Sanding the platen on my Seal 500TX - surface is badly marked - any ideas ?

[jbrianfoto]

Hi all -

A few years ago I bought what looked like a really clean Masterpiece 500TX press for a song. I had to separate the platen from the base just to move it into my home. Well, it has sat for a few years and now I am ready to use it. I looked closely at the black finish on the heating surface, it has a fair amount of adhesive stuck to it, which I am sure could be removed (have already been at it for a few days) - but I see that the framing shop I bought it from let someone scrape the platen with a razor (honest - it wasn't me). There are plenty of scratches and sections of finish missing.

Since the press I replaced with this one did not have this black finish, I was thinking, rather than working for days to try to get the old adhesive off, why don't I just use a random orbital sander with some brillo and buff off the finish (and the adhesive)? I always have used a sheet of 2 ply mounting board and a sheet of release paper over my work when mounting anyway.

Has anyone been thru this? Thoughts?
Thanks,

Jeromie

 

[ic-racer]

You may find this thread interesting: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

You may want to also take a look at this:

Seal/Bienfang Platen Cleaner

Expensive, but everyone who uses it reports that it works like a charm.

Ken

 

[jbrianfoto]

Hey there ic-racer ! Thanks for that = exactly what I needed. Looks like you and I have very similar gear (I have an L184 that I've been working on for a few years).

I will sand the platen, just like you did. I also have a ratty 200 which I think I'll restore as well. More than 2 drymount presses is hoarding, right?

 

[ic-racer]

Hey there ic-racer ! Thanks for that = exactly what I needed. Looks like you and I have very similar gear (I have an L184 that I've been working on for a few years).

I will sand the platen, just like you did. I also have a ratty 200 which I think I'll restore as well. More than 2 drymount presses is hoarding, right?

You need a spare of everything!


I don't know if I indicated it in the prior thread but I used a block sander. I believe I wet sanded starting around 240 down to a 1500 grit.

 

[jbrianfoto]

You may want to also take a look at this:

Seal/Bienfang Platen Cleaner

Expensive, but everyone who uses it reports that it works like a charm.

Ken

Yep ! Seen that stuff- wow, they are proud of it. My concern is more about the platen's scarred finish. If I'd never seen the surface in good light, I'm sure I wouldn't have cared, but now......