SMC Discussion Areas

I'm currently restoring a VMC 110 and have come to the bottle gates. I'm not sure about several things-

A) After removing the springs, do I disassemble the arm from the gate (what about the little roller in the gate?) and if so, how do I reassemble them (given they are attached using a type of rivet)?

B) How does one clean them?

C) How does one make the two different metals sparkle like new; do you paint and/or polish, (and if so what do I use) or is there something obvious I'm overlooking?

Any and all help will be welcome.

btw- I'm compiling before; progress; and after photos for a later post.

Thanks in advance!

Replate it..

I first leave them just as is ,don't take it apart any further.  I then put it on a wire wheel to remove all the gunk, rust, and just stuff you don't want on it..

find a zinc plater that understands plating.. as the one part of it is actually pot metal and if put in the wrong sort of stripper will eat it away... Tell them this and they will know how to clean it.

they basically acid wash the whole thing then plate it. I get my ususally done in Yellow zinc.

I get most of all the other parts plated as well, like the back support bar, the Vending shoes, the rods.  I then clean and polish the stainless steel part that has the racheting mechanism, and powdercoat the face plate,  Clean the springs and then reassembly..

Looks nice John.

now that looks top notch

Inspiring! Thanks for the quick response!

Oh yes, one other question: What is the best set up for polishing (e.g. what kind of wheel and any specific polishes). Does this also hold true for the light bar? I had it cleaned, but need to polish it up. I tried on the back of it and all I got was a black spot and the opposite of any polishing effect. What am I doing wrong?

I use a 3800 RPM buffer with a variety of different wheels.
then use a Stainless steel buffing compound.

if you cant get it on a wheel, or don't have one, there are some good paste type polishes like mothers for Mag wheel polish, does a good shop on aluminum and stainless. this stuff you just rub on by hand with a terry cloth towel and it will turn black, means it's working, and then wipe it off with a clean towel...

Hope this helps.

or if interested , contact me , i do offer bottle stack restoration service as well.

If you are going for the cheaper option, and planning to hammertone on the tub, and shelves, you can do that as well on the stack. Once everything is dismantled I washed everything in CLR, then polished all the stainless and the rollers. I then taped off the rollers so they didn't get the hammertone on them.

Since I use this one every day I decided to go with the hammertone so I can touch it up if ever needed. It actually came out very nice, the pics don't do it justice.

Wow!

Both methods of stack restoration look great. Good job guys!