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  #331  
Old 12-07-20, 20:37
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default Flick Indicator Flags

With 24 hours of drying time now on the flat black paint, I was able to easily slide off the initial paper guards from all three sets of flags. They can now finish setting up their curing for the week.

I have to give the application of the luminous Natural Green paint some thought now. This needs to be done by hand with small artists brushes. The paint has to be shaken well before and while using. I am not sure how thick it is to apply, nor how long it takes to dry between coats.

The tricky bit to master is getting each coast evenly and smoothly applied. My thought process is that thicker brush lines might just glow more brightly than thinner sections due to more phosphors being present. That might result in visible brush lines in the paint when it is in 'luminous mode'.

I am going to practise a bit with small squares to get a feel of just how best to work with this paint. I may even resort to doing the painting under black lamp conditions in order to more readily detect brush strokes as I proceed.

I will keep you posted.

David
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Flick Indicator Flags 9.JPG  
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  #332  
Old 19-07-20, 19:42
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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The last couple of days have been spent experimenting with a couple of Natural Green luminous paints, to see how easy they are to work with in a hand painting situation.

The two paints I have found locally are both acrylic and made by the same company, DECOART, in the USA. I found them in the local Michal’s craft store. It was an interesting and informative exercise.

First, the basics for each paint. In the two accompanying photographs, the DS102 paint is on the left and the DS50 on the right. The daylight and luminous colours of these two paints are identical and match the natural green luminous paint found on original wartime 19-Sets and the green on the panels of the 52-Set equipment. DS102 is the thicker of the two paints by far. It comes with a pen head cap intended to extrude a thin bead of paint, to give a dimensional effect on whatever project one might be working on. But it can be applied by brush readily. The DS50 is a true paint. It must be well shaken before using and if whatever you are doing takes more than 15 to 20 minutes to apply paint to, you need to recap and re-shake, before continuing.

One thing that is absolutely essential when working with either paint is that you need to work with this paint under a UV, or Black Light, in the dark. It is the only way to see how well, or poorly, the phosphors are being distributed on the surface you are working on.

The other interesting thing for both paints. I started with the crisp white satin, white paint as the base for both paints. The very first coat of either luminous paint changes the crisp white to a soft cream colour. This phenomenon was exactly what I had seen with the tone of the surviving white paint on the Flick Indicator Flags on 19-Set and my 52-Set. There may very well be some normal discolouration of the wartime flat white paint over the years, but the bulk of the colour change would appear to be the addition of the luminous paint.

I started with the DS50 paint first. It is a challenge! As soon as you apply any pressure to the brush, or move it across the surface you are painting, the phosphors squeeze out of the way. You end up with the main surface area with next to no phosphors and a thin line of them around the perimeter. To a point, this was good news.

When I first removed the front panel from the Sender and saw the six Flick Indicator Flags, I got out my UV Light to see if there was any glow left on the flags. The only thing visible was a thin green line around the two side edges, and a slightly thicker one at the top. My experience with this paint now tells me that during the 202 Workshop rebuild in the 1960’s these flags were indeed repainted and whoever did it started at the lower; black edge – which was probably masked off – and moved the brush up to the top of the flags were the metal folds back along the top.

It took four coats of this paint to get enough infill in the centre of the test square for a green glow to be noticeable, but brush lines were very much in evidence. Three more coats finally started to tone down the brush strokes and make the luminous green paint ‘pop’. That information told me the workshop repaint was very likely one or two coats at most, and very likely done in normal workshop lighting.

The DS102 paint was very much a paste and applied rather easily. There was no spreading of the phosphors away from the brush and in the attached photos; only three coats were needed to reach the same level of coverage as the thinner DS50.

I had initially hoped the nice crisp satin white paint was what the finished result would be, but now having worked with this paint and seeing how it matches wartime original looks, I am quite pleased.

David
Attached Thumbnails
Luminous Paint A.JPG   Luminous Paint B.JPG  
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  #333  
Old 29-07-20, 04:46
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Well finally, the 6 Flick Indicator Flags on the Sender can glow in the dark again. I am pretty certain this might just be the first time since 1966, when the set went in for an overhaul.

