C15: Truck, 15-cwt, 4x2, AA, Mk II

[Keith Orpin]

Nice one Hanno, I don't recognise the location ?
Anyhow, the Chevy now has the correct trailer to accompany her. It's a 10 cwt GS trailer which needs finishing, see picture. Manufactured by SS Cars Ltd, needs wiring, and timber to finish. I have a list of the contents of the trailer when being used behind the Chevy, so I'm also working on that as well.
Best regards
Keith

[Keith Orpin]

Quick update,
Just managed to purchase a pair of cushions for the rear ammo lockers on the Chevy, see attached picture. It still amazes me what is still out there to be discovered and reunited after all these years. The cushions were pictured in the latest edition of MVT mag Windscreen and came from a non military enthusiast who wanted to know what they came from. After a few e.mails to various senior members of the MVT, I made contact with the owner, and secured them.. So, another piece of the jigsaw completed
Regards
Keith

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Keith,

That’s an amazing find!

[Keith Orpin]

Hi Hanno,
The best bit is they are stencilled with "Cushion 20mm Universal Mounting", Date of manufacture is 1944.
Sadly the covers are marked with some rust which I need to carefully remove, any ideas ?
Regards
Keith

[Keith Orpin]

The 10 cwt trailer is finally coming together, see attached picture of the tailgate and sides. Next task is to finish off the mudguards, and then onto painting.
Regards
Keith

[David Dunlop]

Hello Keith.

Best bet for cleaning the cushions would be to get in touch with any shop in your area that sells pure wool area rugs, like British India or Persian, and ask them what cleaners they have available and recommend. The longer the company has been in business, the better the help you will get..

Modern carpet cleaners for synthetic fibre carpets are far too aggressive for natural fibres like wool, cotton and linen. It is typically a long process of soak and blotting up with paper towel, so stockpiling a lot of the paper towel is a good idea. Air drying between sessions is also helps you see your progress as wet stains always look worse than when they have dried. Any hot air blowers will set the stains. You may not get 100% out, but should be able to carefully, dramatically, reduce the visible amount of stain.

Cheers,

David

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Keith Orpin

Hi Hanno,
The best bit is they are stencilled with "Cushion 20mm Universal Mounting", Date of manufacture is 1944.
Sadly the covers are marked with some rust which I need to carefully remove, any ideas ?
Regards
Keith

Citric acid. The "old wives remedy" for "iron mould" (i.e. rust stains) was to apply lemon juice to the marks, leave it for a while (converts insoluble ferrous oxide to soluble ferrous citrate without affecting fabrics) and then wash. Repeated applications may be necessary to get all the stains out.

Do NOT use stronger (mineral) acids as they will damage the fabric and can also change the colours of stencilled lettering from black to red by attacking the dyestuffs used.

There are probably commercial stain removal products available, but use with caution.

Best regards,
Chris.

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Keith Orpin

The best bit is they are stencilled with "Cushion 20mm Universal Mounting", Date of manufacture is 1944.
Sadly the covers are marked with some rust which I need to carefully remove, any ideas ?
Regards
Keith

Some other thoughts to consider in THIS THREAD

[Keith Orpin]

Guys,
Many thanks for the tips on cleaning the rust marks off the old canvas. Looks like , Slowly , slowly does it with very mild washing. A very good friend of mine, has been involved with supplying and fitting carpets ( and cleaning carpets for many years), I'll have a word with him, and let you know how I get on.
Thanks again
Keith

[Keith Orpin]

In between carefully cleaning the cushions , I'm now onto marking the 10 cwt GS trailer with it's census number (s).
Question is, was the census number applied to both sides near the front, OR only on the tailgate ?, as I have seen both census numbers on the side and not the tailgate, or, on the tailgate and not on the sides. HELP !!!
As always, thanks in advance.
Keith