Wash Day
Today was a warm and sunny day. The type I wait for to do my washing and it was time to wash both the C mechanisms. This is a straightforward process. Everything gets hauled into the driveway. I use a cleaner called Oil Eater that is the nuts! This stuff is biodegradable and somehow breaks oil down and is easy on the skin unlike several other things I have tried like Zep, floor stripper or Purple Power. One has to be really careful with some of these cleaners. Some contain an element that turns aluminum almost black. I don’t know what it is but I recognize the smell. Most all of them when you get it on your hands feels like it never washes off and will dry and crack your skin. I used this Oil Eater once to completely and easily clean out the oil pan on an engine rebuild and that is when it won me over. I tried it on the next mechanism wash and it is my go-to cleaner now.
I have a new hose and you wouldn’t think it is something to get excited about but it was. It is a flexible hose, no more kinks or struggles to unwind and wind back up. Years of putting up with wrestling a garden hose and now I have found garden hose peace. So….I cut the Oil Eater 50/50 with water. Spray whatever I’m washing down once to get it all covered, give it a few minutes to soak, and then start going back over it with a toothbrush scrubbing and spraying additional cleaner as needed. Then the part gets rinsed with water and put up to dry.
These two mechanisms are the painted B mech from the pretty C and the original mech from the donor C. I’ll be using practically all the parts from the donor C as all the yellow pieces cleaned up exceptionally well. I’m really pleased with the side covers, the back cover, and especially the record rack. One thing I’ve always liked is how nicely these aluminum Seeburg mechanisms clean up. They get downright shiny new looking. As long as a mech isn’t rusted it is salvageable. I’ve even taken these mechs down far enough that I could repaint the individual pieces. After sandblasting down to bare metal and repainting it looks new. Here’s a C mechanism I did for a fellow back in 2019. Attention to the smallest detail is the secret. This current one will look as good when I’m finished.
My Seeburg Life 