Hi All
I’m cleaning up my 325G and noticed someone had painted the Bed, Bearers and Racks. Will that affect printing (packing, etc.) and is it necessary to strip it all down to bare metal? If so, can anyone advise on the best and/or least toxic way to go? Thanks for any help!
Steve
Thanks, it looks like it’s oil paint, it comes off fairly easy. Fortunately it was just on the bed, bearers and gear rack, they left the cylinder alone. I’ll probably leave the gear racks alone and concentrate on the bed and bearers. I do have a cupped wire brush that I will use. I’ll be getting a bed plate eventually but for now I’ll use a galley. I won’t be printing for a while anyway, I need to finish cleaning her up and get a replacement Trip Wedge Lever (broken during the move) and some packing material. Thanks for the helpful suggestions, it’s nice to know that I have resources if I run into trouble as I learn my new press.
Steve
Yes, those surfaces should be cleaned. Although the paint will wear off with use (at least on and bearers, and partly on the racks), the crud will be messy and pervasive and could contribute to wear. The bearers might be scraped with a razor blade, the bed may take more work, The gear rack is the one thing I might just let be, and carefully brush it as the paint degrades. Were cylinder gears also painted?
When I cleaned the rust off the bed and bedplate of my 325G, I just used a cupped wire brush in a power drill, and used the brush to spin a piece of synthetic steel wool (like a Scotchbrite pad), with a little kerosene. The problem here, and with any wire brush, is that bristles can come off and get all over. On my press I have dings where bristles were pressed between the bearers. Real steel wool will also leave a persisitant abrasive residue, which is why you want to use the synthetic alternative.
I don’t know what kind of paint was used, or how well it was prepped before painting (poorly prepped oil paint was used in places on my 325, and flakes come off every time I wipe it). Your paint may come off with minimal solvent, or you may have to use a paint stripper, available in various formulations: water base, solvent base, etc..
Another issue is bed height. All the 325s I have seen were galley height and needed a bedplate for a .918″ form. If you get a .050″ bedplate, it may be several thousandths high or low, and the thickness of paint might help make up the difference on a low bedplate, assuming a level coat. But if you only print from plates on a base, you could just underlay the base, without bedplate. But then you wil need a .968″ roller setting gauge.