Restoring flashlights lettering (Surefire specifically)?

so I think any of us Surefire owners with oldies (older bodies/models) know that the lettering (the Surefire logo, A#####, etc.) starts to get a bit darker and dirty over the years (from being handled I'm certain).

My question is: is there a way to restore the white color to the letters? Perhaps rubbing alcohol might clean them up? Or is it not simply a dirt problem? Does anyone have experience in this? Maybe a sonic (or ultrasonic? what are they called again?) jewelry cleaner would work?

I don't plan on repainting the letters though, because I wouldn't be able to do that too well I don't believe.

edit: I've also got a 47s 123^2 "X" Tactical I'd like to clean up, too, in addition to my really old (A00773) M1 Illuminator and C2 Centurion.

I used brake (parts?) spray cleaner on my old L4 when I used to work at an auto shop. Cleaned it right up and no damage to the finish, just to be safe you might saturate the corner of a rag and wipe the letters. Be sure to be careful of the rubber o rings, some chemicals are harsh on them.

I use nail polish remover.

Soap and a nail brush works fine for me.

Norm

Arm and Leg said:

I use nail polish remover.

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Not recommended. Nail polish remover contains acetone, which is a solvent that will break down pretty much anything based on plastic. I'm not sure what kind of paint Surefire uses for the lettering on its lights, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

On many of the lights the lettering is laser etched through the anodize, the "white" is bare aluminum peeking through. Not sure if they ever did use an enamel fill.

Toothpaste+some bleach with a toothbrush...

enomosiki said:

Not recommended. Nail polish remover contains acetone, which is a solvent that will break down pretty much anything based on plastic. I'm not sure what kind of paint Surefire uses for the lettering on its lights, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

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I'd recommend it to anyone unless their torch was spraypainted.

I use a pencil eraser (the soft type).

You could try repainting the letters, get some white enamel modelling paint, the oil based stuff, let some flow into the lettering, leave for a couple of hours then run a moistened not wet q tip with some turpentine on it over the top of the lettering, this will take the excess paint off leaving the lettering intact, depends on the depth of the lettering too though.

thanks for the input yall! sorry i'm late responding. I think we've got quite a few good options here. I'll try soap and water first and then see, if need be, how brake parts cleaner works. thanks guys!

Soap and water is the best. I don't think the lettering on a SF is paint. It's just not annodized and should be just bare Al. I've cleaned mine using a toothbrush and just soap. Gets it nice and minty clean!

badtziscool said:

Soap and water is the best. I don't think the lettering on a SF is paint. It's just not annodized and should be just bare Al. I've cleaned mine using a toothbrush and just soap. Gets it nice and minty clean!

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thank you

Remove any plastic bits and perhaps the lens if you use brake cleaner. I know that surefire's lexan lens coating does not appreciate being exposed to it. (I was cleaning something else and the overspray from the brake cleaner got on the lens)

I used WD40 before and it worked pretty well. I generally just leave my old lights the way they are, but I happened to be near my old dirty E2D and some WD40 one day and gave it a try....

jimmy1970 said:

I use a pencil eraser (the soft type).

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+1 A soft eraser works well and is so simple.

Liquid soap and water is what I use. Then lay the parts out on a paper towel to dry.

I've used Isopropyl (rubbing) Alcohol and a plastic brush disc in my dremel to great effect before. the Lettering on almost All surefire lights is laser-engraved through the anodizing (except the Titan, Nitrolon lights etc) so unless you're using something that will dissolve Anodize or corrode Aluminium, you'll be fine

If you use too stiff a brush it can chip away the anodizing that forms the letter-boundaries though, stick with plastic if possible.

thanks to you guys, here's the result of some rubbing alcohol and a somewhat soft pencil eraser:


I need to use the soap and water + toothbrush to get the rest of the dirt off. Thank you all for helping me with this.

is hand soap okay or dish soap better?

I think the dirtiness that had been evident was probably 10 years worth. I bought this used on Amazon recently (A2-HA-WH) and it's of course the old(er) four flats style, so it definitely needed cleaning lol. I guess this A2 was made in 2003?