Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Typewwriter ribbon restoration

After I tested the ink for smearing or oil I reinserted it for the above shot.


Not yet scanned.  Please ignore by cluttered book shelf.
Looking at the macro of the ribbon it looks like the ribbon in my Oyimpa B12.    I do not think that ribbon is silk.
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9 comments:

  1. Dwayne F.February 8, 2012 at 8:42 PM

    This is helpful. I'll have to look for Cameron's post on the subject. I bought some purple ribbons still wrapped in their original plastic. Dry as a bone. Same for a used IBM green ribbon.

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  2. Richard PFebruary 8, 2012 at 9:48 PM

    The typing looks great. Can you describe the technique you used to get the right amount of WD-40 on the ribbon?

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  3. Bill MFebruary 9, 2012 at 4:12 AM

    I plan to post more details over this week end as well as the results of using this method on the black/red ribbon and a Pelikan silk ribbon.

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  4. maschinengeschriebenFebruary 9, 2012 at 4:21 AM

    And just yesterday I threw away a dry ribbon I had replaced...

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  5. Rob BowkerFebruary 9, 2012 at 2:08 PM

    Yes please. WD-40 techique would be very useful - I have a stash of unused but old and very faint ex-government stock.

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  6. Fernando AntunesFebruary 9, 2012 at 4:37 PM

    I'm looking forward to hear more about this project! I've read something about restoring ribbons but at that time it seemed me too complicated and messy... But now I realize that the end result is great! The typing looks fantastic...

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  7. Ton S. February 9, 2012 at 9:50 PM

    Wd-40, of course. Waiting to hear how you did it.

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  8. Martin A. Rice, Jr.February 9, 2012 at 11:49 PM

    Me too, waiting as well!

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  9. Bill MFebruary 10, 2012 at 5:16 AM

    While google-ing typewriter ribbon restoration I found a GoogleBook of Popular Mechanics magazine from 1926, with a typewriter ribbon restoration article. It stated remove the old ribbon from the typewriter, soak the ribbon on the spool in gasoline or alcohol until it is fully saturated. Then let it sit until the excess evaporates. YUK! I paraphrased the article, but found it rather amusing "soak the spooled ribbon in gasoline or alcohol" I do not know anyone who would want to do that and ruin a ribbon.

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