As per the first photo, I went with Post It Notes again to mask off the lower black paint portions of the flags. As soon as I had finished applying the paint and rinsed off the brush, I removed the masks. This particular paint is quite thick and does not easily spread. It does like to bond with paper and fabric, however, so the sooner you remove it the better.

The second photo is charging up the paint with my black lamp after it had cured and the last photo is what it looks like in the dark now.

Quite pleased with the way it turned out.

David
Attached Thumbnails
Flick Indicator Flags 10.JPG   Flick Indicator Flags 11.JPG   Flick Indicator Flags 12.JPG  
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  #334  
Old 30-07-20, 21:36
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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I am finally at the point in the Sender part of the project where my thinking can actually wind down for a while, but the physical activity with my hands climbs dramatically. The start of polishing down the Sender Front Panel begins.

The DOORS assembly from the upper left corner of the panel will be the starting point. A few reasons for that. First and foremost, it is a nice sized piece to work with and the original paint is solid on it. The plan is to slowly polish it back by hand until the patina on the Gloss Navy Grey hopefully falls within the range of colour tones I already have on the two restored receiver panels. That should also get it very close to matching the remains of the paint on the front panel of the Supply Unit that was refurbished back in 1966. So I am not going for a factory fresh, crisp paint. Rather, I want the look of a set that has been in service for a few years, well looked after and aging gently. That gives me the added benefit of preserving some of the look the set acquired during its 20 odd years of service life.

I have to do this polishing work upstairs in the dining room to take full advantage of the bright natural sunlight in that room. Far too many shadows to deal with trying this in a dark, artificially lit basement shop. With such a small piece, however, it will be easy to take it to compare against the two receivers to get as close to the colour tone match I am hoping to attain.

Once I have the colour tone I want on the DOORS, I can then take it up to the local RONA to have it colour matched to a litre of full gloss enamel. Since the lower inch of paint on the Supply Unit is either missing completely, or lifting very badly, and the rebuild decal work was done so badly and with the wrong coloured luminous paint, I am going to have to completely strip the paint from the Supply Unit when I get to it. Hence the need for a litre of gloss enamel that will blend with the rest of the set when all is said and done.

Also, with luck, I hope to preserve and stabilize about 95% of the original paint on the Sender front panel. It will be useful to have a touch up paint already matched for that work. The DOORS will also be used to match the polishing process of the rest of the Sender front panel.

You may notice the two Shakeproof Fasteners are still on the DOORS assembly. I cannot remove them at the moment because I have not yet been able to source a supply of the pins that fit through the shanks of the fasteners that lock them into their retainers on the Sender chassis. These are single use pins, not designed for reinstallation when pressed out of the fastener shanks. Shakeproof is still alive and well and I have contacted them about a week ago asking about the pins and possible current source. Hopefully, the inquiry will fall into the right hands and I will eventually get an answer. I am in the same position with the larger Airloc fasteners on the 52-Set, but parts for these still show up on vintage aircraft websites from time to time.

So let the games begin. I hope my fingers and knuckles are up to the challenge!

David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 Sender Doors 1.JPG  
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  #335  
Old 31-07-20, 22:46
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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After an hours worth of finger polishing work on the DOORS assembly this afternoon, I have been able to cut through the discoloured varnish on the top upper left quadrant of the DOORS and produce an even colour of grey from underneath the discolouration.

Even more exciting, when compared to the paint patina I currently have on both receivers, it is about as perfect a match as one could hope for, and will also work very nicely for repainting the Supply Unit panel when the time comes. I must admit, this varnish coat is much thicker than any I have ever encountered on a 19-Set panel and I am certain my knuckles are going to show me their displeasure tomorrow.

The other interesting find was on the upper left Shakeproof fastener, which got a bit of a clean up as well. The “18” stamped on the shoulder of the fastener, either side of the wing head, shows up clearly now. This is the size number for the fastener, but I have yet to discover how this sizing system works, or on what it is based. I cannot read the number on the lower fastener. It is just too dirty at the moment. I can tell, however, that it appears to be a smaller size than the upper one. It has a slightly smaller shoulder and a thinner wing head.

