What products we used on Big Bertha.......

[berlyn]

Hey folks,
I've been asked several questions on what products we used, how we did something or who did what work on Big Bertha.
So, here a list of things we used on her....

The initial cleaning before we moved her in the garage.........
We got a bucket of warm water with ammonia for the first cleaning. We used 409 too. I have been using Simply Green and that works well too. You can tell in the pics she was so filthy and gunky!!

To remove the rust on the interior before painting, hubby used a product called WR-8. It is a product used in the oilfield and you should be able to get through an oilfield supplier. Hubby said it's a product close to sulfuric acid. He applied it with a rag, (wear chemical gloves) and let sit for 24 hours, rinsed with mild soapy water and then again with water only. Let dry and apply paint.

Interior paint....
Hubby used Rustoleum High Heat in black. The one in a spray bottle for Bar-b-que pits, etc.... The reason for Rustoluem over Krylon is that Rustoleum has a rust inhibitor and Krylon does not. I was worried about possible smoking or vapors when we used the oven, but did not have any problems.

Our black porcelian stovetop....
We sent it to Hughes Place in Louisiana. The turn around time was about 3-4 weeks. The cost was around $350.00. We were happy with the finished product and yes we would recommend them.We had a friend drop it off and Hughes shipped it back to us. Their shipping rates were very reasonable and it was well packed.

Our rechroming.....
We got lucky as heck on that!! We had all the knobs, handles and latches done from a local company for $25.00. That's for everything, not each piece!! Hubby has a friend who works on his days off for a man who owns a wire works company. They did it as a favor when they found out we were restoring a vintage stove ourselves. So be sure to ask around and mentioned what you are doing. Lots of business owners have a soft heart for DIY restorers.

Springs.....
Go to an old fashion hardware store. They have any and everything in there. Forget the mega DIY stores, they just don't carry or have the knowledge for what you are needing.

Polishing and cleaning brass fittings, valves, gas lines and burners..........
Hubby used a die grinder with his air compressor with a wire wheel attachment to polish and shine them up. Hubby used the air compressor to clean/blow any rust or particals that where in them.

Interior of oven, broiler box and deepwell.
I used oven cleaner. It removed any surface rust, grease and gunk. Plus it made it look shiny and new.

Screws, nuts and bolts..........
Hubby replaced them with stainless steel. Again he went to an old fashion hardware store. Ace Hardware should carry them and the service and knowledge is better than the mega DIY superstores.

But before we did anything we ordered a service manual and got ziploc bags and bagged and tagged every screw, nut and/or bolt. We took pics for reference to put Big Bertha back together. The service manual will tell you "back panel 8 screws" and you might find 6 and hunt for while for the last two cause it's covered under grease and gunk!!

The exterior porcelian was in great shape and all we did was wax it with car wax and shine her up.

Here's [url="http://community.webshots.com/album/259218814eAzvEX/0"]Big Bertha's[/url] progress,
You can see what we started with and the finished product.

Again thanks too Tom, Uncertain Stoveman & Todd and all the others. Who answered our questions and made suggestions. It was possible and Big Bertha will have another 50+ years of great cooking!!

Also, I put a pic of Hubby & I. If we 2 fools can do it, so can you!! And yes those are bra's hanging from the ceiling!! The pic was taken at the world famous 11th Street Cowboy Bar in Bandera, Texas!! The cowboy capital of Texas!! And yes, some cowboys rode their horse there and cowdogs are allowed in there!!

Last but most important use common sense with chemicals & tools. Remember safety first!!

Berlyn

[treatmaker]

Berlyn,

Thanks for all the info. Great picture of you and hubby!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Virginia

[lowracer]

Thanks, this answers a lot of questions I had about the restoration. I don't think I can get WR-8 locally here in the heartland but I think I can get Naval Jelly which should do the trick.

[ha_asfan]

Hi Berlyn, Your project is so impressive, you and your husband did an amazing job ! Here's the big question .... How long did you work on the stove ? Do you have an idea of man hours into the project ? Hope you have a peaceful holiday. Ha-Asfan

[berlyn]

Ha-Asfan,
Disassembling to get to the stovetop, took two 1/2 days. We were going to initially just get the stovetop reporcelian, but we learned you had to disassemble the whole stove to take just the stovetop off!!
Taking the stovetop off was the hardest part and a 2 person job. Ours was so heavy!!

**Hubby did have to go Sears and get a set of 10 peice Midget Combonation Wrench set #942319 for $20.00. He highly suggests every Chambers owners to purchase this. You will use this for small gaslines, pilot lines and hard to reach areas!! [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

After the stovetop was off, at that point, Hubby decided since it was all apart he wanted to do maintence, repair & cleaning. That was his department and he loves to do that sort of thing.

We started in January 2005 and finished it April 2005. But Hubby works offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and is gone for 2 weeks and home for 2 weeks and worked on it on his days off as time allowed.

Also, hubby said he can see and understand why professional restores do charge so much. It is tedious!! We bagged and labeled each screw or part in a ziploc bag and wrote with a Sharpie on it. I.E. back panel 7 of 8 screws. That would remind us we would need to look at the hardware store for new screws so we would have the full 8.

We did check our rockwool insulation and it was so pretty and white, we left it alone.

Lowracer,
Naval jelly should do, just let it do the work instead of you!!

On another note, being a "Grammy" when the grandson comes over and we have the oven on, we have noticed with the rockwool insulation the outside of the stove remains warm, but not hot enough to burn you or small hands!!

Berlyn

[ha_asfan]

Hi Berlyn, Thanks for all that info ! You and your husband certainly have done a great job on a beautiful range. I, frankly am intimidated by a project of such size and length. We have no space to work on a project of that scale and another convenient reason is the old "we have no time" excuse. Today is our first blast of winter and with a few inches of snow on the ground, the thought of working in an unheated concrete garage all winter is not really my idea of a good time ! Our plan for now is to bring the stove directly into the kitchen and simply spend some serious time cleaning it and have the vintage range expert [lucky to have one in Detroit !!!] go over it and do everything that it needs to be safe and serviceable. Sooner rather than later, we'll be having the grates and drip pans porcelained along with the griddle and Thermobaker lid polished. The only thing I am certain of is using the stove....everyday. Thanks again and enjoy the day !

[pmisaber]

Hi Berlyn,

When I checked with Sears (both the local store and on-line), the item number that your husband recommended comes up as "Combination Wrench Set". It includes 10 wrenches that are open socket at one end and closed socket at the other. Maximum socket size is 7/16 inch (I think?). Is this the same item with a new name or has Sears replaced the item that your husband recommended with something else?

Thanks,

Peter

[berlyn]

Peter,

Here's the Sears web page for the wrenchs
[url="http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00942319000&subcat=Wrenches"]Craftsman 10 pc. wrench set[/url]

We should have left the first # off.
Here's the correct #'s Sears item #00942319000 Mfr. model #42319

Sorry for the confusion.

Berlyn

[berlyn]

Peter,

Also.......
The wrenchs are teeny tiny.
They are called "midget wrenchs".
One end is "open" the other is "boxed in"

<font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">[ November 28, 2005 09:16 PM: Message edited by: berlyn ]</font>

[lowracer]

I got by pretty easily with some 3/8 and 7/16 wrenches I had lying around the house. Couple of screwdrivers and a 3mm Allen wrench for the knob removal, though I suspect that Chambers used some English unit of measure that is just *really* close to 3mm, and didn't actually spec metric sized setscrews.