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Antique Safes/Painting a safe

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Expert: - 1/19/2009


Question
I have a York safe I am trying to recondition or restore by myself. The original paint appears to have been painted over because as I have been removing the paint and a bit of surface rust I noticed gold lines and pictures of four leafs vines in each corner of the door. Anyhow I was wondering what type of primer and paint I should use. I am also in the need of some parts. The front right wheel assembly is missing. The Yale lock that came with it may need a replacement because I do not know the combo. I know the safe is not worth much, but I am trying to make it work so I do not have to by a new one. If you can help me or have some information as to were I can purchase a new or used lock that would work I would greatly appreciate it.Thank you.

Answer
Fred,

Most of the paint used originally was oil base paint.  You would need to discuss restoration paint with a paint company as I am not into the chemistry aspect of safes & painting.  Unless you take it to bare metal, you shouldn't need a primer, but most primers are compatible with most of the paints available today.
Take pictures of any art work that you are trying to restore so that you can keep it as accurate as possible.

If all of the parts are available to your lock you probably don't need it replaced, possibly just serviced.  The combo can be reset at that time.  I recommend that you use a safe company for this service as a mistake reassembling the lock can be disasterous.

New locks are no longer available for your safe, and replacement locks are few and far between, so unless you have to replace it or you want to upgrade, have it serviced.

Hope this answered some of your questions.  If you have more let me know.

Andy

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Terry V Andreasen (Andy)

Expertise

Safe and Vault related Questions; Antique Safe Repair and Restoration; With over 40 years in the Safe & Vault industry, if I can't answer your question I know where to get the answer. Current Project: Restoration of two Tilton & McFarland Safes from the 1860's. Will answer Safe & Vault related questions concerning age, value, restoration, moving, opening & repairing, parts, operation and history. Note: It is not my intention to teach you to open safes or to provide information which may aid in the unlawful opening of a safe. I will not give out drill points or information which I deem inappropriate.

Experience

40 years in the Safe & Vault Industry. Service Manager for one of the largest Safe & Vault companies on the West Coast. Graduate of Lockmasters Safe Lock Servicing, Safe lock Manipulation and Safe Deposit Lock Courses. Graduate of Locksmith Institute. Certified Instructor for the California Locksmith Association teaching Basic and Advanced Lock Servicing, Basic Safe opening and Repairing. Factory Trained by AMSEC, LORD Safes, LeFebure, Mosler, KabaMas, LaGard and Sargent & Greenleaf

Organizations
Safecrackers International and the National Antique Safe Association

Education/Credentials
Graduate of Locksmith Institute 1972 Graduate Lockmasters Safe Lock Servicing 1974 Graduate Lockmasters Safe Lock Manipulation 1975 Graduate Lockmasters Safe Deposit Lock Servicing 1985 Instructor Certified - California Locksmith Association - 1985 Factory trained by AMSEC, MAJOR, STAR, Johnson-Pacific, Kaba-MAS, Allied-Gary, ISM, Lord, Brown Safe, EXL, Mosler, Diebold.

Awards and Honors
2009, 2010 & 2011 Listed in AllExperts top 50 Experts. All Experts Categories - Safes & Security Containers, Locksmithing, Antique Safes. Retired US Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer (CW3), with 32 years of total service. With numerous awards from Vietnam, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. US Navy - 1971-1981 US Army Reserve 1984-2006 US Army Retired Reserve 2006-present

Past/Present Clients
US Secret Service, FBI, BATF, Local Law enforcment agencies, Diebold, Hamilton Pacific, Red Hawk Int., Chubb International, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, Mechanics Bank, El Dorado Savings Bank, many Credit unions and smaller banks. McDonalds, Togos, BurgerKing, TacoBell, Carls Jr. FoodMaxx, SaveMart, Lucky's, Albertson's, Raley's, Safeway, NobHill, Bell Markets, PW Markets. Great America, Century Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, UA Cinemas, and many homeowners and small businesses. Provide warranty service for lock and safe manufactures. Service area is Northern California - Fresno to Oregon, including western Nevada

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