Once I have the Doors completely polished, I will take a photo of it against one of the receiver panels.

David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 Sender Doors 2.jpg   WS No. 52 Sender Doors 3.JPG  
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  #336  
Old 03-08-20, 18:41
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default DOORS, Metal, Hinged ZA/CAN 4294

The upper half of the DOORS Assembly has now had the discoloured varnish polished back down, and so far, no complaints from my fingers.

I will complete the main door panel in two more sections before tackling the hinge plate.

David
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WS No. 52 Sender Doors 4.JPG  
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  #337  
Old 05-08-20, 18:11
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default DOORS, Metal, Hinged ZA/CAN 4294

Now at the 3/4-Point for cleaning the main door panel for the Sender.

David
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WS No. 52 Sender Deers 5.JPG  
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  #338  
Old 05-08-20, 20:07
Bruce Parker (RIP) Bruce Parker (RIP) is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Dunlop View Post
Now at the 3/4-Point for cleaning the main door panel for the Sender.

David
What are you planning to do when you get to the decals?
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  #339  
Old 06-08-20, 21:27
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default DOORS, Metal, Hinged ZA/CAN 4294

The main Doors panel has now been polished free of the discoloured varnish. Next step will be the hinge assembly.

I did find that the accumulated, dried polish brushed out of the hinge sections easily with a soft tooth brush and a quick low pressure shot from the air compressor.

The other interesting find was made when the crud was removed from the lower Cowl fastener. The Parts Lists only refer to these items being sourced from Airloc, the majority (larger) fasteners used on the entire 52-Set, and Shakeproof, where their smaller versions were used on the Receiver Vibrator Supply section of the Supply Unit and the Doors assembly for the Sender. The lower fastener on this door, however, was made by Dot and has the number "230" stamped on one side of the shoulder of the wing head. The other side is stamped "DOT'.

I was not aware the Dot Company ever made cowl fasteners but I am going to have to look into that now as another possible source for the Shank Pins I need.

David
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WS No. 52 Sender Doors 6.JPG  
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  #340  
Old 06-08-20, 21:44
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Hi Bruce.

I think my first step will be to tread very carefully and sweat a lot!

The decals are factory original, first series ones that I am hoping to preserve, so I will be polishing very carefully around them all. Before I can start any of that work, however, I have to find all the parts of the original paint that are showing signs of having lifted free of the panel metal due to oxidation of the surface plating. Most of those I should be able to stabilize by carefully wicking 'Crazy Glue' under the paint via capillary action. A few bits of paint have actually cracked and curled up, away from the panel along the crack line. Those are going to be a bit more challenging. My thought is to carefully heat them with a heat gun to soften the paint and then press it back flush with the panel surface again and let it cool. that should bring it back flat enough to wick the glue under it and not simply have the brittle lifted paint break free.

Still a bit of thinking to do about those steps, but that is the general, arm waving plan at the moment.

There are a few decals where the black paint has been chipped away. Hard to spot them all unless you look under black light. I found some similar issues with the two receivers and tracked down a semi-gloss black paint that is a very good match to the black used on the decals. I will use that under black light again to touch up the chips on the decals.

There is one decal that now has a large blob of black crud covering one of the letters almost completely. Sadly, I dare not risk doing anything about it. The clear backing on those decals was very thin to start with and is now 75 years old. They simply cannot handle any kind of pressure applied to them that cleaning would require.

David
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  #341  
Old 08-08-20, 21:26
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default DOORS, Metal, Hinged ZA/CAN 4294

Well the Doors assembly is now ready to go in for a colour match.

The most challenging bit of physical restoration of the entire 52-Set Project has yet to be started. The second photo today shows just exactly what I have ahead of me. Still some thinking to do about the approach/process needed and I am sure whatever I come up with will get modified on the fly, as soon as I begin.

