Cleaning an Old Press

[Mark W]

I picked up this old RCBS JR-2 at an estate sale for mere pennies and I‘m wanting to put it back into service. The only real rust is on the handle and I don‘t really mind a little patina. I was thinking about disassembling and giving it a good soaking in simple green and then scrubbing it with a nice stiff brush and then giving it a high pressure rinse before blowing it dry.

I‘m open to better suggestions and also wondering what grease to use on the pivot points? I was thinking about using Lucas Red-n-Tacky because I already have some it’s worked well for several different applications.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Fuj]

I have 3. One bought new and the other 2 from gun shows
cheap. Yeah, just scrub them clean, then check wear. On one,
I had to replace the pivot pins with egg shape wear. Must
have been used with cam over a lot. I had all wear parts
hard chromed, and reassembled using Lubri-Plate. They are
good presses.

 

[Cemetery21]

Sounds like a good plan. I use my Ed's Red mix for most stuff like that (equal parts kerosene, ATF and mineral spirits) then spray lithium.

 

[Iowa Fox]

The old girl is in good shape. On mine I unscrewed the handle from the pivot block, pulled the pin and slipped the block and ram out of the press. I used simple green (pure undiluted) and a tooth brush on the green crinkle paint and casting. A couple scrubs and rinses had it looking like new.

On the handle I wiped a film of strong arm on it and let it sit a couple of days. I have a dedicated arbor with a buffing wheel on one side and VERRRRY FINE wire wheel on the other side. The key to the wire wheel is just barely make contact with the tips of the wire to knock the rust off. You want the metal to look like it hasn't been cleaned. I don't use the cotton wheel as it would give it a bogus look.

Mine looks almost new but I consider the jr a light duty press.

 

[Mark W]

She‘s all broke down. There was no real sign of wear on any of the parts. Just layers of sticky grease and oil residue. I’m thinking this is going to take a stronger solvent than Simple Green or any house hold degreaser. I’ll go to Napa tomorrow and pick up something more suitable.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

If you use brake cleaner I would suggest to keep it away from the painted surfaces. I’m liking lock-ease on the press ram now for lubricant.

 

[Mark W]

Sounds like a good plan. I use my Ed's Red mix for most stuff like that (equal parts kerosene, ATF and mineral spirits) then spray lithium.

I did some reading tonight and I just might round up the ingredients for a batch of Ed’s Red tomorrow. I bet it will be just the ticket for this and I’ve meant to try it as a bore cleaner anyway.

Here’s a link for anyone interested. https://www.vkhgc.ca/documents/Ed gun cleaner.pdf

 

[jonbearman]

I use spray 9 and soak it and then in like a minute scrub it lightly with a brush and they look like new. I always remove the ram and you need to sand the handle and scrup with 4 ought steel wool with oil in it for every steel part. Then re-assemble after drying out and lubricating all parts to prevent rust .

 

[Cemetery21]

Ed’s Red

Most recipes also use acetone, but I leave that out of my mix.
Also, I use lamp oil for the kerosene and low odor mineral spirits to cut down on the odor.

 

[JSH]

I had one, traded even for a Rock Chucker. Fellow said the RC was too big……

 

[Stephen Frith]

She‘s all broke down. There was no real sign of wear on any of the parts. Just layers of sticky grease and oil residue. I’m thinking this is going to take a stronger solvent than Simple Green or any house hold degreaser. I’ll go to Napa tomorrow and pick up something more suitable.

Lacquer thinner is your friend.
Stephen

 

[Mark W]

I tried a few different degreasers with limited success. I had been planning to try Ed’s Red anyway so it ended up being a good time to mix a batch. I went with the full recipe that I posted above.

As it turned out the Ed’s Red and a small brass brush worked wonders. I’ve got it all cleaned up now and I just need to lube the moving parts and get it reassembled. I gave the painted surfaces a coat of Renaissance wax and it turned out looking pretty nice. I’ll post up some pics when I get it all put back together and mounted.