Let's see, we now use a #20 ( a teeny-weenie plane, Jeff) for feline training
and a #8 ( a big honking hunk of iron, Jeff) to subdue semi-feral canines. This
is all becoming somewhat complicated. Perhaps we need an index of the proper
plane to use with each species? Something like a combination of Blood & Gore and
Fantastic Beasts?

As I recall, there was no definitive information about what exactly Natalie was
doing with the Woodchuck, so it might be best not to fill in a plane for that
critter yet.

Tim 
Basking in 60F in NJ today.

Don Schwartz  wrote:

What exactly have you been feeding this cat?

If ordinary soaps or solvents wont "take it off" then the surface of the 
paint has been damaged.
Every old school auto parts sells rubbing compound and polishing 
compound for rubbing out paint damage. They also sell swirl mark remover 
which is kind of a -cut n color- which means its cuts a tiny bit then 
breaks down to a polish.
   I would not want to live life without any of these weapons in my 
arsenal.

Traditional alternatives would be pumice and rottenstone.
Pumice and water rubbed with a coarse cloth and then rottenstone and oil 
rubbed with a soft cloth.

    Anyone who loves a glossy sparkly finish of any kind, plus anyone 
who doesn't like dull lifeless plastic, needs all this stuff anyway.
   yours scott


-- 
*******************************
    Scott Grandstaff
    Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca  96039
    scottg@s...
    http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/
    http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html

GG’s,

Has anyone tried Flood Penetrol on a japanned tool?

This is not a rhetorical question.  I use Penetrol only as a paint additive to
improve brushability.

I note that the label refers to other uses and a quick Bing search turned up
various testimonials on using it as a rust-preventive coating and also as away
to _restore faded black plastic exterior trim on automobiles_.

Note the similarity between the description of the discolored spot on the OP’s
#20 and the appearance of sun-faded black plastic.

If Penetrol doesn’t harm japanning, it can likely improve the appearance and
provide rust-resistance to boot!

John Ruth
Who just added automotive “Swirl Mark Remover” to his shopping list, per Scott.

One of the tall ships I am on uses Penetrol by the 5 gallon bucket as a finish.
Instead of varnish, it is easy to apply, 3 coats lasts about a season, and very
easy to tough-up, although easily damaged too.  It is applied over painted iron
with no apparent bad reaction and it protects unpainted iron too.

That would probably require an entirely separate index...

Scott Grandstaff wrote:"What exactly have you been feeding this cat?

"If ordinary soaps or solvents wont "take it off" then the surface of the 
paint has been damaged.
"Every old school auto parts sells rubbing compound and polishing 
compound for rubbing out paint damage..."


My first reaction was similar to Scott's, but not exactly the same.  I thought
"What is cat barf anyway?"

I don't have a specific answer, but the basis is clear enough: cat (or any )
barf is degraded fragments of food plus the highly corrosive liquid designed to
degrade them much further. Traditional japanning in particular has a lot of
organic materials in its composition, just the sort of thing digestive fluids
are supposed to break down. It is likely that what you are seeing is not an
incrustation that can be removed, but is damage and destruction to the japanning
itself.

I have no experience with this kind of damage, but Scott's advice seems the way
to go. Rubbing compounds will depend on having a thick layer of original coating
(paint or japanning or whatever) and abrading away the surface until the paint
below the damage is exposed. This will have the secondary advantage of leveling
the surface, so that there is no ghost image from cratering of the paint.
However, if the barf-corrosion went so deep that there is little or no paint
under it, using a rubbing compound might expose the base metal. In this case the
japanning may have to be built up in some way, and it might be better to do this
before starting the rubbing. Using a magnifying lens, not just a 2x desk
magnifying glass but something more like a 10x jeweler's loupe or even a little
hand-held 30X lighted microscope, might be a good idea before starting to use
the rubbing compound.

That's all I got. Take it for what it's worth, which is free advice from someone
who's never dealt with the problem and has no responsibility.

Tom Conroy
Berkeley