I picked up a rough PL53 tank and handle as part of a bulk lot It was filthy so washed of and then found to be coated in something , pretty much every part A good soak in an warm citric acid mix and it’s back to a partly painted tank What the thoughts on paint ? I’m not sure it would look right polished and hasn’t the aged patina of my other PL53
It looks much better now. A previous owner most likely gave it a coat of paint, but the link below shows a Tilley which was originally painted black and there is also relevant information shown there. 1938 Tilley SL61 Hospital & Survey Police
Much nicer, but this one is on you. Might be a nice exercise with high build primer/flatting back to fill in the little imperfections and giving it a gold topcoat. It's not really worth painting it unless you do that, IMHO. You could give it a rub over with Autosol to even things out and then rub a little oil in, it will turn mellow yellow quickly and should maintain that sheen/patina then. Either way, please report back! Alec.