David

While I think of it: the PA LOADING decal between the two dial reinforcing plates is the one with the big blob of crud covering most of the letter ’G’ at the end of the decal.
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 Sender Doors 7.JPG   WS No. 52 Sender Doors 8.JPG  

Last edited by David Dunlop; 08-08-20 at 23:59.
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  #342  
Old 08-08-20, 22:53
Bruce Parker (RIP) Bruce Parker (RIP) is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Dunlop View Post
Well the Doors assembly is now ready to go in for a colour match.

The most challenging bit of physical restoration of the entire 52-Set Project has yet to be started. The second photo today shows just exactly what I have ahead of me. Still some thinking to do about the approach/process needed and I am sure whatever I come up with will get modified on the fly, as soon as I begin.

David
I dunno Dave...faced with that yellowing it might be easier to just get a new face panel from stores...
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  #343  
Old 08-08-20, 23:53
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Hhmm. Maybe I should ask Rob Love to run those numbers through the system before I start. Wouldn’t THAT be a Hoot if they were still on the books!

David
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  #344  
Old 16-08-20, 23:50
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default INSULATORS, Ceramic, Strain No. C1 ZA/CAN 4665

Turned out a good friend of mine in town had a set of these he had picked up from a local surplus shop years ago, so after a quick phone call from him I went over this morning and picked them up.

Looks like two different makers might have been sourced for these insulators during the war. The front two are identical white glazed ceramic, while the back one is a light cream colour. The back one also has a very subtle rectangular 'flat' along one side. it would likely be more visible in the ceramic finish alone, as the glaze applied over it tends to round out the f'lat' quite a bit.

The odd thing about the aerial supplied with the 52-Set Remote Receiver kit is that although the wire and insulators were provided, no cording of any kind as included that the operators could use to tie the insulators to anything.

David
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INSULATORS, Ceramic, Strain  ZA:CAN 4665 A.JPG  
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  #345  
Old 17-08-20, 18:04
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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For a number of weeks now, I have been hesitant about starting the clean up of the Sender front panel. This centres primarily on the lifted paint. It basically consists of two forms of lifting: some has lifted and stayed flat, other bits have lifted with a curl. The attached photos illustrate some of the latter.

Flat lifted paint is relatively easy to deal with as it is generally fairly tolerant of pressure being carefully applied to it, as will happen with cleaning and polishing, and it can be reattached to the metal panel plate with a little Crazy Glue being wicked under an edge. Some bits you can clean first, others may need to be reattached first, but the process is fairly straightforward, though slow.

By comparison, lifted paint that has curled is a nightmare. It can be snagged by almost anything and get torn loose with no guarantee at all about how large a piece will break free. With no support under the lift, any downward pressure will snap it free with the same unknown result. You can get glue under it easily enough to support it for cleaning and polishing, but you must be prepared for the fact these imperfections will then be permanently visible on the panel.

I had initially thought of using a heat gun to soften the paint gently in order for it to relax enough to be pressed back in place and be allowed to cool flat enough for the Crazy Glue treatment. I am still confident the concept would work on a panel that was a simple, painted surface. The big negative on this Sender panel, however, is the large number of original decals still present and in close proximity to most of the curled paint bits.

I have absolutely no clue what type, or thickness, of clear substrate was used for these 75-year-old decals. Same goes for the glue used on them and the whole process of bonding decal paints, luminous paint pads and paints. The odds are extremely high they all have different expansion and contraction characteristics under a high heat load and with that many unknowns at hand, I am going to forgo the use of the heat gun.

After studying the paint for some time now, it is evident one can rank the condition of it from ‘best’ at the top of the panel to ‘worst’ at the bottom. That does not eliminate surprises from the project in the least, but logic tells me to start at the top and carefully work my way across and down, adjusting techniques and processes as I go. My fingers seem to have survived cleaning the Sender Door assembly just fine. I will just have to continue to proceed in baby steps and the first ones will start today.

