Reading tank sticker
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,758
Likes: 3
From: Surrey
Reading tank sticker
I pulled my fuel tank yesterday & it & the sticker are covered in 20 years of dust. Are there any tricks to cleaning it off without taking the ink off of the sticker?
:cheers:
Paul
:cheers:
Paul
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 2,897
Likes: 0
From: Moon Township PA
Re: Reading tank sticker (UKPaul)
Paul, if your tank sticker is intact, I have read that you should always start with the simplest cleaning. I know of others who started with a soft brush and tried to brush as much dirt away as possible. I think you will be surprised at how much will lift off with a soft camel or horsehair brush. Once you have gotten as much dirt as possible off with the brush, start at one of the corners and use a slightly damp cloth to see how much more dirt can be pulled up. Perhaps just wiping, very gently, will remove a lot more dirt. This build copy is a carbon paper and should have some resilience. After all this time, the ink is certainly dry and "PROBABLY" won't smudge.
When you get it so that you can read any of it, start taking some photos to preserve the information.
Gary
When you get it so that you can read any of it, start taking some photos to preserve the information.
Gary
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
From: Kenmore Washington
Re: Reading tank sticker (UKPaul)
Paul; When I recovered mine, I found that it was for the most part still very pliable. The upper left corner had gone brittle and blown away and the upper right corner had curled and was brittle, but the rest of the document was generally flexible (now I didn't test this to the extreme or anything :) ).
I did not applay any liquid/moisture to the paper. I was able to literally wipe away (very gently) most of the accumulated road dust with a soft towel (gas stains remain :( ) on the pliable area of the document to a sufficient degree that I could read the listed information.
Good luck! Just be extremely careful whatever u decide to do. :flag
I did not applay any liquid/moisture to the paper. I was able to literally wipe away (very gently) most of the accumulated road dust with a soft towel (gas stains remain :( ) on the pliable area of the document to a sufficient degree that I could read the listed information.
Good luck! Just be extremely careful whatever u decide to do. :flag
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 752
Likes: 1
From: Springfield Oregon
Re: Reading tank sticker (72LT1Steve)
When I pulled mine out through the feul door opening(in a few pieces), I pieced it together on a larger piece of paper like a jigsaw puzzle with one of those Prell glue sticks. After brushing for a while with a soft hair bristle paint brush, I noticed that even it was beginning to wear away some of the info before it became clean enough to read. On a chance I took the whole thong out in the garage and sprayed a corner of it with brake cleaner and let it run off the page. Worked great! Didn't lift the print and cleaned the grime right off with no loss to abrasion. I know it sounds scary because you don't get a second chance, but it worked for me and the document is still in perfect shape after 9mo. Good luck.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,758
Likes: 3
From: Surrey
Re: Reading tank sticker (ORVette)
Thanks for the help. Looks to me like a job for a person with a delicate light touch (the GF!!) rather than me with my sausage fingers ;)
:cheers:
Paul
:cheers:
Paul
