Cleaning without power
My shop power has gone out and likely won’t be back on until tomorrow. I was in the middle of a job, of course. So now I’m trying to clean up my Vandercook SP-20.
1. How can I clean the main ink drum? It won’t move by hand. If I just let the ink dry overnight, can I use acetone to easily clean it once power is back?
2. Can I put a little putz pomade on the ink rollers and leave them overnight?
I’m using oil-base inks.
Thanks.
Can you run an extension cord from the neighbors’ place or another power source? You wouldn’t want to run for a long time that way, but could jog the press.
I guess I’d clean as much as I could and then just clean the rest with a stronger solvent as you suggested. At least you can clean all the rubber rollers by hand. I certainly would not use acetone on them. Clean them with your standard solvent and lift them from contact. The steel surface should clean up well with the solvent.
Putz is just for de-glazing and deep cleaning, not for delayed cleaning.
John Henry
Not a long enough cord and the power was shut for the entire building, so I think I’m screwed here. Everything but the main drum is now clean.
I don’t know how into this you want to get but you could ostensibly run power from your car.
Jalopnik how to:
http://jalopnik.com/5955850/how-to-power-your-home-with-your-car#
Good luck!
Haha Yeah, that’s a bit too involved for me. I did my best cleaning the drum by getting under the machine as well as dropping solvent-soaked rags long the inside and working them back and forth. I’m sure I’ll have to do some more work with acetone tomorrow, but it’ll still be better than leaving it covered.
.
Buy some regular blanket wash thru your paper merchant or ink supplier. Using anything other than blanket wash can strip the good out of your rollers and change the shape. Over time the right blanket wash will add the right chemicals to your rollers to keep them in good shape.
Theo, I use mineral spirits normally. I was just worried about ink drying on the drum overnight and needing something stronger to get it off. All the worrying was for naught, though.
And I’d never use acetone on my form rollers.
Happened in our shop a few time over the years. We would run a bead of oil across the rollers and move the press by hand to distribute the oil. The oil prevents the ink from drying on the rollers. When power was restored we wash the press as usual. Ink & oil would come out. Didn’t cause any harm to the rollers.
Works on our letterpresses as well as the offset equipment.
Mike
Happened in our shop a few time over the years. We would run a bead of oil across the rollers and move the press by hand to distribute the oil. The oil prevents the ink from drying on the rollers. When power was restored we wash the press as usual. Ink & oil would come out. Didn’t cause any harm to the rollers.
Works on our letterpresses as well as the offset equipment.
Mike