David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 Sender Panel 1.JPG   WS No. 52 Sender Panel 2.JPG  
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  #346  
Old 17-08-20, 18:43
Bruce Parker (RIP) Bruce Parker (RIP) is offline
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Dave, another possibility you may consider (and I've used) is to give up on the curled damage. Your chances for a good cosmetic result is limited anyway. So remove it to the most solid, flat areas, then build up the undersurface with paint/varnish feathered to the original paint, then carefully match and dab on grey (a final semi-gloss varnish overall will hide a lot of sins). To repair the decals you may have no other choice than a 3 zero paintbrush and a steady hand.


Quote:
Originally Posted by David Dunlop View Post
For a number of weeks now, I have been hesitant about starting the clean up of the Sender front panel. This centres primarily on the lifted paint. It basically consists of two forms of lifting: some has lifted and stayed flat, other bits have lifted with a curl. The attached photos illustrate some of the latter.

Flat lifted paint is relatively easy to deal with as it is generally fairly tolerant of pressure being carefully applied to it, as will happen with cleaning and polishing, and it can be reattached to the metal panel plate with a little Crazy Glue being wicked under an edge. Some bits you can clean first, others may need to be reattached first, but the process is fairly straightforward, though slow.

By comparison, lifted paint that has curled is a nightmare. It can be snagged by almost anything and get torn loose with no guarantee at all about how large a piece will break free. With no support under the lift, any downward pressure will snap it free with the same unknown result. You can get glue under it easily enough to support it for cleaning and polishing, but you must be prepared for the fact these imperfections will then be permanently visible on the panel.

I had initially thought of using a heat gun to soften the paint gently in order for it to relax enough to be pressed back in place and be allowed to cool flat enough for the Crazy Glue treatment. I am still confident the concept would work on a panel that was a simple, painted surface. The big negative on this Sender panel, however, is the large number of original decals still present and in close proximity to most of the curled paint bits.

I have absolutely no clue what type, or thickness, of clear substrate was used for these 75-year-old decals. Same goes for the glue used on them and the whole process of bonding decal paints, luminous paint pads and paints. The odds are extremely high they all have different expansion and contraction characteristics under a high heat load and with that many unknowns at hand, I am going to forgo the use of the heat gun.

After studying the paint for some time now, it is evident one can rank the condition of it from ‘best’ at the top of the panel to ‘worst’ at the bottom. That does not eliminate surprises from the project in the least, but logic tells me to start at the top and carefully work my way across and down, adjusting techniques and processes as I go. My fingers seem to have survived cleaning the Sender Door assembly just fine. I will just have to continue to proceed in baby steps and the first ones will start today.

David
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  #347  
Old 17-08-20, 20:20
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Hi Bruce.

That option is actually quite high on my Think About List at the moment. I have never had a problem building a paint chip back up; my downfall has always been the feathering thing. I always admire watching someone with that gift apply it! Fortunately, or otherwise, I still have lots of time to think about that option. The worst damage to the paint will be the last I get to.

The cleaning of the Sender front panel officially started just over two hours ago, only five minutes of which was used to take the two attached photos.

One small section was cleaned, top left corner above the door cutout. On the good side, not one small chip of paint was lost. On the bad side…that was a lot of work! Here’s why.

Take a close look at the second photo, at the junction of the now re-exposed original Gloss Navy Grey paint and the varnish topcoat. At the leading edge of the varnish, notice the thin band of lighter varnish? That is the original wartime varnish topcoat. It is a thin and consistently even application of varnish. The darker stuff is the varnish coat that was applied in the 1960’s and it is one horribly, sloppy job! If you take this panel out into the sunlight and move it around, you can actually see various shapes and sizes of spray gun patterns where the varnish was applied. Some are thicker than others. Some are almost at the point of going ‘orange peel’, and all of them were applied over everything on the panel! Dirt…dust… missing paint…everything! If you look again at the second photo, you will see a light coloured line in the varnish wandering roughly left to right from the midpoint of the transition line between the Gloss Navy Grey and the varnish. THAT, is a run in the 1960’s coat of varnish. There was not proper spray paint technique used at all. It was a simple ‘aim and spray’ at various points over the panel.

