Restoration continues

Jasmine - like the rack idea... looks like it works better than my milk carton ':p'

. As for cleaning the system. Search the forums on cleaning there are TONS of tidbits and recommendations. Basically you just pick your favorite degreaser (Like Simple Green Automotive, scrub, hose-off and repeat)

I've been cutting and pasting the ones I found to be particularly useful into a word doc.... here's some of it... The full text is somewhere on these boards and the wisdom / experience belongs to others (not me).

Quote

Cleaning the machine

The best thing to do is to remove the refrigeration system & place it on a work table. It may take two people to pull it out & hold the upper/lower sections. Place on a table then you can inspect the whole opertion while it is running. I would then remove & replace the two fan motors, install a new T-stat & wiring harness. While the motors are out you should take the whole remaining sections outside, spray the coils with a heavy coating with a good cleaner, allow to soak for 20-30 minutes. Then pull out the garden hose & back spray (opposite of the air flow direction) with water. A good cleaning like this along with new fan motors & T-stat will solve most all refrigeration problems. These sealed systems do no go bad unless they have been neglected.

When testing the system while it is on the table you should just look for frost on the edges of the upper coil. The system will not have the proper airflow to cool but you can test all parts of the system prior to reinstallation. If the refrigeration does not frost the upper coil you will need to get the system serviced by a local company or your home ac man doing some side work.

Now as far as cleaning the lower cabinet I used some kind of cleaner I bought at Lowes. I sprayed, allowed the cleaner to sit, then started to scrub with a sponge & finally I sprayed with the garden hose. Once it was clean & dry I sprayed the inside of the lower cabinet with a white rust preventative paint. I have not plans of repainting the outside of the machine with spray paint & some people will think I may have detracted from the machine for spray painting the inside of the cabinet. For my personal beer machine I think it looks great. I would never try to spray paint the outside of a machine that I had for sale. I am getting ready to sand & repaint my Vendo56. There is another thread on the 56. So there is no secret cleaner to make it look like that but a combination of cleaning & a white paint.

Cleaning / Painting the Compressor / Evaporator (from Brian Beeson)

For the really corroded/heavy verdigris, I start with Steel Wool. I use 4 different gauges working my way down to 00 and then I move to Neverdull. The big deal with copper and brass is you have to remember that it's very soft as metals go. When it comes to copper refrigeration lines, brass valve bodies and others in this category to much polishing over a long period will lead to material degradation, cut and dry. It all comes back to basic metallurgy. All of the polishing products have some sort of abrasive. It may be darn near microscopic but it is still there. There are however products that use citric acid as a main ingredient and it works well but is easier to use when the part to be polished can be dipped in the solution for lengthy periods (overnight).

On that note, In the Navy, we used to take a gallon bucket of hot water and a package of "Bug Juice" (similar to Kool Aid) and put the parts (Brass deck drains and fire station nozzles primarily) into the bucket overnight to remove any serious corrosion/verdigris. You'd come back in the morning and use the equivalent to a Scotchbrite pad on em' and.....BAM!! Bright as new! And then we had our old stand-by's Brasso and Neverdull. But they became more and more difficult to keep due to Hazmat rules that exist.

After I finish the polishing, I use a clear coat from Eastwood called "Diamond Clear" specifically designed for bare metal to keep it shining.

For the evaporator I use a metallic silver paint and for the compressor I use a high heat (400 F) engine paint. I make sure that all of the rust/dirt/grease is gone by first blowing both coils out and then using a product I got from a local HVAC store called "Coil Blast" to get the fins/coils clean. If there is more than just light surface rust present, I remove all scale/flaking rust with a wire brush made just for compressor coils and then I dip the entire coil in an acid solution I got from the same HVAC place. That seems to take care of the rust. In addition, I make sure all of my coats of paint are VERY light. I've been told by a few select HVAC guys that what I am doing is wrong: That I shouldn’t paint anything. Well, I've had zero problems. It hasn't affected heat transfer in any way shape or form. I know a few other guys that use the same process as I do and they have zero problems too.

I guess if worse came to worse, Eric, from Global Compressors would be the guy to ask. He does restorations on decks and would most definitely know!

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