Chandler & Price Pilot – Cleaning Thoughts?

My C&P Pilot Press was just delivered, and I am over the moon! 

We are going to take it apart and clean it tomorrow.  Our idea is to blow it out with compressed air to get rid of most of the dust and dirt, and then to wipe it down with cotton cloth that we have sprayed with WD40.  Then we will put it back together and comprehensively oil it up.

For those of you that know – does this sound like a good approach?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Woo Hoo, my Press is Here!

🙂

So, I did some more research and learned that WD 40 is NOT what to use.  We did not take the press apart, but cleaned every surface carefully with compressed air and soft cotton, and then oiled her thoroughly with 30 weight oil.  The press looks great! 

My husband is not willing to share his garage with me so we are creating an interim space for the shop and are already developing designs for the future in our heads.  Amazing how exciting this is.  🙂

I agree with Kimberly. WD40 is good for friction points, but not as a cleaning agent.

I have restored several presses. Taking it apart is not a bad thing at all. You can clean the pieces with a good degreaser like simple green or greased lightning. Use a fine steel wool with some of that 30 weight oil to buff off any rusted spots. If you need new paint, degrease again and paint with a Rustoleum, like matte black.

When you clean really well, it is very important to re-oil the various joints before putting it back into use. For most spots the 30 weight oil will work great. Look for the lubrication holes, sometimes painted red, above a joint, and squirt the oil in. I like to use a dab lithium grease for the ink disc post and collar, since that spins a lot during the run, and the grease doesn’t break down as fast as oil.

Refer to http://letterpresscommons.com/techniques/ Letterpress Commons for manuals, oiling diagrams, and great tips.

Have fun!

Manual for a CP Pilot here: http://letterpresscommons.com/original-press-manuals/

I painted a very dirty, greasy 12×18 Oldstyle C&P years ago. I used mineral spirits followed by lacquer thinner.

Lemon juice + vinegar = natural, easy rust cleaner. It’s the best.

Then, of course, oil that baby up and put it to use. 

I don’t see the need to take the press apart unless is’t really nasty. 

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