Ressurecting old Penns from watery graves

[Whit]

Friends:

I live near an estuary with a pier from which outfits are regularly dredged up from their watery graves (perhaps yanked in by a monster when the owner was distracted on something else).

I actually get a kick out of resurrecting these old reels. Until now I'd salvage what I could and toss the rest.  Usually its the exterior parts like housings, rotating heads and spools that are toast. 

A vinegar bath helps with some of the corrosion, and I have also tried Simple Green in an ultrasonic cleaner, both with mixed results. Now I'm thinking why not take these parts down to bare metal, and paint them back up.  Mostly the only ones I care to pay attention to is old Penn spinners: the painted ones.

My question is, what easy chemical or process would you recommend to get these corroded and pitted components into paint-ready shape?   Acetone?  Muriatic acid? something else?

Thanks in advance!


 

[thorhammer]

Ya might try citristrip, or acetone. I would not use an acid; the bodies are aluminum and that might not end well. Depending on pitting, either sand or fill with JB then sand. I have a bunch from the 90's- the paint is dinged but they still work fine. Any paint you do will be better than what's there. I'd recco best paint you can get; if you have ability to spray a two-part autograde, go for it. If not, rattle can epoxy and bake the finish. Fred and others do this and can advise further, but they've gotten some nice results on DQ bodies.

[CincyDavid]

I'm intrigued by the concept but there's only so much effortt I would devote to salvaging a reel that can be bought on ebay for $25

[Whit]

I'm intrigued by the concept but there's only so much effortt I would devote to salvaging a reel that can be bought on ebay for $25

True, if the objective was just to have another reel.   

For me, the process of working on old reels is the best part of the journey, and if the restoration comes out well at the end all the better.

[Shellbelly]

For me, the process of working on old reels is the best part of the journey, and if the restoration comes out well at the end all the better.

I agree.  Some worth salvaging for hard duty or rough exposure that you wouldn't want to put your nicer stuff through.  Many are just too far gone.

Some are just plain wrecks.

[thorhammer]

I bet you could swap the springs into a donor 7000 and it'd be as good as new.

[Shellbelly]

I bet you could swap the springs into a donor 7000 and it'd be as good as new.

That thing would be like an archeological dig.  I normally walk on by these but this one was just too sad and twisted to leave in the sand.  It was attached to an encrusted broken rod by one remaining stand screw and small oysters.  I wonder if Abu would replace it for free.

Hey, Whit...that's something you should look at.  Some manufacturers may have a "no questions asked" replacement policy.  Ya never know.

[Whit]

Believe it or not I've resurrected some pretty far-gone reels, barnacle encrusted, etc.   One 710Z that was hauled out of the main channel between Chincoteague and the inlet some 30 years ago comes to mind. I cleaned it up, spent more in odds and ends parts than a new reel (duh, genius move!) down to the fresh decals and rattle canned the exterior, and it's still my smoothest 710 to this day!  Just love that reel, its fishy!

[JasonGotaProblem]

Believe it or not I've resurrected some pretty far-gone reels, barnacle encrusted, etc.   One 710Z that was hauled out of the main channel between Chincoteague and the inlet some 30 years ago comes to mind. I cleaned it up, spent more in odds and ends parts than a new reel (duh, genius move!) down to the fresh decals and rattle canned the exterior, and it's still my smoothest 710 to this day!  Just love that reel, its fishy!

"Reel of Theseus" indeed. I love this thread.

[handi2]

My neighbor dropped his Van Staal little reel by his dock in super high salinity.

A year later when the low clear winter water was in he could easily see it.

It was in fully covered in barnacles but they easily came off.

Nothing was inside the reel. It cleaned up easily easily

[Cuttyhunker]

Shelly,
Put it on the bay
"Minor corrosion, should buff right out"

[Whit]

Ya might try citristrip, or acetone. I would not use an acid; the bodies are aluminum and that might not end well. Depending on pitting, either sand or fill with JB then sand. I have a bunch from the 90's- the paint is dinged but they still work fine. Any paint you do will be better than what's there. I'd recco best paint you can get; if you have ability to spray a two-part autograde, go for it. If not, rattle can epoxy and bake the finish. Fred and others do this and can advise further, but they've gotten some nice results on DQ bodies.

Hmmm.   Aren't citristrip and acetone acids? I really don't know.

I suppose a "yes" answer begs at least two additional questions:

1) what is an acid-free paint remover?

2) Assuming a person can't get something acid-free that actually works, what would you then soak the parts in to wash away or neutralize the acid once it has done its job?

Thanks in advance!

Whit 

 

[thorhammer]

Hey Whit,

      Acetone is a mildly polar organic solvent, and citristrip and ready strip are methyl pyrrolidone- based. As such they are non-acidic, non-caustic paint removers, which is why they work on enamels, oil-based lacquer, fingernail polish, etc. Being on the non-polar side of it, not much reactivity with metal, as opposed to bleach (caustic), and muriatic, acetic, nitric acids, which are polar. For heavier resins, like epoxy, MEK, xylene or the like is needed. Always wear PPE and have ventilation when using any of this stuff.

Applied to reels: if you soak a reel packed in old grease in white vinegar, it won't do a lot, because the non-polar grease is doing its job and protecting against corrosion, which is oxidation from polar reaction (salt on your metals). If you soak corroded chrome in simple green / dawn it will be clean and degreased, but still have the green corrosion. This is why I fully degrease parts in SG / Dawn prior to soak in white vinegar, and they come out clean and corrosion-free (though chrome may be gone, depending...). Simple Green, 409, etc. can have quartanary compounds in them which can be oxidative- I turned a SeaLine purple this way . Anyone that has a spray bottle of these long enough knows the trigger springs corrode out; that's why.

Dawn (the detergent, not our Carbontex matriarch!!) is excellent degreaser- it gets oil off seagulls, and not very oxidative.

This isn't googled; chemical process engineering is part of what I do in my day job.

John

[Whit]

TH:

Got it, thanks. 

I've actually tried what you suggest, but without success.

The situation right io front of me is two Penn 704 black painted spools that were used in salt water and put away wet, probably without rinsing.  I've soaked them in simple green (with ultrasonic "assist") then in vinegar, with suitable (distilled water) rinse and drying intervals between each treatment.   The heavy white powdery stuff on the surface of the metal that I started with is still there. i.e. the simple green and the vinegar baths did not work.

Do you have a recommendation for the logical next step?

Lurking in my mind is the image of my old Chevy Blazer's radiator years ago being lowered into a vat of some powerful chemicals to be "boiled".  LOL.

Another option might be to tumble them, I suppose.

[foakes]

They can be tumbled in a cartridge tumbler vibrator with the right type of media.  I use black silica.

Or, they can be bead-blasted.

Afterwards, just repaint with a rattle can or Powdercoat them —- then in an oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.

I have taken aluminum frames, sideplates, rotors, etc. — to a radiator or powder-coating shop also years ago — it all came clean in about 5 minutes — $10.

Best, Fred