Letterpress - Rust removal
Part 2 in a 4 part series of restoring my letterpress in 2014
Here are some photos of the letterpress before we began sanding and cleaning the press.
This was a three strep process: dissemble, clean, paint.
While my dad disassembled the press while I used a wire brush attachment with the sander to strip the rust and paint off of every piece. Eventually I started painting some pieces while he took over the cleaning.
We did not take the press COMPLETELY apart, it gets pretty complicated in some areas and we might not be able to put it back together if we go to far. So we just did pieces we knew we could get back together.
It would have been amazing if we could have kept the press in the original condition and not have to strip and paint it. Unfortunately the mildew smell was just too much and it needed to be completely stripped to get rid of it. Ultimately Iām happy we were are to spiff it up with a new coat of paint and feel like we are bringing it back to life!
This is us after a day of sanding:
