Gummy kerosene on ink plate

I bought a press that had been sitting for years and the previous owner had been using kerosene to clean it (I think). It looked shiny so I thought I’d just wipe it down but it’s actually quite tacky. I thought new kerosene might just cut through it all but I’m not one for mixing chemicals and I can’t be sure that it’s kerosene on there already as the press was bought from a widow of a pressman who couldn’t be sure either.

Any suggestions on how best to try to clean the plate and rollers without damaging anything?

Cheers.

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If the press is indoors, I would pull the ink disk off of it and take it outdoors. A little gasoline and steel wool should remove whatever is on it. It could be linseed oil, varnish, or something else that was used to seal and protect it from rust. Kerosene wouldn’t have made it sticky.

I must admit that I have used gasoline and benzine as solvents in my youth. I would advise you or anyone else to avoid them. Both gasoline and benzine can go right thru the skin and get into the blood. Benzine far more so, and it would take frequent use of gasoline on bare skin to be a problem. Gasoline though is just too flammable to be messing with as a solvent. An inadvertant spark and a flash and a burned person. Yes, some will say that they have used gasoline for cleaning for years and have never had a problem. They are fortunate..
Don’t worry about mixing solvents in the disk. If you have kerosene, try it. It isn’t a very strong solvent for cutting old gummy coatings, but it might work. A Scothbrite green scrunge and elbow grease help. If no kerosene on hand and you have ordinary paint thinner, try that. If that doesn’t do the job, get some laquer thinner. It is commercial grade nail polish remover. Good ventilation, eye protection and rubber gloves are appropriate. I am a bit cheap and use grocery store plastic bags for my gloves.
inky

Thanks. Fingers crossed!