Hi All,

Well, my first vacumatic arrived today - I love it - but it needs a clean. It's a brown / gold early 40's (plastic plunger) and I need your help.

I want to clean it but am unsure how to start. When I shake it, it rattles - is this the bead inside the nipple or is something broken inside ?

Nib is gold and needs sprucing up, there's dried ink underneath and a little on top - what, if any products should I use ?

How do I clean / polish the outside and can I flush it with a product to remove any dried ink inside ? It's quite transparent already.

The band on the cap looks like it had gold on it, but now looks like tarnished silver - what should I clean it with ? The same can be said for the clip. How do I remove it. It seems to just swivel at the moment. Blue diamond is fine.

Any offerings welcome - I'm very patient so can wait for hints and tips please !!

Thanks

Benson

Congrats on your first vac.

The nib & feed can often be cleaned up with soaking in water.

The rattling is the bad news. That almost certainly means the diaphram is shot (could also be the breather tube has come loose). Either case, that means some restoration is due. The problem with vacs is that this requires you sending it to one of the fine gentlemen who do this work or buy some specialized tools & do it yourself. If you're not likely to repair several vacs, it is more cost effective to have a pro do it.

I think the going rate is around $35 and several weeks before turnaround.

Good luck!

John