Mark Stillman Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Picked up a BMY a few weeks back. Brass was coated with what looked like the old silver fence paint. Beginning to remove it. Runs fairly well, blade needs slight adjustments. Base and motor have marginal paint. Still considering trying to save it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Ray Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Me personally, I don't think there's enough of the original finish left. I'd go all out on it. Few chippies here and there is one thing, I'd consider preservation at that point. But I think you'd have a more spectacular fan with a full restoration. Usually my cutoff is 90% of the original finish remaining. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Britt Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 I'd go for a full restoration also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Valencheck Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Yes, strip it all down. That's what I had to do with my BMY. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Lindsey Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Ditto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Dunlap Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Rust is not patina, it's neglect or abuse. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Smith Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Your fan do what makes you enjoy it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Montgomery Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Paint it! You can't do worse than it is now in my opinion. But it is your fan... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Dreesen Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 I am in the "original" camp, but that needs a full restoration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 I’m with Patrick on this one. There appears to be too much paint loss particularly on the head case to preserve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stillman Posted October 17, 2021 Author Share Posted October 17, 2021 Yes I agree this one is not worth the effort it would take to make the original finish somewhat acceptable. But, I have come to prefer the appearance of nice old original rather than making fans look like jewelry. I may spray it with appliance paint and age the brass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Padron Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 I'm the minority here....I would keep original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Ray Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 14 minutes ago, Rick Padron said: I'm the minority here....I would keep original. I look at it like cars... If you find a muscle car with original paint, numbers matching, in great condition, it would be a candidate for preservation. But if there's holes in the floor boards and chunks missing from the quarter panels, a fender in a different color, it needs restoration. It's all up to the owner of the piece (fan in this case) on what their personal cutoff line is between preservation and restoration on a particular example. I've got fans where there wasn't enough original finish left to make it presentable, thus a restoration was needed. But I've got others where preservation was the goal because it retained so much of the factory delivered finish. At that point it's a lube job and wire. My French Grey 71666 was missing so much paint, it needed a restoration. My R&M retained 98% of the original finish (plus the pinstripes), it got the finish buffed along with the brass (since I had to do cage repairs). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morel Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 I am also firmly in the original camp but that fan could benefit from a restoration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stillman Posted October 17, 2021 Author Share Posted October 17, 2021 I'm inclined to agree the BMY needs to be restored. That if said I'll probably do what I can to make it appear to be old original. It's in very sound condition. This Trojan I was fortunate enough to pick up will be conserved. The yoke and head paint will clean up just fine. The base will be a bit more work. The blade needs a lot of help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morel Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 (edited) Good call on the Trojan. Great fan. Edited October 17, 2021 by Tom Morel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 (edited) I love that Trojan! Super nice! That’s one of my “wish list” fans! Do you mind saying what you paid for it? Edited October 17, 2021 by David Kilnapp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Ray Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 Start a new thread on that Trojan. Would love to watch that clean up from start to finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Frank Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 Nothing more boring than walking into a room of fans with shiny paint and brass. I've seen hundreds of restored BMY's.....They're nice to look at, but that one is a nice survivor. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stillman Posted October 17, 2021 Author Share Posted October 17, 2021 The Trojan was in the wild. The seller is a good person. I didn't haggle. Very happy to get that one! I've been taking pics and will continue to do that. Looking forward to getting it done then I'll do a full post. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Andersen Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 (edited) A lot of GE paint WWI and after is garbage from what I can tell reading old posts and my own experience. Even what looks intact can quickly become flakes and your efforts to remove the rust and treat it will soon make a 95% intact paint job 50%. Emerson paint is a lot better, so I tend to keep those original more as I can remove/treat any rust without losing a lot of surrounding paint. Preserving metal is more important to me than paint. Edited October 18, 2021 by Trevor Andersen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Borg Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 Regarding cleaning up old paint: I know emersons are fairly robust, and acetone can be used. If the same is not true for this BMY, what is a gentler cleaner that can be used if acetone is too strong for ge paint of this era? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lane Shirey Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 (edited) BMY Japan will respond well to lacquer thinner. If you want something less harsh, use mineral spirits. Just be gentle around the speed control labels if they’re intact. Use gentle wax only. No solvent on them. Edited October 18, 2021 by Lane Shirey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Borg Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 Got it, thanks Lane... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Ray Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 I've had good results with this. Used it on an R&M and it didn't hurt the pinstripes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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