So I have always wanted an Exhibit machine but never wanted to pay the price. Then I started watching
American Restoration and got all fired up about the idea of restoring a dilapidated machine myself. I purchased an Exhibit machine from Lelands last fall. The machine was beat up and definitely looked its 85 years (I found 1926 dating on it).
Not having access to or being willing to spend the bux for sandblasting left me with hand-sanding off the loose stuff and rust, then needing to use a primer-free oil-based paint that could go right over the old stuff. Fortunately the item was not powder coated, just painted. I knew I wanted to use a hammered finish because the machine was originally in that finish and I heard on
American Restoration that a hammered finish was best for covering small metal blemishes, which this machine had aplenty. I decided on the green after checking out the various available options with RustOLeum in a hammered finish. I liked the contrast of the green with the red on the header card I planned to recreate. The company recommends at least two coats; I applied three, a week apart.
I did not want to spend money rechroming the slides and visible metal parts unless absolutely necessary, though I decided to replace all of the screws with shiny new ones. Once I pulled the machine apart I decided to try and use a chrome polish and some elbow grease on the metal parts. Turned out the actual pitting was pretty minimal; most of the dullness and apparent damage was just 85 years of grime and grease. The visible parts polished up very nicely and suited my idea of not making it look modern and new but instead maintaining some of the character.
The moment I saw the machine I planned to replace the header on it with a similarly-designed 1921 header. Turns out that the 1921 header was about 1/2" taller-wider than the late 1920s header that came with the machine, so I had to get the sizing right on the computer. I then laser printed the image on a full sheet sticker, adhered it to a comic book board, then cut to size.
In terms of total time, I'd say I put in about an hour researching my product options and deciding how to approach the project, about 3 hours studying and breaking down the machine [a lot of that was figuring out how the mechanisms worked and came apart], then probably another half hour painting and half hour polishing. Reassembly was easy, took about an hour more. I then spent another hour or so screwing around with the header.
I have to emphasize that a better technician would probably have spent much less time on it. I was starting from scratch and there was a steep learning curve. It took me the better part of an hour to figure out how the main pieces of the machine came apart.
Finally wanted to add that I really enjoyed the process and will consider taking on another project if I get the chance to pick up another machine.
Here are photos:
04-19-2012, 05:57 AM
Finished Restoring My 1926 Exhibit Machine
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