Re: Nothing works for me.
In 25 years of restoring these wonderful old engines my concept has changed from "creating the beautiful" to "preserving a character". Preservation of character is done slowly.You begin by documenting the engine.(if possible) When and where was it used? Original owner? What did it do? How did the seller aquire it? Statement # 1.Lose the original history of the engine when you had the OPPORTUNITY to preserve it translates into idiot. I clean engines in various ways but always gently.Soft brass bristle brushes used around detail parts wont scratch paint.Use plenty of kerosene when cleaning dried grease & oil.Steel brushes can be used carefully to clean larger areas while wooden scrapers can be made to rub off softened residue. Dont rule out hot water and washing detergent to make the initial cleaning.There is information on Harrys site alluding to these cleaning methods.Go slow,preserve what remains of original finish.
When its clean,THEN begin disassembly.Clean each piece as it comes off.Keep assemblys together.Think about what your doing.Observe the craftsmanship as elbow grease reveals past skills.Appreciate the file marks and specks of paint.Note the iron filler,let your mind go back. Do the mechanical repairs to duplicate the old look.NO cadmium nuts or washers.No bolts with modern markings.Perform all the aspects of a sound mechanical restoration while maintaining the integrety of age and history. Fire it up and listen to it!Beautiful,Isnt it? No? Well,it is to me. Now I am speaking in terms of an engine with oh say,20% or more original finish.At this point I would spray it down with something like John Deere multi-purpose lube or WD40 rubbing it in with a soft cloth.Do that once or twice a year and after a year or so,the cast with take on a lovely dark patina while the paint is preserved.No,The paint wont be glossy but protected.I also like the look some guys achieve using a clear coat but sometimes this can be too glossy.The suggestion in the previous post says lindseed and turpentine works well but is slow drying.Use BOILED lindseed and increase the turpentine ratio.This works nice too but is difficult to remove if required. From this point on enjoy and feel proud of your work for you have preserved the character of a piece totally dependent opon you for its character survival. Go ahead,Sandblast the boat anchors and paint the welded up engines or the engines made up from a dozen others just like it.These already have lost character patina.Anything will be an improvment. Statement # 2.An engine in good unmolested original condition cannot be made more valuable by ANYTHING we do to it excepting maintaining its character as I have lined out.IN other words the most expensive paint in the world can only decrease its value. Just an opinion guys.These engines stand on their own and always will as long as we protect them.OK! I'm ready for ya,eat me alive!