What makes this varnish work even sadder is that only two new decals were applied to this panel in the 1960’s overhaul: the two white “LUMINOUS COMPOUND RADIO ACTIVE” decals seen between the red and blue Flick Indicator Decals. And these decals are incorrect. None of the paint is radio-luminous. It is all phosphor-luminous.

A good three quarters of the time spent on that small section was simply cutting through the top layer of varnish. Once it is out of the way, the wartime layer polished back very quickly.

The nice thing about the polish I am using it that it leaves a thin coat on any bare metal surfaces, which helps keep rust at bay until the entire panel is done and touch up painting can begin. A cloth with warm, soapy water takes the polish of easily and then all those bits of metal can get a coat of primer, ready for the paint build-up process to begin.

David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 Sender Panel 3.JPG   WS No. 52 Sender Panel 4.JPG  

Last edited by David Dunlop; 20-08-20 at 22:01.
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  #348  
Old 18-08-20, 19:31
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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I had a box of Danish for breakfast this morning, so was feeling a bit energetic today. The left and upper surround of the Blower Door opening is now cleaned.

Interesting to find some touchup work done to the paint early in this Senders career, and another bit of good news showed up as well.

Whatever shop this 52-Set was sitting in prior to my purchasing it, a lot of soldering was being done. There was a lot of small splatter spots on the panel and so far, as I have reached them with cleaning, they have all popped off and there is no apparent heat damage to the underlaying paint.

David
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WS No. 52 Sender Panel 5.JPG  
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  #349  
Old 19-08-20, 20:12
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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It was a sticky bun that got me through this mornings polishing session, and my right index finger is now finally starting to hurt a bit. The left one has now been drafted.

The top most strip of the panel is now cleaned. Tomorrow, I think I am going to attempt some cleaning beside one of the decals on the panel. I was initially thinking about doing this work free hand, but I am now considering some kind of guard to use to prevent polishing over any of the decals. From what I have seen of them, most appear to have about 1/32-inch of backing still showing, beyond the outer borders of the decals themselves. Hopefully, more on that tomorrow.

David
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WS No. 52 Sender Panel 6.JPG  
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  #350  
Old 20-08-20, 00:12
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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I just did a quick arm waving general calculation.

At the end of todays work, and including the door assembly, 23.9% of the Sender front panel has now been cleaned.

David
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  #351  
Old 20-08-20, 20:22
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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While thinking about and planning for using a heat gun to flatten the raised paint on the Sender front panel, I had been looking for a suitable tool to press and hold the softened paint flat while it cooled. Using my fingers was out of the question. I eventually remembered the old pink, natural rubber, pencil erasers we used to use in school, the ones with the bevelled ends. They would make the perfect tool for that work. Took a while to find them and I was pleased to discover they are still called ‘Pink Pearl’ and come in several sizes. I ended up buying two sizes.

Fast forward to the cleaning of the Sender front panel without using a heat gun. All of decals on the panel are original and in very good shape, so need to be saved. How do you get close to them with a big fat finger, wrapped in a cloth covered in polish without going over the decals accidentally and doing some serious damage to them? The erasers suddenly came back to mind. They are soft and have lots of straight, crisp edges on them. It was worth giving them a try.

The test decal became the FREQUENCY MC one on the left side, directly under the door opening. I lined the side of the eraser up along the left edge of the decal and used a C-clamp to hold it in place. I had to play with the tension of the clamp a bit to find the point where the pressure applied starts to mushroom the eraser and then slowly back off until the edge of the eraser along the decal straightened out. The lower edge of the FREQUENCY MC decal is longer than the eraser, but it was an easy task to clean along half the decal and then move the eraser forward to clean the remaining section. I am quite pleased with the results.

I will not be able to reach all of the rectangular decals with the limited range of the C-clamp, but enough to help. The curved decals are another matter.

