The Ford Barn

Russell in Tulsa · 09-12-2013, 10:31 PM

I was surfing through the older posts on the Barn and saw a similar question asked. I was working on my '30 coupe about a year ago and the glass sediment bowl was orange from old gasoline stains. I removed it and scrubbed it with gas, wd40 and hand cleaner and wasn't amused. I was ready to forget it and happened to look on a shelf nearby and saw an OLD metal quart can with the really small screw on lid like many products came in back in the day and thought I'd try it, as the can said, Paint and Varnish Remover. A small amount on a paper towel and by running it around the inside of the bowl one time the glass looked brand new.
Don't know if the paint stores still sell this product or not, can't recall the name, but it worked great.
It removed the varnish as advertised but I think they may have been talking about that "other" varnish.

Tom Wesenberg · 09-12-2013, 11:45 PM

Most of the time gas and a rag will remove the stains for me. If not, then fine steel wool and gas do the trick.

Craig Lewis · 09-12-2013, 11:57 PM

I always reach for cut polish or rubbing compound when I have stains on glass (the same stuff for polishing up old dull auto paint)
Works fast to remove hard water deposits (water rings) from windows...leaving them silky smooth and easier to keep clean.

Farecla G6 polish has worked the best so far.

darrylkmc · 09-13-2013, 12:07 AM

Russell in Tulsa,

I have had great results using Sodium Hydroxide, Red Devil Lye, in a small Plastic or Glass container with some warm water and let it sit for a couple of days.

DO NOT Place in an Aluminium Container or allow to contact Aluminium.

Read the Warnings.

Rinse with clean water when you are finished.

Darryl in Fairbanks

BILL WILLIAMSON · 09-13-2013, 02:34 AM

Darryl,
Chief & I completely stripped about 6 coats of paint from my '34 Chev. Coupe & it made the weathered rubber body moldings look almost new! I forgot what we used to neutralize the LYE?? (Anyone know?) We mixed it with water in a 5 Gal. bucket & swabbed it on with old straw brooms. Bill W.

H. L. Chauvin · 09-13-2013, 07:59 AM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Hi Russell,

Water based POR 15 Marine Clean sold at Snyder's will thoroughly emulsify & clean "any" petroleum based product on glass, pot metal carburetors, porous cast iron, porous concrete, all metals both ferrous & non-ferrous, insides & outsides of radiators, or any other surface coated with heavy hardened grease, gasoline varnish, or oil.

Even cleans better than Carburetor Cleaner for insides of carburetors coated with black tar looking goo from ethanol dissolved Model A gas tank sealer.

Containers of this concentrated product goes long way after following directions for mixing with water -- mixing with domestic hot water works twice as fast.

Skeezixx · 09-13-2013, 10:03 AM

As an old optical lab technician, the way we used to fine and polish glass was with different grades of emery and polish it with a slurry of cerium oxide all of which can be gotten from a lapidary supply.

ken ct · 09-13-2013, 11:00 AM

I wash them in the kitchen sink with dish washing soap and a copper stranded pad,why all the fancy chemicles.Come squeeky cleen with a little elbow grease. lol ken ct.

CarlG · 09-13-2013, 12:27 PM

Lacquer thinner or MEK. Or do like Ken says, dishwashing soap. It's also amazing what just regular old laundry powders will do.

afuncar · 09-13-2013, 05:37 PM

I have used the liquid from orange hand cleaner ,I think it's a citric acid, removed stains and material other cleaners wouldn't touch.

dr.j · 09-14-2013, 04:17 AM

afuncar,
hate to sound like laundry lady however the orange hand cleaner will remove just about every oil and grease stain from your favourite sweat shirt or pair of jeans. Just rub a liberal amount of the orange hand cleaner into the stain and throw it into the laundry basket for the next wash day. It really cleans grease and oil from clothing better than any product my wife has found.

QGolden · 09-14-2013, 06:07 AM

I'm with Craig, compound. I use Dupont No. 7.

BILL WILLIAMSON · 09-15-2013, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr.j

afuncar,
hate to sound like laundry lady however the orange hand cleaner will remove just about every oil and grease stain from your favourite sweat shirt or pair of jeans. Just rub a liberal amount of the orange hand cleaner into the stain and throw it into the laundry basket for the next wash day. It really cleans grease and oil from clothing better than any product my wife has found.

Yo, Dr. J,
When I sometimes relate an "amazing" fact/technique/etc, to Gregg, he say's, "Whar'd you lurn that"???----"On Ford Barn, of course"!!! Bill W.

theHIGHLANDER · 09-16-2013, 08:22 AM

If the stains are mixture of old gas and iron sediment, you can't do better than an overnight soak in metal-prep. Headlight lenses, sediment bowls, tail lamp lenses, all will come out looking NOS. The only caution I offer is to remove them over a well padded area as they can be quite slippery when 1st removed. I had a lovely pair of rare Packard headlight lenses that had some stubborn rust in the bottom and all around the edge. After a night in a shallow tray of metal-prep, You'd have though they were brand new. Even the stubborn dirt and grime that takes a lot of effort to remove, GONE. I clean all of the glass parts this way and have been since the late 80s. You might be amazed at how well it works.

