Been working on polishing up the brightwork on the Altex. There is a bunch!
After polishing, I am 100% sure my no.1 was leaded and not painted. The residual " color", I was seeing was decades worth of grime and oxidation.
I took some Nevr Dull magic polishing wadding and gave the body parts a good shine. This is a gauze type wadding impregnated with polishing compound. You cut pieces off according to job. Polish item vigorously with it until black residue forms and then wipe clean with cloth. I use a large piece of elk hide, as the suede makes a killer buff/ shine. Use the wadding until blackened, then cut new piece.
All this is done by hand. No Dremels, drills, buffers, etc. I like to feel and hold the items Im working on. When you take the time to appreciate these works of art down deep, you see things like original tooling marks and such, you may not see as a casual observer. Plus, I feel like I'm in Edward Broadfoot's shoes for a moment.
I will be moving onto the small parts next. Lots of brass and aluminum to shine!
I know purists may be against patina removal, but this reel was not working properly and was doing nothing and had bad oxidation.
I will be using this reel, so I want it to look and function at its best. I have many original finish reels, I use, and many I have redone. Point is, I'm using them for what they were designed.
Nothing against cabinet queens, but not for me. I display vintage reels at the butt end of a pole, not on a shelf. That's just my thing.
"Do what thou will"
Peace!
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