Reel mining

You got 'em, we know how to clean 'em
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Steve
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Reel mining

Post by Steve »

Buried under the kind of heavy patina we all cherish was a German silver reel, a Kopf I hadn't seen before. (Needs a crank screw.) Before and after shots:

There are a few pink dezinced areas, probably from the storage environment. Here are some cleaning suggestions for foodies: Yum! Slurp! Drool!

Steve Vernon
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Book: ANTIQUE FISHING REELS, 2nd Ed.
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"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."
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john elder
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Re: Reel mining

Post by john elder »

Purty! I find the pink tends to fade away after a while spent shelf fishing..
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Specializing in saltwater reels...and fly reels...and oh, yeah, kentucky style reels.....and those tiny little RP reels.....oh, heck...i collect fishing reels!...and fly rods....and lures
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Paul M
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Re: Reel mining

Post by Paul M »

Nice reveal!
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Midway Tommy D
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Re: Reel mining

Post by Midway Tommy D »

the kind of heavy patina we all cherish
Now that's one pretty broad assumption. :o With that said, my preference leans toward the right........Did I really just say that? :mrgreen:
Love those Open Face Spinning Reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco)

Tom DeLong, NE
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Steve
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Re: Reel mining

Post by Steve »

This one was a big surprise. I assumed it was brass, but after it sat in my Caesar salad for a few minutes, a couple of scratches looked silvery, not yellowy. So into the vinegar it went until the GS did, indeed, reveal itself. I hope that if/when the pink disappears, it's not because a new, thick patina has grown. I've never seen GS that dark before.

Steve Vernon
ORCA Honorary member

Book: ANTIQUE FISHING REELS, 2nd Ed.
Websites:
Antique Fishing Reels
Kopf reels
Hendrick reels

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."
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Paul M
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Re: Reel mining

Post by Paul M »

I posted about a NPB BH during Jan 2016 and had a similar pink tone to the exposed brass surfaces of the spool. I just took a picture to see how it has re-patinated over the past year. The pink has darkened a shade towards brown without any help. The perception of pink varies significantly with lighting. You have nothing to worry about.

Before:

Halfway cleaned:

Immediately after Cleaning - pink brass on spool:

13 Months later- less pink on spool
Paul Manuel

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Brian F.
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Re: Reel mining

Post by Brian F. »

I always end up with that pink color on spools after cleaning since a lot of my stuff is so far gone over into the green! But I never thought to check over time but tend to agree that it does mellow out after a while.
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Re: Reel mining

Post by Ray Hencken »

I have found that if the GS is left in the vinegar for too long the pink color appears. I have hand polished the pink parts with simichrome and the pink disappears.
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Steve
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Re: Reel mining

Post by Steve »

Ray, I've had similar results. In this case, there were pink patches visible after initial attempts to polish off the patina. The reel spent some time in vinegar, then a long time in my favorite clock-cleaning solution, which removed a lot of the pink. Hand polishing removed some more, but the remaining dezincing seems to be pretty deep.

Steve Vernon
ORCA Honorary member

Book: ANTIQUE FISHING REELS, 2nd Ed.
Websites:
Antique Fishing Reels
Kopf reels
Hendrick reels

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."
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