[GreenKeys] spray for cleaning?

[David Ross]

Tom & the gang -

Tom Jennings wrote:
> 
> (There is also a *nasty* detergent, Castrol SUPER CLEAN...
> ...It will eat your skin, paint, and
> (I can attest) 37 year old caked on crud from the firewall of my
> Rambler. I hosed it off.  Wear gloves! The mist is bad for you too.
> 


  Tom mentions using Castrol "Super Clean" degreaser...  Yeah I tried
that stuff, and it works too well -  took off the black paint on the
etched aluminum ID tags on a Model 28 printer here.  It left everything
else just immaculately clean though...
  Even after that bad experience, I do prefer engine degreaser for
teletype cleanup -  this technique works for me:


 -  set up in the driveway, with the mechanism up on some
    sort of support (keep it off the dirt/gravel and up where
    it can be tilted various ways so it'll drain better.

 -  spray the mechanism with engine degreaser
    (I use 'Gunk' brand -  'Super Clean' is way too aggressive).

 -  let sit for maybe ten minutes.

 -  hose off the degreaser with cold water from the garden hose
    (don't use too much pressure or you may damage the felts).

 -  repeat the above three steps if necessary.

 -  let the mechanism air dry in a warm place
    (outside in the sun, near the woodstove, whatever works
    in your climate.  again, you may damage the felts if you
    blow off excess water with compressed air...).

 -  pay special attention to drying out hidden spots, like the
    hollow mainshaft in Model 15 printers and the keyboard
    contacts in Model 28s.

 -  thoroughly oil the mechanism with 100% synthetic motor oil.
    I use a 2 foot diameter stainless steel salad bowl and a turkey
    baster -  just set the mechanism in the bowl and pour about a
    pint of oil over it, then suck the oil out of the bottom of the
    bowl with the turkey baster and squirt the oil over the mechanism
    'til it's completely soaked.

 -  let it drip-dry overnight, then pay special attention to removing
    excess oil from critical spots like selector magnet armatures and
    keyboard contacts.


  I like 100% synthetic oil.  Around here it can be found in 5W-20,
10W-30, and 20W-50 viscosities -  I keep all three weights around the
shop here.  I use 20W-50 for most teletype applications, but have found
that Model 15 selector mechanisms like a real light oil -  that's where
the 5W-20 comes in handy.

  Synthetic lubricants are 'synthesized' from natural gas -  they are
essentially polymerized natural gas.  The short molecules of natural gas
(methane, ethane, propane, etc.) are chemically stacked together and
joined end-to-end to form longer molecules like oils & greases & waxes.

  Re synthetic greases -  see:
http://www.mcmaster.com/
  and click on GREASE -  you'll find three pages of various types of
greases, most of their synthetics are on the Grease(3) page.
  McMaster-Carr is pretty friendly for small orders.  I like their
"Mobilith SHC 100" grease for metal-metal items, and they offer a
"Synthetic Grease with PTFE" which works real well on porous items like
phenolic gears and suchlike.

  Got burned once using Marvel Mystery Oil -  it went rancid after about
a year and I had to completely disassemble my Gold Cup in order to get
it to function again.  I learned the hard way that certain oils are
formulated for certain purposes -  Marvel Mystery Oil is intended as a
top cylinder lubricant for engines.  It's intended life cycle is like
this:
 -  unseal the Marvel Mystery Oil container
 -  mix it's entire contents into a tankful of gasoline
 -  burn aforesaid mixture in your car's engine
  It is not intended as a long-term lubricant.  I've never had real good
luck with 3-in-1 oil or Singer Sewing Machine oil either -  they also
seem to go rancid pretty quick.


good luck
Dave Ross    N7EPI    ross@hypertools.com