Not bad for a $15 dollar 200A...my wife's first attempt at a complete restoration

Well while I wait for parts for my other project (the two quick lites and now soon to be three) I noticed more and more my wife sitting and watching me fix things...ask the occasional questions... Offer help to hold things... Etc...and eventually I asked "well... Do you want to try it?"

She said yes...and not knowing a thing about stoves and lanterns other than using them on trips I asked her to pick out something she liked...

She said "the red one is nice and small"

So...I scoured eBay for a project...and brother did I find one...

For her first attempt...id have to say she did really well. Her first question was if she can put the sticker on....now we're assembling it...

Not bad huh?
Paint stripper... Then citric acid to kill the rust and another bath of baking soda to cancel the acid...a wire wheel and 3 coats of paint.
All I did was watch and offer advice...I just let her go at it hahahaha...(She did really well at mica gloves so why not?)

Before photos from the listing:

 

Great result!
Nice one ! :-)

 

She'll be taking over the workshop soon.

 

Hahahaha she's pretty happy with it. She's burned it a few times today... working great!

 

Really nice outcome, what your wife just did.
Congratulations to both of you.

 

@MYN you didn't see the efforts it took to get that paint off.
We used three products... actually 4... It was interesting (not the first word that came in my mind)
First was a "green" paint stripper... That was a joke. Did nothing at all at 24 hours but no worries...all the whales and trees are safe haha

Second was acetone....nope... Nothing... paint was suspiciously enamel like and didn't do anything

Third was regular paint stripper...12 hours and a little pink color... But nothing...

The last and only savior in the holy war against the tank was...
Aircraft paint remover... This is strong enough to start melting my gloves and will bubble regular house paint on contact. It's no joke and can only get that at auto parts stores. It does it all...oil base, laquer, polyurethane and baked enamel...

Overnight and the paint came off with a brass brush with ease.

Then it was citric acid to remove rust... Then the baking soda to stop that reaction... Then the repaint.

Here is a photo of the tank right before the aircraft paint remover... defiance in a Coleman font...

 

can I ask, did you bake the paint to harden it?

looks a good match

thanks
pb

 

Amazing restauration !
Congratulations

 

You're wife should be pleased with the final result. It looks great.

 

@podbros it's shot on Rust-Oleum professional high heat in "hazard red" with an airbrush....3 coats. It between coats it was color sanded so to hide the pitting and any runs in the paint. Last coat was warmed to dry and harden in a toaster oven.
She used a car wax on it after to protect the new paint and waxed it to a gloss.

She thinks it looks like a candy apple and matches the label and the vent almost perfectly

 

An airbrush and colour sanded!!!
Blimey that’s a lot better than it would have got from new!!

Cheers
pb

 

It must had been quite a job to strip the original paint off. That seems surprising to me. The old Coleman paints are not known to be that tough.
If I'm not wrong, the Aircraft Paint Stripper should contain Methylene Chloride. That is one of the strongest stripping chemicals known. They have basically removed this particular ingredient in the newer paint stripper products due to health and environmental concerns.
The new paint job probably looks better than the original(even when it was still new).

 

Mine is a non type top.... But whatever it is it's strong...

 

This is what the current(above) Rust Oleum stripper should contain:-


I guess the strongest stuff in the above would be Methylal. The others are supporting constituents in the stripping action.
They will not be as powerful as the old methylene chloride but should be good enough for most situations.
Unlike methylene chloride, most stuffs would not work when it comes to stripping the toughest epoxy coatings. Thankfully, older Coleman paints aren't these.

 

@MYN that looks like the stuff. I remember having used the older stuff that looked like this (the older methylene chloride) as it had a slight yellow tone. This stuff was the only thing that worked, but it still took some hours to sit on it but did come right off with a brass brush.

I noticed on the original box of a 1973 200E that it calls out "Brazed steel font with Hi-lustre baked enamel finish"

So I guess the 1972 200a must have the same paint?

 

Possibly. Since it had been baked-on, I'd guess that explains why it was harder to remove than usual.
Most paints on the old Coleman devices would give way upon treatment with acetone.
Not sure how the modern ones would fare. I'd suppose they are better in quality.

 

@MYN it was a defiant little font haha

 

WOW!! What an excellent result! Very impressed!!