Restoring black crinkle finish on Leitz enlargers

I use a hi-grade furniture polish made right here in Youngstown, Ohio called MILSEK. Wipe on, wipe off. Gives a deep black luster. Recommended by the Leica dealer I bought my 1c from.

Chip,

Sounds good !!!

My Leitz guru of 85 years (he repaired for Leitz most of his life, from 20 years old) taught me his "secret": a mix of what you'd call white spirits, or perhaps naphtha, with a few drops of handy oil. Here in The Netherlands we call this stuff wasbenzine. It is a clear benzine for domestic use.

- first get off the dust and dirt. This you can do with a humid cloth
- take an empty glass jar and put the white spirits in, like one third of the jar. Add 5 - 6 drops of this oil and mix
- use a soft paint brush and apply this mix to all your black crinkle parts

The benzine will evaporate leaving the oil only. Your enlarger will look like new.

The only thing to watch out for: don't put too much on your brush. Better to be a little minimal so the liquid does not go all over the place

Michael

What causes the crinkle effect on surfaces?

Theo Sulphate said:

What causes the crinkle effect on surfaces?

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Old age.....

Crinkle paint effect is common for automotive applications.
Google finds many references eg. http://www.build-threads.com/general-car-stuff/diyhow-to-wrinkle-texture-paint/

Puggsy said:

Crinkle paint effect is common for automotive applications. ...

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Yes, one of my sports cars has a black crinkle finish along the whole length of the cam tower covers; it looks great. Thanks for the link!

I used a paint called Hammerite which closely matched both the finish and high heat resistance of many of these original enlarger paints. The newer spray-can versions are not as tough, but not as toxic either. If you just need to restore the sheen, some stainless steel and automotive polishes work well on this kind of paint (not waxes or surface oils !!! My gosh - do you want something flammable ?? ) !!!