Greetings, I'm starting to clean up and get operational a Aida Express 1500 with a finish that is very tired. I've gone over the tank as lightly as I could with 600, 1000 grit wet-dry, then metal polish. I've burned through the chrome in places but it's smooth to the touch now. The globe cage is really going to be a challenge. Metal polish is not enough and 1000 grit burns right though to the brass. After this effort and trying to preserve the chrome finish the parts are still have a green hue. Is there a way to remove the green tinge without stripping it down to bare metal (brass)? At this time I don't want to do a replate. An honest patina is fine. Cheers. Lamp as received.
A citric acid or a vigegar bath will loosten the grime quite efficiently. Also, with some citric acid granules and wallpaper paste you can make a gooey mess that you can paint on surfaces. This isn't my idea it comes from the sister stove site and it's called GSR... I urge you to go look it up for the correct proportions.
G'day Paul, nice lantern. Vinegar diluted 1:1 with water or citric acid 1tsp per lit of water. Heat the solution and submerge the parts. Check every 5min and wipe over between baths. Finish with a good quality polish that doesn't contain ammonia. Use very, very fine steel wool 0000 grade. Never use wet n dry it will strip off the plating.
Thanks for the responses and I'll give the vinegar solution a try. I haven't had problems with wet/dry paper in the past but the chrome is so thin and fugitive I'll try the 4-0 steel wool also. Cheers
To be clear on the finish of this lantern it's chrome/nickel plated with brass underneath. The a patchy finish restore I can live with but would rather not strip the chrome off. It's the green tinge that's off-putting along with the unpleasant gritty touch. An additional question - Was the inter casing of the burner assembly (#117 on Petromax) painted on the Aida and others? My Petro is plated but the Aida looks painted black. Cheers.
Vinegar won't strip chrome but if it's brass underneath the plating is probably nickel and vinegar won't harm that very much. If you make up a solution of GSR (George's Stove Restorer) with wallpaper paste and citric acid crystals you can cover the surface, leave it for an hour and use an old toothbrush to scrub the crud off. I've used it on what looked like complete no-hopers and revealed the shiny nickel plating underneath! Citric acid crystals are readily available on eBay or Amazon as they're used in cooking. I always keep a large jar if GSR handy for lantern cleaning.
