What's in the case?
It's an Optima!
Let's look under the hood ...
Uh-oh!
Help!!
Disassembly:
Even the logo gets removed:
Ready for an overnight Evapo-Rust bath:
Here's a surprise. I tried soaking these two body parts in nail polish remover (which did wonders on aluminum parts of my Hermes 3000). The paint got soggy, and I used a stiff brush to remove it efficiently ... revealing more paint! Under the thick coat of textured tan paint, I found this smooth khaki and grey paint which isn't fazed by the polish remover.
Tune in next time to see the effects of the Evapo-Rust. What color do you think I should paint this machine?
This is what you call treasure hunting. Can't wait how the restoration turns out!
ReplyDeleteHmmn, I actually kinda like the tan color you removed, set against the brown keys. Is that green some sort of primer?
ReplyDeleteTed, the tan color isn't too bad, I agree, but on this machine it was pretty grungy. A good opportunity for some hotrodding, I say. The greenish color may be primer, as you suggest -- or maybe, in some East German official act of aesthetic wisdom, it was decreed that existing ready parts should be overpainted with textured tan paint.
ReplyDeleteI need a week or two at Typewriter Camp where the rest of us learn all this great stuff. I'm unwilling to disassemble a mostly-functional machine for fear I won't be able to reassemble it.
ReplyDelete