Cleaning Seal Jumbo 150

tkamiya · Feb 24, 2011

Cleaning Seal Jumbo 150

I just acquired a nice hot dry press, Jumbo 150 by Seal. I do need to clean the upper surface (not the very top with a knob and lights but the inner part that comes in contact with prints) of dried up glue (or something).

To me, it looks like just a smooth sheet of aluminum. Is this part coated with anything? The dried up gunk is brittle but stuck well and covers very large area. What's a good way to clean this?

I just don't want any old abrasive in fear I might take off some coating or damage it in some way.

E76 · Feb 24, 2011

I wouldn't use the drymount press in direct contact with the print. I've always placed two thick sheets of board above and below the work to be mounted to protect the print and ensure an even distribution of heat. I believe this is also the method recommended by Ansel Adams in The Print.

tkamiya · Feb 24, 2011

Right, I won't. I only said that to indicate which surface I was talking about. Question is, how to clean it not how to use it. Thanks though.

Dave Starr · Feb 24, 2011

I bought a Seal 200 some time ago that had a really nasty looking platen - the plate you're talking about. I removed it & wet sanded it, first with 220, then finer grits down to 600. I finished it up with Dupont Polishing Compound. It took about 4 hours & I now have a like new press.

tkamiya · Feb 24, 2011

You can REMOVE this? HOW?

ic-racer · Feb 24, 2011

You may find some useful info in this thread: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

semeuse · Feb 24, 2011

Seal's platen cleaner is still available (Dead Link Removed)

Robert Hall · Feb 24, 2011

And for heavens sake don't sand it!

One can use acetone, a rag, elbow grease, and ventilation.

E76 · Feb 24, 2011

tkamiya said:
Right, I won't. I only said that to indicate which surface I was talking about. Question is, how to clean it not how to use it. Thanks though.

My apologies! From your question it sounded like you were worried about this dried glue doing some harm, so I assumed that you thought it would make contact with the print. I guess my point was that unless it's really bad, why worry about cleaning it off?

Mike Wilde · Feb 24, 2011

My unit when new to me had goop like you talk of. I fired it up, cranked the thermstat to high, and once warm gently scraped the thermoset adhesive off with a steel kitchen spatula that had only rounded edges. A surprising amount came off.

Once cool, a rub with a cotton dampened repeatedly with white gas (naptha) done outside while wearing rubber gloves took the rest away.

My release sheet is always between my heated platten and my print for matting. It is a waste release sheet from a cold mount overlay free from a framing shop.

tkamiya · Feb 24, 2011

Wow... expensive cleaning paste! Thank you everybody... I'll try what I have around here first and if that doesn't work, I'll bite the bullet and buy the stuff. Why clean? I'm sort of very particular about my equipment. Things that shouldn't be there being there bothers me. So I want to clean it. I'm going to try the gentle method first.

Thanks again.

snapshot2000 · Feb 24, 2011

I have the 210, I believe (abt. 16x20). It's an older model. When I got it the platen had a lot of junk stuck to it. I didn't realize it could be so easily removed, so I worked on it fully assembled. I believe I heated it a little first and then *very carefully* used a single-edge razor to shave off some of the gunk - dried glue, I guess, but it was dark and nasty.

Then I used very fine steel wool and a little Bartender's Friend cleanser (Bon Ami would probably work as well) to polish it and clean away any oxidation or stain. Took a few hours overall.

I just used it recently to do a big batch of prints and had no problems with marks - the platen is clean and smooth.

Dave Starr · Feb 26, 2011

Robert Hall said:
And for heavens sake don't sand it!

One can use acetone, a rag, elbow grease, and ventilation.

May I ask why?

ic-racer · Feb 26, 2011

If there are scratches and gouges in the plate, there will be raised edges that will need to be sanded smooth, otherwise they may cause impressions in the prints. If the plate is not damaged, then removal of the goop should not require sanding.

Cleaning Seal Jumbo 150

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