Shopsmith Forums

I'm restoring a Mark V 500 that was in a house fire, no direct heat or flames but it has heavy soot deposits on all the painted surfaces and a lot of the bare aluminum (picture below is about as bad as it gets, most other surfaces are somewhat better). I think the fire was about 10 years ago.

I'm wondering if anyone has a good suggestion for how to get those surfaces clean again? I tried soaking in warm soapy water and scrubbing with a stiff bristle brush - almost no effect. This stuff is tough. Mineral spirits on a cloth also did nothing.

Honestly my initial plan was to just do a functional restoration and not worry about cosmetic, but if there is a straight forward way I could get everything clean (not hours and hours of scrubbing) that would be nice also. One suggestion was to call an engine shop in case they have a bath I could put all the parts in but I'm worried that will remove the paint.

Any easy/quick solutions people know of? Like I said I don't want to open a can of worms, so if the only options include hours of scrubbing or risking damage or repainting, "just leave it alone" is a solution I can also accept.

Thanks!

Fireplace cleaner?

Have you tried a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water? If it is soot then this mildly acidic solution should work to help remove the soot with a sponge/brush.

FWIW, this is what I use on the glass in the door of my wood burning stove. It cleans it perfectly . Sometimes if there is burned on resin because a log fell against the door it is a little tough. it might work. I don't know. It might not work so well on th rough painted surfaces.

https://www.amazon.com/Rutland-Hearth-G ... B01N4NNNMB

Tried Barkeeper's Friend and it worked ok. I'll also try Rutland, thanks for the tip!

BTW @jsburger, Rutland was perfect for this job. No idea how it works but it took the soot right off. Looks dramatically better.

Great! I had no idea if it would work or not. I just know it cleans the soot off of the glass in the door of my wood burning stove.

You may want to rinse the parts afterward to neutralize the strong acid in this product. Otherwise it may eat into the paint if residue is left on it. Just a thought...