Yeah, um, I think we need to buy one of those weird fingernail brushes. You know, the ones that your grandpa or uncle always had in the medicine cabinet, with pumice on the handle, and made you wonder what he could possibly be doing that would require a brush just for his fingernails.
Well, it turns out that he was probably working on an engine of some kind, one that was covered in a thick layer of grime.
I know this because I have begun working on our printing press more often, and have come to realize that there is about a hundred years of built-up grease and grime on some parts of the thing. And when I say "a hundred years" I am being literal. Literally.
Anyway, some of this grime has to be cleaned off if we are ever going to convice people to buy our cards, like the lovely number pictured above. I don't think hunks of congealed 3-in-1 oil mixed with paper fiber and insect parts is really a selling point, so I've been trying to clean off some of the gunk so it won't get on the product.
Still, it's kind of* fun to mess around with the press and get dirty fingernails. But I definitely will need one of those brushes. Goop doesn't cut it for this particular application. Goop is the hand cleaner that comes in tubs that you keep in the shop, and you scoop out a big glop of it (leaving the exact impression of your fingers) and smear it around and then wipe your hands on a rag to get most of the grime off before you wash your hands with soap and water in the house, with a fingernail brush.
And don't you dare wipe your hands on my good towels. Those are for guests.
*By kind of, I mean incredibly, incalculably, astonishingly, and mightily satisfying. I really, really like having a shop, with tools, and that musty/greasy-but-good smell, and a big ol' hunk of iron to oil and clean and adjust. I know, you love me because I'm so feminine.
No comments:
Post a Comment