VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Cleaning Up The Data Plate

Over eighty years worth of crud and corruption encrusted my thirty-one's cowl data plate. Cleaning it became tiresome and tedious. I hit upon the idea of oven cleaner. An application of oven cleaner, an overnight soak and scrub with a toothbrush under hot water made it clean as a whistle.

Best Regards,

Tom

Good tip! Thanks for trying it and reporting on the results.

Was there any paint on the plate or was it just stamped information? I would be afraid that the oven cleaner would take off any paint that was on the plate.

Cheers, Dean

I would have soaked the aluminum firewall plate in lacquer thinners and used a soft brass brush to clean the surface.

I would have thought the oven cleaner might attack and eat the plate but obviously not....good tip.

mike

I tried it first on a piece of scrap aluminum to ascertain no damage would ensue. Likely it would remove paint so I'd probably not try it on a painted surface. It was stamped not painted.

Tom

Great suggestion. I have the same problem on my 31 cab. The last restoration about 25 years ago painted the plate. I have to get it off, and your suggestion sounds like just the trick.

Thanks for sharing.

Oven cleaner does a great job on grease and old dead paint but rarely will remove good paint.
Al