How to Restore an Old Remington Rand Typewriter So It Just Works - Part Four

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Part Four of this typewriter restoration DIY job! Perfect for writers, DIYers, home improvement enthusiasts, or anyone interested in vintage manual typewriters.
This is part four of a multi-video series where I break down the steps I use to prepare a vintage manual typewriter for restoration. It's a fairly typical job of the many I've done so far.
This particular typewriter needs a new platen, feet, and feed rollers. In this series, you'll learn how to chemically clean a typewriter and other nifty DIY tricks.
Hope you enjoy!
Damon DiMarco
CreateX3.com

[@Nadia-uc1tb]

Hello! I recently found your channel and I'm loving this restauration series! I'm restoring a Remington Rand Deluxe Model 5 myself and it's the first typewriter in bad shape that I'll be cleaning. I live in Europe however and I can't manage to find Scratch Doctor here, can I use any scratch remover for cars or are there any risks? I've bought mineral spirits as well to clean the segment, but I'm not sure if I can use it on the rest of the typewriter (in a spray bottle for example). Do you have any tips on that?

[@CreateX3-DamonDiMarco]

Hello, Nadia! The best tip I can give you is a general one. ALWAYS test the products you use on tiny, hidden areas of your typewriter, such as those found on the underside. Make sure they don't remove paint, for instance. In most cases, they won't, but you want to be sure. Mineral spirits are fine for the segment but beware using them -- or anything really -- on decals, as these products tend to remove decals. I imagine that other car products will clean and polish your typewriter. Safest bet is to purchase a small quantity of a similar product and experiment. You can also try Richard Polt's excellent page on typewriter restoration (link below). As it happens, Prof. Polt is also an expert on Remington Rands. Hope this helps! site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-restoration.html

[@Nadia-uc1tb]

Thank you for the tips! I've been trying to clean it out with mineral spirits and it's definitely cleaner now but there's still a lot of sticky dust and grime so I'll use some more mineral spirits and then take it to the gas station to blow it out with an air compressor. I also saw in your videos that Remington uses special spools and my typewriter has no spools so I guess that's another project :(

[@CreateX3-DamonDiMarco]

@@Nadia-uc1tb The good news, Nadia: Spools for a Deluxe Model 5 should be easier to find than the ones for a Model 1. Suggestion: Blow the dust out of the machine first, then use mineral spirits or lacquer thinner (more powerful), which should remove the grime ... though it may take some work ... and be careful on the paint job. Repeat as necessary. Cotton swabs and toothbrushes can help tremendously.

[@Nadia-uc1tb]

@@CreateX3-DamonDiMarco Thanks! Someone told me that calculator ribbons/spools might work as a replacement so I ordered those for a cheap price and I guess we'll see how it goes! Also, is 200 dollars a reasonable price to recover a platen? There doesn't seem to be many places offering the service in Europe and the only one that I've found charges about 200 dollars shipping included...

[@CreateX3-DamonDiMarco]

@@Nadia-uc1tb I've never tried calculator ribbons but if they're 13.5 mm in width (half an inch), they might work. Here in the U.S., JJ Short & Associates is a fine vendor for recovering feed rollers and platens. Typically, they quote prices to recover both the platen and feed rollers on most machines at about $115 USD. I recommend them.