DIY with NT9K
How to strip and polish a Navy Flameproof
Well, I started by taking the key apart. This is no easy chore either. You can take off all the parts you can remove first, then come the 3 pins to punch out. Two of the pins are visible on the ends of the axle, but the center pin is hidden under a small access screw between the gap and spring adjustment knobs on top of the main body of the key. That center pin needs to be punched from the top down. I broke 2 new punches doing it and felt lucky that I didn't damage the key. The center pin is the hardest part.
Once your key is apart, the lever, the main body housing and the bottom plate all got stripped. I used a spray type paint stripper called Klean Strip® from Walmart. It was messy, but came off easy and cleaned up with soap and water. Zero harm to the metal with this stuff.
Now you should have something that looks like this:
The parts were cast and discolored from the heat. I was unsure at this point how deep that discoloring was.
I went over it with a dremel® tool using a wire wheel first. Then I hand sanded with 400 grit paper and a green scotch brite® pad. Then I polished it for about 30 hours using my dremel tool, felt pads, cones and discs. I used Blue Magic® metal polish, again from Walmart. That is good stuff and even works on plastic and corian®. My key was old and the knob, skirt, and binding post covers were in bad shape, all scratched up and dirty. Now they look better than the newest FP I own.
So now I had this much done:
If you notice the base looks brass, but it isn't. It fooled me until I tried to polish it and it came off. The base had the black paint then this coat of yellow, I'm guessing a primer? This picture was about half way through the polishing process.
After I sanded off the yellow stuff, I polished the base plate. It went much quicker being flat, maybe 4 hours on that part? By now I figured that I had enough time in it and decided to put it back together. It went back together pretty easy except for the spring. I finally got the little devil in the hole and put the rest of the parts back on it.
You have to be careful putting the axle back in. The 3 holes for the pins are not drilled on center and it only goes in one way. I had sanded down the pins a tiny bit and didn't have any trouble putting them back in. The hardest part of assembly was the spring and orienting the axle.
The finished key is mounted on a 1/4 inch thick piece of copper with a clear coat. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.
If anyone needs help or has questions, just ask. You can also use these photos and text anyway you like. Public domain!
73, Bill NT9K. |