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Home » Hermes » Rocket » 1959 #5740172
1959 Hermes Rocket Serial # 5740172 1959 Hermes Rocket typewriter, Serial # 5740172 Mighty Jabba's 1959 Hermes Rocket typewriter. 2023-04-28 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Mighty Jabba: 1959 Hermes Rocket Serial # 5740172 When I got this 1959 Hermes Rocket, it was in pretty rough shape. Most of the keys were stuck, the carriage return and release levers were bent, it was dirty and more than anything, it was super brown. I had originally hoped that it might just be surface dirt that would clean off, but it seems that the paint has changed color over the years.

I got the machine functioning well after cleaning it and flushing out the internals with some alcohol, but it was still brown. I don’t think the color combination looks great with the mint green keys, and it always somehow felt dirty even after cleaning it. So after giving it some thought, I resolved to strip it off to reveal the aluminum underneath. I don’t generally like the idea of repainting machines that are in good shape, but in my opinion it already looked very different from what was intended, so I don't feel like I'm defacing it or anything.

The Rocket has 3 metal pieces that make up its outer shell that can be easily removed. I also removed the name plate on the top since it has some paint on it that I didn’t want to remove. I think it is attached with some adhesive since it loosed up when I used a heat gun from behind. I used some Klean Strip Paint & Varnish remover from Home Depot, and in combination with some wire brushes and elbow grease, managed to remove the paint. I then used a little Mother’s Mag aluminum polish to shine it up slightly. I thought about sanding it to make it shinier, and tried doing that on the bottom to see how well it would work, but the finish wasn’t really all that different despite the work involved. Since the other parts of the case would be difficult to sand with all of their curves and angles, and the metal is pretty thin and easy to deform, I decided to forgo the sanding for the rest of the case.

Overall, I’m quite happy with how it turned out.

1959 Hermes Rocket #5740172

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Mighty Jabba (MightyJabba)
Created: 04-28-2023 at 04:33PM
Last Edit: 04-28-2023 at 04:38PM

Description Hunter 5 Photos 1 Like  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

When I got this 1959 Hermes Rocket, it was in pretty rough shape. Most of the keys were stuck, the carriage return and release levers were bent, it was dirty and more than anything, it was super brown. I had originally hoped that it might just be surface dirt that would clean off, but it seems that the paint has changed color over the years.

I got the machine functioning well after cleaning it and flushing out the internals with some alcohol, but it was still brown. I don’t think the color combination looks great with the mint green keys, and it always somehow felt dirty even after cleaning it. So after giving it some thought, I resolved to strip it off to reveal the aluminum underneath. I don’t generally like the idea of repainting machines that are in good shape, but in my opinion it already looked very different from what was intended, so I don't feel like I'm defacing it or anything.

The Rocket has 3 metal pieces that make up its outer shell that can be easily removed. I also removed the name plate on the top since it has some paint on it that I didn’t want to remove. I think it is attached with some adhesive since it loosed up when I used a heat gun from behind. I used some Klean Strip Paint & Varnish remover from Home Depot, and in combination with some wire brushes and elbow grease, managed to remove the paint. I then used a little Mother’s Mag aluminum polish to shine it up slightly. I thought about sanding it to make it shinier, and tried doing that on the bottom to see how well it would work, but the finish wasn’t really all that different despite the work involved. Since the other parts of the case would be difficult to sand with all of their curves and angles, and the metal is pretty thin and easy to deform, I decided to forgo the sanding for the rest of the case.

Overall, I’m quite happy with how it turned out.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:





Before stripping the paint
Before stripping the paint

Hunter: Mighty Jabba (MightyJabba)

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