2 Mar
2008
2 Mar
'08
7:54 a.m.
I really did not get too fancy; I did pull the platen out and wiped it down
with Naphtha (mild solvent) to get some of the ink off, and then a wash in
409 cleaner and hot water.
Otherwise I used the spray can and its tube to direct the spray on to the
parts that move.
I made sure to wash down the rod that the carriage slides on. It had a lot
of gunk on it and dried grease looking stuff. The spray softened it and I
could wipe if off with towels. Gently sliding the carriage back and forth
to clear the gunk under and inside its bushings, bit more spray and wipe.
Other things to look for are dried grease and gunk (dead skin, dust, hair,
donut sprinkles...) on the cable pulleys and the cable. I washed these with
spray and used a couple of disposable 1" foam paint brushes to swab off the
cable and other parts.
Give the gears a spray too. Also take the type ball off and spray and wipe
the top of the carriage as there are moving parts here that also had gunk
and dried lube looking stuff. There is a cable in here that rotates the
type ball, I wiped around in there and gave it a good spray.
I would suggest something like LPS-2, something that will dissolve the old
grease and gunk but also leave a lubricating film that wont flash off.
WD40 will dissolve the gunk but its lubrication will flash off in a week or
so. I found that the odor of the lube spray went away in a few days. I
like to use the Blue shop paper towels you can get at places that sell
paint. ( Lowes, HD).
And, I am tempted to take a small paint brush (artists) and dab a bit of
white grease on the gears and high movement areas but havent done that so
far.
Just use common sense. Do this where you have ventilation, unplug the
Selectric (!), make sure to wipe off any overspray or drips from the finish
with a 409 like cleaner after you are done.
I am wondering how many different colors the Selectrics came in. Mine is
tan. And also if there are any font balls still available.
Best of luck with your project.
bob.
On Sun, Mar 2, 2008 at 1:06 AM, John Floren <slawmaster at gmail.com> wrote:
On 3/1/08, Robert Ollerton <rollerton at
gmail.com> wrote:
When you did this, did you remove the platen? The upper shell? The
lower shell? It sounds like a quick fix that ought to be worth trying,
but I want to make sure I replicate your procedure as closely as
possible.
Thanks
John
--
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
I have a Selectic II that I use now and then.
Similar problem. I
packed a
few paper towels in there and sprayed a fair
amount of good (not WD40)
lubricant (LPS brand if I recall), let it soak for an hour and than
wiped
the insides out and removed the towels. It
works great.
This is not a restoration or preservation, but rather how I got a junk
selectric II that I got for free to work wonderfully. Got a new ribbon
at
office depot too. If there was one thing I
would like to do would be
to
have the platen turned down to level out all the
pocks from years of
use.