09-12-2013, 10:31 PM	#1
Russell in Tulsa Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Tulsa Oklahoma Posts: 298	Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. I was surfing through the older posts on the Barn and saw a similar question asked. I was working on my '30 coupe about a year ago and the glass sediment bowl was orange from old gasoline stains. I removed it and scrubbed it with gas, wd40 and hand cleaner and wasn't amused. I was ready to forget it and happened to look on a shelf nearby and saw an OLD metal quart can with the really small screw on lid like many products came in back in the day and thought I'd try it, as the can said, Paint and Varnish Remover. A small amount on a paper towel and by running it around the inside of the bowl one time the glass looked brand new. Don't know if the paint stores still sell this product or not, can't recall the name, but it worked great. It removed the varnish as advertised but I think they may have been talking about that "other" varnish.

09-12-2013, 11:45 PM	#2
Tom Wesenberg Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mpls, MN Posts: 27,582	Re: Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. Most of the time gas and a rag will remove the stains for me. If not, then fine steel wool and gas do the trick.

09-12-2013, 11:57 PM	#3
Craig Lewis Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Parksville B.C. Canada Posts: 880	Re: Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. I always reach for cut polish or rubbing compound when I have stains on glass (the same stuff for polishing up old dull auto paint) Works fast to remove hard water deposits (water rings) from windows...leaving them silky smooth and easier to keep clean. Farecla G6 polish has worked the best so far.

09-13-2013, 12:07 AM	#4
darrylkmc Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Fairbanks, Alaska Posts: 767	Re: Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. Russell in Tulsa, I have had great results using Sodium Hydroxide, Red Devil Lye, in a small Plastic or Glass container with some warm water and let it sit for a couple of days. DO NOT Place in an Aluminium Container or allow to contact Aluminium. Read the Warnings. Rinse with clean water when you are finished. Darryl in Fairbanks

09-13-2013, 02:34 AM	#5
BILL WILLIAMSON Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: FRESNO, CA Posts: 12,560	Re: Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. Darryl, Chief & I completely stripped about 6 coats of paint from my '34 Chev. Coupe & it made the weathered rubber body moldings look almost new! I forgot what we used to neutralize the LYE?? (Anyone know?) We mixed it with water in a 5 Gal. bucket & swabbed it on with old straw brooms. Bill W. __________________ "THE ASSISTANT GURU OF STUFF"

09-13-2013, 07:59 AM	#6
H. L. Chauvin Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 4,179	Re: Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Hi Russell, Water based POR 15 Marine Clean sold at Snyder's will thoroughly emulsify & clean "any" petroleum based product on glass, pot metal carburetors, porous cast iron, porous concrete, all metals both ferrous & non-ferrous, insides & outsides of radiators, or any other surface coated with heavy hardened grease, gasoline varnish, or oil. Even cleans better than Carburetor Cleaner for insides of carburetors coated with black tar looking goo from ethanol dissolved Model A gas tank sealer. Containers of this concentrated product goes long way after following directions for mixing with water -- mixing with domestic hot water works twice as fast. Last edited by H. L. Chauvin; 09-13-2013 at 08:00 AM. Reason: typo

09-13-2013, 10:03 AM	#7
Skeezixx Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 426	Re: Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. As an old optical lab technician, the way we used to fine and polish glass was with different grades of emery and polish it with a slurry of cerium oxide all of which can be gotten from a lapidary supply.

09-13-2013, 11:00 AM	#8
ken ct BANNED Join Date: May 2010 Location: stratford,ct Posts: 5,971	Re: Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. I wash them in the kitchen sink with dish washing soap and a copper stranded pad,why all the fancy chemicles.Come squeeky cleen with a little elbow grease. lol ken ct.

09-13-2013, 12:27 PM	#9
CarlG Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Posts: 9,115	Re: Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. Lacquer thinner or MEK. Or do like Ken says, dishwashing soap. It's also amazing what just regular old laundry powders will do. __________________ Alaskan A's Antique Auto Mushers of Alaska Model A Ford Club of America Model A Restorers Club Antique Automobile Club of America Mullins Owner's Club

09-13-2013, 05:37 PM	#10
afuncar Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: coquitlam b.c. canada Posts: 130	Re: Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. I have used the liquid from orange hand cleaner ,I think it's a citric acid, removed stains and material other cleaners wouldn't touch.

09-14-2013, 04:17 AM	#11
dr.j Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Portland, ON, Canada Posts: 315	Re: Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. afuncar, hate to sound like laundry lady however the orange hand cleaner will remove just about every oil and grease stain from your favourite sweat shirt or pair of jeans. Just rub a liberal amount of the orange hand cleaner into the stain and throw it into the laundry basket for the next wash day. It really cleans grease and oil from clothing better than any product my wife has found. __________________ Dave A Jamieson Portland, ON Canada 1928 Tudor

09-14-2013, 06:07 AM	#12
QGolden Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Alton, NH Posts: 1,231	Re: Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. I'm with Craig, compound. I use Dupont No. 7. __________________ It's not what people think they know that will hurt them, it is what they think they know that aint so! -Mark Twain. It is the very things that we think we know, that keep us from learning what we should know.- Unknown

09-16-2013, 08:22 AM	#14
theHIGHLANDER Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 492	Re: Old gas stains on glass, how to remove. If the stains are mixture of old gas and iron sediment, you can't do better than an overnight soak in metal-prep. Headlight lenses, sediment bowls, tail lamp lenses, all will come out looking NOS. The only caution I offer is to remove them over a well padded area as they can be quite slippery when 1st removed. I had a lovely pair of rare Packard headlight lenses that had some stubborn rust in the bottom and all around the edge. After a night in a shallow tray of metal-prep, You'd have though they were brand new. Even the stubborn dirt and grime that takes a lot of effort to remove, GONE. I clean all of the glass parts this way and have been since the late 80s. You might be amazed at how well it works.