rick H]

chowell...I'm not the guy to ask, but THANKS for the compliment! There's guys here FAR better at that advise, than I. Not to be confused with Jan & Dean...John & Dean here on ORCA, make "Reel Music". Those guys are the Mozarts of cleaning. Also...under the Cleaning & Restoration (this) forum, there is a "sticky" at the top called "...here's a series of re-posts". It's chalk-full of cleaning tips, do's and don'ts and even some debate on processes. GO READ that stuff, it's great!

As for the one's I've cleaned...I used John's suggestion of 50% vinegar and 50% warm water, soaked over-night. I stripped this reel down, tossed everything in and let it ALL soak. Pulled it out, rinsed and tooth-brushed with "Dawn" dishwashing soap, then rinsed and dried. After that...every piece went across the buffing wheel using a "rouge" that Truckers use to polish chrome wheels (called SATTEX). Once buffed, the rouge residue gets wiped off with lighter fluid and then I hand polish with a soft dry cloth.

This is the result. I haven't had any problem with finding "pitting" from the "green" or "white" stuff after using this process. And there's been no damage to side-plates or knobs. Everything comes out pretty nice.

One Caution: If you use a high-speed buffing wheel like I do, wear safety glasses, have a "CLEAN" garage floor, a broom handy and sometimes and industrial magnet helps. That DAM wheel can grab a screw and ricochet it off of garage walls at light speed! The broom will help ya find it after it's journey! Oh..."Drop & Roll" comes to mind when that happens.

[john elder]

gorgeous job, Rick! ...it would have been great even without the wheel time, which many consider a bit of overkill. Regardless, it will mellow out pretty quickly and you certainly saved a classic reel. I'm anxious to see how that handle polishes up...should make a really nice display combo!