David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 Sender Panel 7.JPG   WS No. 52 Sender Panel 8.JPG   WS No. 52 Sender Panel 9.JPG   WS No. 52 Sender Panel 10.JPG  
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  #352  
Old 21-08-20, 18:34
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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I decided to continue working in the upper right quadrant of the Sender front panel this morning to bring the cleaning down to the top of the BAND decal. I was curious how working free hand around the curve of the BAND decal and the upper portion of the CANADA decal was going to work. Also, that is still the thickest 1960's varnish coast in that area and the sooner I get rid of it the better.

The free hand work around the curved decals went quite well. I can easily feel the decal edges when polishing with a bare finger, as well as with a single layer of cotton T-shirt material over a finger. This makes it quite easy to know when to back off the pressure. I can also detail in close with just a fingernail under the cloth and follow the edge to buff out the last bits of yellowed varnish.

Tomorrow I will probably go back to the area under the door opening and see how easy it is to polish off that incorrect white decal.

David
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WS No. 52 Sender Panel 11.JPG  
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  #353  
Old 22-08-20, 19:01
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default REELS, Cable, No. 2 Mk II WB 0815

So far this morning, it has been far too dull and overcast to provide the sunlight needed for further polishing of the Sender front panel. There is a bright side to this, however.

When we returned from some errands yesterday afternoon, a REELS, Cable, No. 2 Mk II, I had found, was waiting in the mail. One of the two possible versions shipped with the Wireless Set No. 52 Kits, by Canadian Marconi.

According to the manuals, these REELS are normally shipped empty, with a separate, larger wooden spool of wire also included. Wire is drawn from the wooden spool and wound onto the REELS as needed.

This particular REELS came with wire already fitted, and from what I can see, it would appear to have been professionally wound onto this reel. The starting end of the wire passed through the small hole and is fitted with the two connector terminals shown. These both have claw crimps and have been soldered in place as well. About six inches aft of the terminal connectors, a rubber guard has been fitted over the cable to prevent the twist from unwinding. The terminals and rubber guard have been removed from the free end of the cable. I trimmed those ends back about ¼-inch to confirm the specs for the cable. The wooden block has been fitted to the inner part of the REELS to prevent the cable from relaxing off the hub. Originally, I think the free end would have been passed through the elongated hole in the side plate and tied off with light cotton twine to secure it.

What I would like to find out is the correct identification of this cable, what it was used for and if it is wartime or postwar in nature.

The core of the cable is 16 ga stranded copper wire. It has a rubber sheath and a woven cotton loom, either khaki tan or light army green in colour and possibly a clear coat of some sort added as well. As noted earlier, the cable has been assembled as a twisted pair.

My current thought on use is either phone line or wireless remote control line.

David
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REELS, Cable, No, 2 Mk II B.JPG   REELS, Cable, No. 2 Mk II C.JPG  
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  #354  
Old 23-08-20, 00:54
Chris Suslowicz Chris Suslowicz is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Dunlop View Post
So far this morning, it has been far too dull and overcast to provide the sunlight needed for further polishing of the Sender front panel. There is a bright side to this, however.

When we returned from some errands yesterday afternoon, a REELS, Cable, No. 2 Mk II, I had found, was waiting in the mail. One of the two possible versions shipped with the Wireless Set No. 52 Kits, by Canadian Marconi.

According to the manuals, these REELS are normally shipped empty, with a separate, larger wooden spool of wire also included. Wire is drawn from the wooden spool and wound onto the REELS as needed.

This particular REELS came with wire already fitted, and from what I can see, it would appear to have been professionally wound onto this reel. The starting end of the wire passed through the small hole and is fitted with the two connector terminals shown. These both have claw crimps and have been soldered in place as well. About six inches aft of the terminal connectors, a rubber guard has been fitted over the cable to prevent the twist from unwinding. The terminals and rubber guard have been removed from the free end of the cable. I trimmed those ends back about ¼-inch to confirm the specs for the cable. The wooden block has been fitted to the inner part of the REELS to prevent the cable from relaxing off the hub. Originally, I think the free end would have been passed through the elongated hole in the side plate and tied off with light cotton twine to secure it.

What I would like to find out is the correct identification of this cable, what it was used for and if it is wartime or postwar in nature.

