Cleaning cardboard?
 

Anyone have tips for cleaning dirt and other stuff off of cardboard? My original trunk divider panel is a little abused over the last 51 years but I would like to save it if I can make it look reasonable. Was this divider installed before or after trunk spatter paint? Mine obviously has spray on it but that could have happened when it was painted in the late '70's.

No spatter on my original. I was just going to lightly wipe mine
& use some really low air pressure...like 5 lbs or so....Joe

My experience with them is, anything you wipe it with will leave streaks, especially if it is damp, like a sponge.

Use a fine bristle paint brush to lightly brush what loose dirt/dust will come off and that's about it.
You're looks a little tough for even 5 lbs of air, but you could try it. Those cans of air for blowing out keyboards may work...:dunno:

Maybe you're right, a soft brush would be better. definitely nothing wet. I don't want to ruin mine either. Original are hard to find....Joe

Realize or assume your trying to clean yet utilize this piece for survivor status and good on ya, but u also have an excellent opportunity to work to find similar material and thickness and use the original for a template both in shape and markings and have even though it may never be needed by that particular car. Might greatly assist u down the road or someone else. Just a thought!

Do you or someone you know have a "junk" piece to practice on? The same type of material was used on so many GM cars......... there has to be a sample laying around to develop a method for what you are trying to preserve.

I'll look around in my junk for just that.

Tim

Yes, Thats a great idea, as I need one for my 69 convertible.

Thanks Gregg

IF you put install it and hold it EXACTLY correctly inside the car originally--
Does the overspray of spatter match the "correct" assembly line "masked" areas or do the spatter overspray patterns match a "slipped down" divider board?

I think it matches up with the "slipped down board masking"

As an aside to trans port the board around use piece of thin luan plywood -

WHEN YOU CLEAN IT... DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GO FOR 100% - especially given it's location-
Do all of this dry - and use a air blower to blow away after dislodging the contaminants.

1. take fairly stiff bristled brush and lightly use a circular pattern to begin to remove what ever you want to remove. - if that is not dislodging material - what is happening?
2 would a stiffer brush or more pressure or a more abrasive brush work better?

I think it matches up with the "slipped down board masking"

I'm not 100% sure what you're saying....did the factory have this divider in place when the original trunk spatter was applied? By "slipped down" do you mean the divider had been moved from original position when spatter was applied therefore probably done at some point by an prior owner?

Try eraser bags made for cleaning up pencil marks and dust on drafting drawings.

I was saying that the slots for the tabs look broken at the top... when that happens the board slides down...
So the last part saying spatter applied when slipped down from original position is what I was trying to communicate.

If you look at the triangle areas where the spatter is... there is also a triangle area which appears to be "different" further- lower down the board - which would be exposed IF the mount slots were in tact and the board were in the correct position.
I do not think it was installed when the spatter was done, however of this I cannot be 100% certain.

Aaahh, gotcha. I went out to look at it closer and you are correct. There is a shadow of the original pattern of the rear seat brace offset from the pattern created by the trunk spatter overspray. I did not realize that those slots on top were supposed to be closed on the top but now after looking again see where they were. I'll try to clean it the best I can based on all these good suggestions and see what happens. If it starts to look like crap, I'll have to go another route. Thanks All!

You are better off lightly removing what you can and then if there is still spatter visible, finely chopping up some fiberous material that looks similar and is a similar color and "flocking" the areas lightly. (like flocking a glovebox)

REMEMBER!!!! You are not trying to make it 100% un-noticeable from 12 inches away. you are attempting to keep someone's eye from being drawn to the areas, IF nothing on first glance looks out of place- there is little need for further investigation.
It's in a shadowed area, under and behind other things, the fact that it is original is bang up to begin with.

Thanks for the tips and reminder about where this thing is on the car. I've obsessed over many many small details that will never be seen unless someone starts tearing the car apart:dunno: Can be a curse I guess....now onto restifying my original water shields!

Well, I think I made some good progress today. The trunk side cleaned up pretty well. I used acetone with a microfiber cloth and lightly rubbed to remove all the spatter paint. The variation is shades shouldn't be noticeable after installed in the trunk. Where the trunk side stood up well to the acetone, the interior side is made of different material and does not play well with acetone. I still used it as dry methods didn't remove it at all. The acetone darkened the cardboard quite a bit - we'll see what it looks like after fully drying. To clean the main surface of the interior side, I put a latex glove on my hand and using my finger tips lightly rubbed the cardboard in small circular motions. That essentially removes the top layer of cardboard (and dirt) without disrupting the appearance (before is left of the center yellow ink line, after is to the right). I stayed away from the yellow ink since I didn't want to remove it. Still have all the repair work to do on the tears, but I think it will end up back in the car:biggthumpup:

Looks great to me...
After the slot repair it should be golden.

I was cleaning my divider board today & found a little spatter on it, both sides...Joe

Interesting....guess we never did determine if it was in place at the time the original spatter was sprayed. If in place, probably should have spatter, if not, should be spatter on the rear floorpan in the interior.

In my mind I questioned the amount on yours but I would now say that divider was installer prior to trunk spatter. I know mine didn't have anything done back there till I did it...Joe