Polishing Metal Parts

DaveS · 11th December 2013, 06:19 AM

I can't remember what reference book it was, but it stated ,especially
in the Islamic countries that they were immensly proud of their weapons
and that the silver would have been kept polished, the gold would have been
cleaned, and that the blades would have been either polished or etched.
I think some if not most of the pieces we see today on the market were
sitting in a wherehouse for fifty or sixty years not being maintained,or
they were brought back by some tourist or military person who had not the
slightest idea of how to care for them. IMHO, this is why so many of these
pieces look "ratted out" As for those antique dealers who don't dare touch
anything for fear they might lose a dollar, that is just how their world works
but as far as antique weapons, i don't think it's the same. Again, just my
opinion..........Dave.

trenchwarfare · 11th December 2013, 02:54 PM

I never said, don't clean anything. Active rust must be arrested, verdigris removed, etc. And yes, in their day of usage, weapons were highly polished, from end to end. Even military muskets were left "in the white", to encourage daily cleaning. (And give the soldiers something to do.) If an edged weapon has an excellent blade, yes polished other bits look great. But, when the blade is pitted, to me, polished bits look out of place.

I AM an antiques dealer, and I vigorously clean everything I sell. It's all about presentation. Preservation is langniappe. But, I never polish metals, other than steel. If it's already clean. If a blade has a nice pleasing plumb patina, I oil it, and leave it alone. Pitted blades are just cleaned of rust, and oiled. I never polish brass, copper, or silver. If it's black, I just knock enough black off, so you can see what kind of metal it is. But, that's just me. If the next owner wants to polish things, they can knock themselves out.

Now, if a mass produced item like a bayonet is too far gone for cleaning, I will do a complete restoration. (If it's value is worth the effort.) Just to try to regain a little dignity for the poor thing. Even at that, it will never look new, so "patina" is applied, after the work is done. The piece is then represented as a restoration.

11th December 2013, 06:19 AM	#1
DaveS Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 327	Polishing metal parts I can't remember what reference book it was, but it stated ,especially in the Islamic countries that they were immensly proud of their weapons and that the silver would have been kept polished, the gold would have been cleaned, and that the blades would have been either polished or etched. I think some if not most of the pieces we see today on the market were sitting in a wherehouse for fifty or sixty years not being maintained,or they were brought back by some tourist or military person who had not the slightest idea of how to care for them. IMHO, this is why so many of these pieces look "ratted out" As for those antique dealers who don't dare touch anything for fear they might lose a dollar, that is just how their world works but as far as antique weapons, i don't think it's the same. Again, just my opinion..........Dave.

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11th December 2013, 02:54 PM	#2
trenchwarfare Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 385	I never said, don't clean anything. Active rust must be arrested, verdigris removed, etc. And yes, in their day of usage, weapons were highly polished, from end to end. Even military muskets were left "in the white", to encourage daily cleaning. (And give the soldiers something to do.) If an edged weapon has an excellent blade, yes polished other bits look great. But, when the blade is pitted, to me, polished bits look out of place. I AM an antiques dealer, and I vigorously clean everything I sell. It's all about presentation. Preservation is langniappe. But, I never polish metals, other than steel. If it's already clean. If a blade has a nice pleasing plumb patina, I oil it, and leave it alone. Pitted blades are just cleaned of rust, and oiled. I never polish brass, copper, or silver. If it's black, I just knock enough black off, so you can see what kind of metal it is. But, that's just me. If the next owner wants to polish things, they can knock themselves out. Now, if a mass produced item like a bayonet is too far gone for cleaning, I will do a complete restoration. (If it's value is worth the effort.) Just to try to regain a little dignity for the poor thing. Even at that, it will never look new, so "patina" is applied, after the work is done. The piece is then represented as a restoration.