Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Couple of globe questions

I bought a globe that had been laying on its face in a shed for a few years. The side facing down is fine but the side that faced up has a film of some type on it on the outside of the glass. Kind of like water spots but not. I can't seem to find anything to take it off. Any ideas.

Question 2. I also bought a glass wide body globe that has both lenses caulked in from the backside. Not original caulk but new caulk the previous owner but on to help hold the lenses in. I knew it was like this when I bought it but anyone have any ideas on how to dissolve the caulking or get the lenses out without breaking?? The caulk is pretty flexible.

Keith

...razor blade the new caulk...take your time...take your time...that's a good "sitting in front the TV watching football all day" kind of project...but save the beer until after you're done...your nerves will need it by then ...once bought a glass body that had a Gill Gulf lens siliconed to one face...that's what I did, long process but it worked...

...were you there when the globe was discovered?...I ask as it sounds almost as if the 'spotted' side was face down...or at least, covered in dust and dirt that trapped any moisture that came in contact with it...

...if that's the case - the 'film' sounds like the glass has become 'sick' (old bottle collecting term)...glass that sits in a wet, mineral-rich environment will sometimes degrade...become cloudy, no longer smooth and clear...it could probably be polished out, if it's not too bad...check with your local glass company, they should have something to take scratches out of glass...

Try thin piano wire held between 2 pencils, only work edge area between say 12-2, 1-3, 2-4 all the way around, use the wire like a saw. Easier to do than explain. Have also ran wire all the way around lens & overlapped @ beginning, then use a sawing motion.

Try Barkeepers Friend & 4-5 OTT wool on face.

Hi, I've had a few that were caulked in. What I do is add lacquer thinner around the lens to soften it. Then I use a .003 feeler gauge to go in between the lens and the body, at .003 it will conform to the body. The one I use now has a nice curve in it. Never broke any lenses so far. The ones with hard caulking are easier to remove. TC

...just reread your post...and you said the backside has the caulk...

...D'oh!...it's been a long day

...had another globe, same deal as yours...I used a thin slice of 3-mil Mylar that I cut from a comic book sleeve, slid it under an area that had no silicone, and carefully 'sawed' back and forth (no prying) all around the lens until it came off...then used my fingers to rub off the left-over silicone...

Well I am still battling the caulking on this globe. The problem I am having is cutting it on the lower half of the globe. The lens is so tight to the body that even piano wire is too thick. I cannot get anything between the body and the lens in the lower half. I am temped to try paint thinner, gas or something to try to dissolve the caulk however will these items eat the paint off the lens also if it was soaked?? The caulk is really poor caulk and does not stick real well but good enough to cause lots of trouble and it is on fairly thick in spots. ANY HELP??

Try dental floss. Strong and pliable, just need to work slowly.

i just use a razor blade and cut caulking around outside edge of lense..

Caulk is on the backside of the lens. Nothing to cut with a razor blade from the outside. I am going to try the feeler guage trick

Ouch! Someone used new caulk to set some lenses i take it?

Yep!!

If they put caulk on the back of the lens, your globe may not be real. Who did you get it from? Globes like that are known to come out of the MI area.

For all other buyers, be very cautious about buying any globes that are caulked in with new caulk, especially when it's on the back of the lense like that. There's a reason they want it to be really hard to get out!

I give.........what's the reason ?

The reason is the globes are not real!!!

Thanks, now I know.

Gasoline/thinner Should not hurt old fired/baked on lenses w/ Frit.
Are you trying to save lenses or body OR both ?

Some people like to install caulk so the 2 screws are not the only thing holding the lenses. I don't like caulk because i would like to take the lenses off. If you feel like you need to caulk a lens you install the lens first then put a couple of dabs on the front.

What lens are you trying to get off? Like Dick said paint thinner will not hurt an "original" lens.

Keithia,
I took a razor blade and removed staining off the front of a set of sinclair lenses i had bought from a guy that were found buried in the ground. Some how he didn't break them getting them out with a shovel.
I also clean mine with softscrub with bleach and blue scotch bright pad. Wet first then put some softscrub on and wipe/scrub and rinse. Like i said this is how i clean mine. Heard of someone using toilet bowl cleaner and it stained the lens. Always be careful how you clean your lenses.

Also cleaning the back of the lenses of older lenses with a mild cleanser will not hurt them. I use bar keepers friend & have good luck with it. I dont scrub to hard in one spot or let it sit on it for long periods of time.

Well the feeler guage trick worked. It took about 3 hours to cut out one lens but I got it done. Had to cut through a good 1/2 inch caulk all the way around. Did not break the lens or the body. I did break the .003 and .004 guage on it. Now I just have to do the other side. The second side might go faster as I may have learned a trick. The globe and lenses are original. I bought it from an old timer who caulked them in to keep them from falling out in case the screws did not hold. Trust me on this, do not ever caulk lenses in from the backside.

I got them out. Check out my new post for how to do and pictures.

Keith