Should I paint my press?

Put on two coats of brush on oil based Rustoleum or tractor/implement paint. It will be like a brand new press when your done. Since it is already apart, you’ve done the hard part. You’ll always kick yourself if you don’t dress it up while you have the chance.

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Don’t paint the entire press. Surfaces like the face of the bed and the platen and the ink disk, the tops of the roller tracks, and the mating surfaces of shafts and bearings should be left bare. Bed and platen could be waxed.

I second what parallel_imp mentioned. Paint ONLY the parts that were previously painted.

I’d also recommend CitriStrip as the chemical stripping agent—it’s safe to use indoors, but wear gloves or it will seriously irritate/burn your hands. Let it sit for an hour or so and then use a wire brush to free up the old (now gelatinous) paint. Give it a mineral spirit rinse, coat the bare metal with some 3-in-1 oil and let it dry in the sun. In a few hours you should be ready to prime.

I have a feeling we may be giving you more work than you are interested in, but I think it’s worth it. I have restored two Pilots in the past year and they look great with a new coat of paint. Send me an email and I’ll send you photos if you’re interested.

Hope that helps,
Brad.

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To answer your question, it is not “crucial” to paint the press at all. I have a C & P 8 X 12 that doesn’t have a speck of paint on it, and it works just fine. I prefer the look of age, I guess. 102 years of country print shop grease, oil, ink and solvent have given it a lovely dark patina.

If it were my press, I’d paint it…. but Kevin is right. Painting it is not a requirement. I guess it all depends upon what you want / like / need.

I paint most of my equipment in nice colors simply because it makes working with it more enjoyable for me. BUT it doesn’t print any better than if it were plain black or even not painted at all. One of my best friends uses a press that is a combination of grey paint, rust and ink. Mechanically it is perfect, but cosmetically it’s quite ugly…. and it prints beautifully.

Halfpenny- your press is fantastic. Thanks for posting pics of it

Thanks to all who have responded! It’s definitely not more work than I’m interested in. I just want to be sure to do it the right way. I also have a C&P 10x15 that I’ve cleaned up… when cleaning that one, I unearthed the beautiful gold leafing still intact under a century’s worth of grime. I opted not to strip that one or repaint it. There’s still some grime on it, but it works well. I think this little Pilot would look pretty sharp with a new coat of paint, however. I appreciate the suggestions for how to remove the remaining bits of old paint, and the information on the best paint to use. I’ll post pictures when it’s all back together. Thanks again!

Can you properly paint a press without disassembling it? I have a C&P Old Style 8x12 which has been repainted (it seems) a couple of times. I’d like to strip and repaint it — especially the flywheel, which only has large pieces of flaking paint on it — but I’m REALLY not keen to pull it all apart.

(I’ve had some good advice on the stripping and repainting, but I neglected to ask whether the press could be all in one piece while I tackle the job!)

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Pepper

No…. you do not have to take a press all the way apart to paint it. It is just easier to do a good job with it if you do. I once painted a Kelsey Star while it was still mostly assembled, and it turned out looking “pretty good”….. but not as good as later presses that I disassembled entirely. If you are careful, you can do a good job of it.

One very important note to remember is to NOT get paint into or on any moving surface or bearing.

Like anything else, the quality of the finished job all depends on how much effort you are willing to invest. In this case, cleaning and surface prep (as discussed above) will be more difficult since you will not have as good access to all of the parts…. but not impossible.

The only real suggestion I’d make is to stick with the original color. If you change the color then any spots you miss (and you will miss some spots if you paint it while it’s still assembled) will be quite visible. If you stick with the same color, they will not be nearly as noticable.

Thanks winking cat!

I’m planning to paint it black, which is its original colour. Upon reflection, I guess I’ve made the assumption that removing the flywheel is either difficult, or likely to mess with the operation of the press after reassembly, or both. (I am an amateur so there’s no counting on me having any “instinct” on how to deal with it.)

Is that a correct assumption, or is there less risk associated with flywheel removal than I think?

Thanks winking cat!

I’m planning to paint it black, which is its original colour. Upon reflection, I guess I’ve made the assumption that removing the flywheel is either difficult, or likely to mess with the operation of the press after reassembly, or both. (I am an amateur so there’s no counting on me having any “instinct” on how to deal with it.)

Is that a correct assumption, or is there less risk associated with flywheel removal than I think?

No. Removing the flywheel is fairly straightforward, if the pinion gear is not frozen onto the shaft. If it is, then it gets a bit more interesting, but still not impossible.

The pinion gear is the small one on the side opposite the flywheel. It is held in place with a tapered key. If you’re lucky there’ll be a bend or lip on it that you can use to lever it out of the keyway. They tend to give way suddenly and shoot off, so watch where it goes. If there’s nothing to get a hold of, then you may need to push the pinion gear toward the press to loosen up the key in the keyway. Best way to do this is to use a pipe that fits over the flywheel shaft and key. Make sure there is room between the pinion and side of the press.

If rust is holding things in place a few shots of a penetrating oil such as Kroil may help. Another technique would be to use a gear puller to remove the pinion. But that is a lot easier if the key is out of the way otherwise you’ll be fighting the taper of the key.

A REALLY stubborn key can be drilled out.

Once the pinion is removed, there are three screws on the flywheel side of the press holding on a plate covering an oval hole. Remove the screws and pull the flywheel toward you. You’ll need to twist the flywheel around to get the offset part of the shaft (where a treadle would attach) through the hole.

You’ll need about 4 feet of clear space on the flywheel side of the press.

Putting it back together is the reverse of these steps. Unless you’re using a treadle you don’t need to worry much about alignment of the flywheel and pinion in relation to the large gear, but you can always chalk mark the alignment on the two gears before taking the flywheel off. With a treadle, it’s convenient to have the flywheel shaft offset at the bottom when the press is open and the rollers are about mid-chase in the neutral position.

Thank so much Arie, for such helpful instructions. I really appreciate it.

My press doesn’t have a treadle so it seems like this will be something I can handle — eventually!