Good Morning folks, Although 99% of my collection are working lamps and are used out in ther field on a regular basis, there are a couple as well as some stoves which have a nice deep shine to them and I was thinking about spraying some paint lacquer on the tanks to keep the shine and reduce polishing etc. any thoughts on this please?
Well, I think an old lantern/lamp/stove may look old. I did use clear Nitrocellulose lacquers on a few items, I also had some lanterns re-plated. Today I would not do it any more. It ruins the history of an old item and makes it look brand new. Oh yes: I gave up polishing. I will only clean a lantern and use it the way it is. Erik
Hello, I totally agree with Erik. The patina of an old object is what makes it valuable and beautiful. I remember when I found my second lamp, a Solex 200. It was probably sitting unused somewhere for years and it developed a beautiful and complete patina that I proudly removed once I was home. Now I have a clean Solex 200, that doesn't tell me anything. Since than I promised myself to not clean anymore any old object and protect their patina as much as possible. A polished old lantern looks like an old lady after plastic botox surgery Nicola
Hi Bill. I use Rustin's Metal Lacquer following a recommendation from George (Kerophile) on CCS. Small bottle but goes a long way. Terry
Thanks Terry, I'll have a look. I take onboard your comments Erik and nep036, none of my lamps are shelf queens but I have a few which deserve a little extra tlc !
