Beyond the pale

An update on my stripping of the Underwood 4

I'd harboured a hope that after the first application of Nitromors, I would be able to restore this 1930 Underwood 4 to its original finish. I tried to control the degree of paint removal by applying the paint stripper and leaving it for only short periods before rinsing and scrubbing it. But the glimmer quickly turned into a gleam as the aluminum began to show through, both as  normal wear patches at the corners of the keyboard and elsewhere. 

The original black was largely intact but the rear gold decals on the back were already softened and blurred by my first attempts and the original clear laquer had come off with the brown enamel. This left the black dull and lifeless. 

I'd generally consider it a sacrilege to rub down to bare metal on such an old typewriter but there wasn't much option to do anything else. I could have left it partially stripped but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. After the application by its former keeper of the brown enamel, this was never going to make a museum quality specimen - I reckon they made quite a few of this model. After a minute's reflection, I decided to go for it. The frame and front plate are both aluminium but the paper table and ribbon covers are steel and seem to be painted with different stuff which is harder to get off.

On the aluminium, I'm using 400 grit wet paper which I'll follow with 0000 grade steel wool, finishing up with Autosol chrome and alloy polish. I tried this routine on the back as a test and it seems to work OK.

After finishing, I'm not sure whether to clear laquer it to preserve the polished finish or paint it with some design or other. Suggestions welcome!

Rear of the year

Lots of reasons for getting this typewriter:

• One-piece quick-release alloy footbed (not sure why)
• The colour is just about interesting enough to make it desirable
• Groovy cat-flap at the back hides the tabulator pins
• It is Italian
• It is beautiful type on (despite warnings to the contrary)
• It had my name written all over it (see above)!
• From the rear, it has the profile of a freshly baked crusty white cottage loaf.

Test: See if you can spot the deliberate 'mistake' in its Eurotrash gallery mug-shot. 

Answers welcome in the comments box below.

PS: If you get stuck, I'll post the answer in the next post.

Angels

So, Typewriter Day 2011 has been and gone. Trips were taken, photos made and videos captured. Google's response to typewriterday2011 numbers 129 results and counting - the typosphere's 40 watt light bulb glows a little brighter this evening.

For me, it was a day in two parts: first, I have made better movies with typewriters in them - but when you see everyone tapping away on the same day and for the same purpose, well, it brings a tear to the eye. Fun to be part of it. Like Facebook groups, another strange 'out of body' experience, bumping into folks on the 'Tube. But then, my view count went through the floor. Could it be all my regulars were out with their camcorders? Not that stats matter. This is all about personal expression and a fondness for typewriters... right?

The Good Companion has just left the building on its way to my little sister, courtesy of another good companion. Sorry it is late Di, worth the wait, should be there by 11.00pm. And there's a gap in the carpet on the dining room floor where it used to sit. Sigh.

NOT to worry, please allow me to introduce you to Everest K2! You'll have spotted it in action in the video of the previous post. At £32.45, it was VERY expensive (for me) but worth every penny. Proper photo under controlled studio conditions will follow soon when the K2 is greeted at the Pearly Gates and finds a  final resting place among Typewriter Heaven's other Eurotrash.

Typewriter Day 2011

Happy Typewriter Day! The best intentions, and all that. A deadline and then rain stopped play - or at least put me off a canoe trip. At least I'm not trying to do something serious, like play tennis. Reckon stage fright got the better of my spelling by the look of it.

Alicia Keys - Typewriter

Just in time for International Typewriter Day (23 June) a new anthem for angst-ridden typorati. Nice change from Leroy Anderson's The Typewriter.