All of the best for 2019 to my fellow forum members! This 1968 Petromax 821/250cp has recently joined my collection. Not to worry, it is fettled and gives a very bright light. In fact my question relates to whether to polish up the fount on not . To be honest, I usually do my best to shine up a chromed fount with Autosol. The dilemma with this one is that even after a citric bath and cleanup I can see the chrome is perhaps too far gone. I can live with keeping the patina, but what is my other options? I would really value your opinions.
Simply clean it. Dirt a tracks moisture and that gives rust/corrosion. And you can polish what you want but nickel or chrome that is gone, stays gone.
Another option is to remove all trace of the coating and bring it back to the brass. Its a thought that has crossed my mind if I was to happen across a suitable lantern.
The nickel appears a little too far gone. But that's the way it is. Basically, just cleaning would suffice. If the appearance is a bother, then just a gentle polish without removing the remaining nickel to shine it up a little. It might appear better? If its still not to your satisfaction, then go all the way to a bare brass mirror finish. It will eventually tarnish again after a while but the patina would appear more uniform on bare brass rather than speckled with nickel.
No polish. Clean it up gently. And light it. Once I made the mistake to polish an exceptional find. The 250cp Petromax had a green tank from oxidized copper from below the nickel plating. Exceptional look. But I ruined it by polishing to grey. Pity. Regs willi
First thing, take it completely apart. I would clean it with soap and warm water. After letting it dry, give it a gentle polishing with a good gentle polish, not one that's abrasive in nature. The last thing you want to do is destroy what's left of the original finish.You have quite a bit of the finish still left and it would be a shame to screw up the remainder! I have a 821 dates back to 1939, and I fell in love with this little darling. It is so easy to pump and light!
Thankyou for all the inputs......... And yes, I kept it in the as-found condition. Just a mild clean and thorough fetlle. It is a very nice lantern and another one of my favourites.
I suppose that the important thing is for any corrosion to be arrested and for no further deterioration to happen. Any cosmetic work after that is purely a matter of personal preference. I just like my lamps to look well cared for, even if some retain scars of a hard life from before I got them.
Yes. Best option is still to perform a basic cleaning and whatever fettle to maintain it in working condition. Sometimes we do get a little urge to overdo it and shine it up but the lantern gets to lose some of its originality, which is not too desirable for any future owners.
