Today I'm cleaning and refurbishing a 1906 Brunsviga mechanical calculator. It's the oldest calculator in my collection and the first with a pinwheel mechanism.
@kyle
Amazing result!
What did you use for cleaning?
I'd like to clean my Brunsviga as well but I'm afraid of using the wrong products...
@remulus Thank you! I've gotten a lot of tips from typewriter restoration blogs/forums. I use dish soap + water w/ cotton swabs, cotton balls, or paper towels for general-purpose cleaning. I use cotton swabs for hard-to-reach, and delicate parts (like the numbers on the registers). I use cotton swabs + isopropyl alcohol for unpainted metallic parts (basically anything you'd oil or grease). I use 0000 steel wool for rust, cotton swabs + sewing machine oil for the painted exterior.
@kyle
Thanks a lot for the tips Kyle, I'll give it a try ASAP
@remulus The best tip I got from typewriter restoration forums is that last one. Sewing machine oil + cotton balls or cotton swabs is a nice, gentle (but really effective!) way to clean dirt from enameled surfaces safetly. Just use a small amount of oil and clean with cotton balls/swabs until no more dirt comes up, then gently clean any excess oil on the surface.