The core of the cable is 16 ga stranded copper wire. It has a rubber sheath and a woven cotton loom, either khaki tan or light army green in colour and possibly a clear coat of some sort added as well. As noted earlier, the cable has been assembled as a twisted pair.

My current thought on use is either phone line or wireless remote control line.

David
Is it definitely all copper wire, since the standard military telephone cable was mixed tinned copper/tinned steel for added strength. It may not have been for telephone or remote control use, but something else - or later cable from a more recent use. I think the small hole in the drum should also have a grommet or ferrule to thicken the edge and prevent the thin wall cutting through the insulation.

Wartime telephone cables were rubber insulated with a waxed fabric outer cover, coloured to denote the type - pairs may be the same or different colours. The final 'Assault Cable' was initially copper plated steel wire (single strand) with paint/varnish insulation (No.1) and single use, plus 7 strand steel, 1 strand tinned copper, coloured PVC jacket (No.2) which was re-usable. WW2 used D3, D5 and D8 cable (of various marks), plus assault cable. Post-WW2 there was D9 (not adopted, I think), D10 (still current) with 4 tinned copper, 3 tinned steel strands, black polythene jacket with clear (nylon?) UV/wear-resistant overcoat, Assault Cable No.2 for a while, then modern twin assault cable (which I have not seen).

Best regards,
Chris.
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  #355  
Old 23-08-20, 02:42
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Thanks, Chris.

There are indeed, brass metal grommets pressed around the rims of both the round and elongate holes. You can just see a bit of the brass showing on the round hole where a bit of paint has chipped away.

The description of the waxed loom fits but the all copper core does not. I tried a magnet on a few bits that trimmed off when I cleaned the two bare ends. Nothing stuck, so does not seem to have any steel content.

It is such a nicely wound reel of cable, my present thought is to restore the cut end, and securely rewind the loose bit on the hub and tie it off to keep it that way. In the end, it may not be 100% correct for the 52-Set, but tells a more interesting story than the empty spool actually issued with the set.

David
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  #356  
Old 23-08-20, 03:00
Chris Suslowicz Chris Suslowicz is offline
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I have to say that it looks rather like lighting flex - the rate of twist is much too fast for field telephone cable and too slow (plus the cable is too thick) to be for demolition circuits - that was more like bell wire with an extremely fast twist.

I've got a reel of D3 twin somewhere, I'll fish it out for a cleanup and photograph.

Best,
Chris.
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  #357  
Old 23-08-20, 03:41
Bruce Parker (RIP) Bruce Parker (RIP) is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz View Post
I have to say that it looks rather like lighting flex - the rate of twist is much too fast for field telephone cable and too slow (plus the cable is too thick) to be for demolition circuits - that was more like bell wire with an extremely fast twist.

I've got a reel of D3 twin somewhere, I'll fish it out for a cleanup and photograph.

Best,
Chris.
Thanks Chris. I'd really (reel-ee?) like to so wartime sig wire.
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  #358  
Old 23-08-20, 19:52
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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A nice sunny morning today so a little bit more of the panel has now been cleaned. Progress slows quite a bit when you get in between fittings and decals, and add that to the sections that are so heavily coated with varnish.

Took a bit of work but the erroneous decal under the door cutout did polish out. The white paint came off the top quickly and then a yellow rectangle remained where the backing of the decal had covered the original wartime varnish. Once I broke through the decal backing, the original varnish polished back very easily.

David
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WS No. 52 Sender Panel 12.JPG  
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  #359  
Old 24-08-20, 19:45
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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A little bit more done down the right hand side today.

I think I am getting close to the halfway point for this polishing now.

David
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WS No. 52 Sender Panel 13.JPG  
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  #360  
Old 25-08-20, 18:54
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Now finally at the point of just over half the front panel having been polished clean of discoloured varnish. The second incorrect decal warning of radioactive luminous paint is gone, and of 30 decals on the front panel of the 52-Set Sender, 10 are now standing free and clear of discoloured varnish.

Slowly we make progress!

David
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WS No. 52 Sender Panel 14.JPG  
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