Cleaning an old combination square/ re establishing black markings

[Brian Deakin]

I recently purchased an old Rabone 1901 combination square which was soiled I decided to clean the blade with Isopropyl alcohol which has removed some of the black ink marking the blades indentations

Can anyone please suggest

(1) the best approach to cleaning the blade

(2) How cab I re establish the black marking


regards Brian

[Dave Verstraete]

Brian
Can you color it with a black marker and then erase with an eraser. This worked for me

[Doug Wolf]

Hi Brian,
I've used a power wire brush wheel to clean the grooves, then clean with paint thinner and wipe black oil based paint across the grooves.

[Charles Lent]

If the surface is rough or rusted you will need to clean it up using a wire brush, sandpaper, etc. but don't sand so much that you damage the grooves. Just work to get the surface smooth and the grooves clean. When the surface is smooth you can fill the line and number indentations by applying oil based enamel paint over the entire surface and then wipe the surface clean while the enamel is still wet using a cloth moistened, but not dripping, with mineral spirits. If you are careful and the cloth is just wet enough, and you wipe at right angles to the lines the cloth will remove the surface enamel and leave the enamel in the lines untouched. If it doesn't come out to your satisfaction, just paint and wipe it again. This does require a little practice. When it looks good just set it aside to dry. I've restored several old scales and framing squares this way with great success. I prefer yellow over black enamel for doing this. The yellow lines show up much better for these old eyes.

Charley

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

You could also try lacquer sticks to enhance the markings.

[Brian Deakin]

A big thank you for your suggestions I will try the suggestion made by Charles and report back

regards Brian