I am now the owner of a model steam engine. I was not sure if this hobby would hold my interest, and did not wish to purchase a new engine, so I went looking for a less costly used engine on ebay. It took a month or so, and was outbid on a number of engines but finally won a Jensen 65 for $48.00. The firebox was very discolored, missing the chimney and fuel tray, and very dirty, but the price was right. Upon arrival I fired it up, and it ran. That got me a lot more interested in steam. I then disassembled the engine and set about cleaning it up.
After taking inventory of everything, a chimney, fuel tray and set of gaskets were ordered. The first thing I did was clean the base up. After a good cleaning with soap and water, I rubbed the finish out with automotive rubbing and polishing compound, and gave it a coat of wax. Turned out nice. The firebox and chimney support, along with the chimney were stripped of paint and a hi-temp black paint was applied. The inside of the boiler took some cleaning with vinegar and a tooth brush working through the glass sight hole, but cleaned up good . The outside was a real mess, but Semichrome polish cut the built up carbon and gave a nice polish to the boiler. The whistle and steam valve leaked quite a bit, so I disassembled them and applied valve grinding compound to the insides, reassembled and turned the valves a hundred turns or so. That did the trick as they leak very little now. Every thing else was cleaned and polished. I used stainless button head screws to reattach the boiler straps as I think they look better than slotted screws. New gaskets were installed and I was done. My total cost was about $85.00. I think all hope is lost as i'm now looking for engine number two.
Mike
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