Hi!
I have bought a 1915 type radiator. I want to separate the copper grill from the radiator, but I don’t know if that is possible. Is it possible to separate the copper from the radiator and how do you do that? I want the copper grill to make a glass case of it. It’s this type of radiator:
Thanks!
Kind regards from The Netherlands, EU
Maybe a high speed air motor with an abrasive disc.
Separating the “copper”? For what purpose? Are you wanting to restore this radiator and use it? On what sort of a car? A re-core project? Like original core or modern type core?
The radiator is made mostly of brass. A metal alloy made of copper and zinc. Without a lot of effort, one cannot separate the copper from the rest of it. The relative amounts of the two metals affect the color and strength characteristics of the brass. There is also a fair amount of solder, mostly lead and tin solder (there are many forms and variations to solder). There are also some parts of the radiator made from an iron/steel alloy. Both the upper and lower tanks and the core are mostly brass.
That radiator is not nearly the worst I have ever seen (or had!). But it doesn’t look too good either. Parts of it are not fitting correctly, most of it is pretty rough. But the outer parts, the top tank and other trim pieces look to be usable. The core is likely beyond salvage for use. These old radiators with age tend to lose thermal conductivity between the tubes and the fins. Fixing that is a very difficult and tricky proposition. Some people have had excellent results with carefully taking such radiators apart, and rebuilding them around a new core. Correct looking cores can be bought, new. And, it may be blasphemy to some to say so, but some modern type cores can be used for considerably less money, and actually not look bad at all. Either way, you do need to use a core with enough water volume and thermal exchange capability.
Hope something there will help.