When we started to repaint our Washington Press we were afraid of trying to take the bed and platen off (both weigh somewhere around 400 pounds each at least). Once we got the press stripped and primed it seemed like we should go all the way so we took everything off but the springs that support the platen.

The photo above left shows Jill working on cleaning a few leftover places. The springs are wrapped in paper towels with the blue tape holding it tight.

The right photo shows it right after the spraypainting was finished. It is still a bit shinier than it will be after the paint dries down to its satin finish.

A group of new guys have rented a shop space right next to “Lenny Who Welds.” They are going to be doing high-end car stereos, detailing cars, and painting. I think we might give them one of the Pilots we have to see what they could come up with. I wonder if flames would make it print any better.

Here is the platen (part that presses the paper against the type) and how we worked with it.

We had already primed the platen when it as still bolted to the main supports on the press. The left photo is after we had removed it from the press and had it up on 4″ x 4″ boards. We had to lift it enough so that when it rotates (left over right) the platen wouldn’t hit the floor. The springs we mentioned above go into those two supports that jut out of the long sides of the platen. We sprayed those two supports and then rolled it over on those supports so we could clean the rust off the bottom of the press.

We lifted the platen on two 4″ x 4″ boards so we could paint it’s top satin black. Typically when we are doing lifting we are either using a floor jack or a long 2″ x 4″ and levering it.
The closeup below shows the spray paint mark right before we rolled it over to work on the bottom.

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