Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[David Dunlop]

The process of isolating the three sets of Flick Indicator Flags on the front of the 52-Set Sender has now been completed, along with the related masking of the entire chassis for the ensuing work.

I split a pair of printer paper sheets in half length wise and centred two 5/8-inch slots one and a half inches apart to slide over each set of flags. When the three sets were so covered, I simply added larger sheets of packing paper over the front and sides of the chassis with masking tape.

This way, as I remove the old paint from the faces of the flags, the paint bits will be accessible for clearing away with a small battery vacuum I bought years ago to clean computers and never used. Everything is then also ready for the application of the flat white, flat black and luminous paint back onto the six flags.

David

[David Dunlop]

Three of the six Flags have now been cleaned of old paint. These were the three in the worst shape. The second from the left looked pretty good at a distance, but when up close, the paint looked suspiciously lifted.

I used a pair of Exacto blades to remove the paint. one is a s thin chisel head, and the second a long slim pointed blade. The paint pretty much popped off all of them and you can see where the paint had indeed lifted on the second one from the left. Darker oxidation of the metal is readily visible.

This procedure has also confirmed the original steps at the factory for painting these Indicator Flags. The full flag face was first painted flat white. The bottom halves of each flag were then given a coat of flat black. The final step was to return to the upper white sections and give them a final top coat of luminous green paint.

David

[David Dunlop]

The flags have now all be cleaned and received their new coat of white paint. I have used KRYLON Satin White #42420, my 'Go To' for flat white paint.

I slipped a small square of Post It Note paper under each pair of flags before spraying them. This paint sets up to the touch in about 15 minutes and I did not want the flags sticking to the mask paper underneath them, as I still have the flat black and luminous paints to apply. The best solution, therefore, was to slip the temporary papers under the flags and pull them out when finished spraying. Any paint sticking to these papers would not adhere, so I end up with nice clear edges on the flags.

This paint take 7 days to cure to a chip proof state, so the flat black will be applied next weekend.

David

[David Dunlop]

With some available free time today, I managed to get the masking of the Flick Indicator Flags for the flat black coat of paint sorted out and the painting done.

The flags are 13/16 inches long, split in the middle with the flat black paint being applied to the bottom halves. I decided to go with cut down strips of Post It Note paper again to mask off the upper halves of the flags. Once in place, I augmented them with small pieces of painters tape to ensure the guide edge for the paint stayed put when hit with the spray paint spray.

I measured back 13/32 inch from the glue end of each Post It Note and penciled a line across the top of a 3-inch square note. Then cut each note in half to form a pair of masks for each set of flags. Using the pencil line to line up at the top of each flag, I pressed them home and them did the painting tape thing to keep them all down.

Again, KRYLON is my go to paint and I was using their Satin Black #48823. About 10 to 15 minutes after the spay work was done, I removed the Post It Note masking, leaving just the original paper set down before starting work on the flat white paint earlier. Again, it will take about a week for the flat black to cure hard and then I will be able to do the hand application of the luminous Natural Green paint over top of the flat white upper sections of the flags.

David

[Chris Suslowicz]

You're making a beautiful job of this restoration.

Chris.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz

You're making a beautiful job of this restoration.

Chris.

Agreed!! And a factory fresh example is going to put my yellow cigarette stained one to shame.

[David Dunlop]

Thank you for the kind compliments, Gentlemen.

This is certainly a much slower, planned process than anything I ever did with the 19-Sets years ago. Lack of comprehensive overhaul information being the major culprit.

Sometimes you can get lucky with tobacco smoke, Bruce. I have had wartime, original pieces from time to time that cleaned up beautifully with mild soapy water. The pail of water and cloth were brown when done but the paint immaculate. Then you get the bits where the organic mix of compounds in the top coat varnish had a mind of their own over the years and heat, UV rays, and chemical interactions between all the varnish components, yellows the coating completely through. That is what I am going to be up against here with the Sender front panel. Lots of careful polishing ahead sooner or later. In the meantime, I am finally getting a good handle on the factory parts that never were varnished and would stay gloss Navy Grey their entire lives. A slow process as well, but finally starting to make sense of it all.

Best regards to all!

David