Both the projector and sound heads look to be in pretty good shape, mechanically speaking. Our friend who gave us the equipment is a projection and sound tech and he looked it over with me and said it should be restorable. Another friend, also a tech, also looked at it and gave me the same prognosis. I'm anxious to start working on it as the project will give me some hands-on experience with rebuilding 35mm equipment. Fortunately, some of my projection tech friends have promised to advise me and to bail me out if I get myself into trouble!

I just finished a total restoration of an RCA 1040 soundhead. I first completely disassembled everything and degreased all parts and castings in mineral spirits. I stripped the old paint off with Jasco paint remover. Don't sandblast projectors or soundheads---you'll lose the close tolerances. Only do chemical stripping.

The paints I used on the RCA is:
exterior black: Hammerite 41140 "Hammered Black" (barcode 051652411409) 3 coats
interior white: Hammerite Gloss White (6 coats)

For the Simplex projector try a black wrinkle exterior with Zynolyte Wrinkle Finish Black 1300 (barcode 036333013004) 3 coats and usually does not need primer.

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This one time, at Projection Camp, I stuck a xenon bulb....

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The preferred and environmentally safe thing to do is to completely strip all parts and then mask them well and have them powder coated. Powder Coating is available in Black Wrinkle, Black, White, and a multitude of other colors.
My VistaVision projector, on the picture pages here, was powder coated and has been all over the place. The paint still does not have a scratch on it! I can't claim that for the parts on it that I had black anodized. They are quite scratched up and I'm probably going to have them powder coated as well. Powder coating is pretty much a permanent coating and has to be machined off(literally) so get the masking correct the first time!

As far as sandblasting goes, there are safe methods and unsafe methods. It is ok to use for some of the steel parts and cast iron castings but plug up all the screw holes first and any tolerance related holes as well. Its about impossible to get all the sand back out of any threaded scerew holes. I used to have a full sized sandblast cabinet and I used to do shutter guards, operating and non-operating side doors and pad roller arms but thats about it. Its also very time consuming to do it. I used to use DuPont StarBlast which cuts through paint better cause of its shape. Getting the right amount of air pressures vs. the right kind of sand so you don't loose important tolerances requires experimentation.
There is also extreme high pressure water blasting that will do no harm whatso ever to any part. I've never gone that route but I heqr that it works very well. What I used to do when I rebuilt batches of machines was to have them dunk stripped as that was the most feasable way. Get the castings back, clean them, mask them, then either Powder Paint, or Zinc Chromate, then an industrial Gray Hammertone that had to be baked on.
Mark @ GTS

simplex standards will not benefit as they are not an oil bath machine. the first oil bath machine was a copy of an ernamenn in the US by Fulco. The first US made oil bath machine was the Brenkert BX 80 in 1939. the Simplex XL soon followed in 1949. the coating would help very little as simplex oil leaks help keep the standards, supers, and E-7's clean by using new oil and flushing out the dirty used oil.

Josh

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If you need to repaint, then the Jasco stripper is good stuff. But when rinsing, run the castings under very hot tap water. The heat will help evoporate water and will help reduce immediate surface corrosion. As soon as you rinse the part, immediately apply a thin coat of Marvel Mystery or sewing machine oil to machined surfaces which will definately prevent corrosion. The rough, cast, unmachined surfaces resist corrosion very well. A light bath in an auto-body prep soultion/etchant will also help paint adherence. Properly protect yourself when using these chemicals, and be sure to have a well ventalliated area.

Sand blasting is a no-no. Glass bead cleaning is much better, but requires care, skill and know-how. All machined surfaces need to be protected and masked off to prevent damage, and these areas need to be avoided when blasting.

I too was wondering about powder coating, but after careful consideration, opted against it. The problem is that powder coating is a high temp process that may warp castings and can definately have a negative effect on some of the die cast parts. Also, some powder coatings are not suited for high temps. I took a brand new water pump for my small block Ford to be powder coated. I wanted it in Ford engine blue. The powder coating shop failed to tell me that this color was not suitable for high temp applications. The powder coating subsequently failed and I was given a full refund with apologies.

I am glad to see that some people were able to list specific paints for restoration. After consulting many references, including Wolk, Strong, auto/aircraft paint suppliers, etc., I was led to believe that those origonal finishes and processes were no longer available due to EPA restrictions, etc.

I have therefore relied on ceramic based, high temp, oil and gas resistant auto engine paints such as Duplicolor, which work very nicely. Multiple thin coats with a short time in a 150-200 degree oven for curing does wonders. I have painted my small-block Ford parts with this paint and it is just wonderful!

As far as masking is concerned, there are several options. Traditional masking. Model builders have also relied on petroleum jelly, and there are even paint on liquid masks available from your local hobby shop.

As far as plating is concerned, there were several parts on projectors that were nickle and chrome plated.

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Ken,
The baking on of the Hammertone in a spray bottle definately works well and gives a nice sheen to the paint. The Industrial Hammertone that I have used HAS to be baked on to get it to dry, and harden!! If left to air dry it takes about two months.

Dennis,
All open frame Powers projectors were Nickle plated! If dismantled and polished peoperly they look inicredible and will sometimes fetch up in the 10 grand region from an antique dealer.
Mark @ GTS