Restoration of a Victor Humpback II

[VintageTechnologies]

A web address on the silver finish led to this: http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/370962866524?_mwBanner=1

Instructions how to apply are given on the eBay description.

[Zwebie]

I really like these informative posts regarding restoration techniques and products. The ID tag looks awesome. I have never used the clock face silvering powder. How do you use it? Do you have to strip the plate down and polish it first?

Could you please elaborate a bit more on the restoration of the ID tag. I am especially interested in the way you applied the silver and afterwards the black lacquer.

You plate first and then spray with black. How do you get the black back off the letters, with steel wool or what?
Looks like you would rub into some of the base black, how do you avoid this?

I first cleaned the tag with Scrubbing Bubbles and a toothbrush.
I then used 0000 steel wool to remove the oxidation down to the brass on all the raised areas.
The recommendation on the silvering powder is to use a soft damp cloth, but I just damp my finger dip it in the powder and rub.
I then wiped down the tag with Acetone to make it super clean, and sprayed a light coat of Ace Hardware Black Lacquer.
Before the lacquer was totally dry, I carefully scraped the paint off of the tag with the steel wool, and then painted another coat.
I let the lacquer dry a little longer and then sat down at a table with my reading glasses and very small pieces of steel wool and carefully removed the paint from the raised areas, (very tedious).
Even if you are very careful you still end up rubbing some of the lacquer off of the flat areas, so I sprayed a bit of lacquer in a cup and used a small brush to touch up the rubbed spots.
All of this rubbing with the steel wool tends to rub off some of the silver, so I give the tag another rub down with the silvering powder, follower by a rub down with the finishing powder.
After washing and drying the tag, I gave it a coat of Satin Deft, to seal the deal.

[alang]

I really like these informative posts regarding restoration techniques and products. The ID tag looks awesome. I have never used the clock face silvering powder. How do you use it? Do you have to strip the plate down and polish it first?

Could you please elaborate a bit more on the restoration of the ID tag. I am especially interested in the way you applied the silver and afterwards the black lacquer.

You plate first and then spray with black. How do you get the black back off the letters, with steel wool or what?
Looks like you would rub into some of the base black, how do you avoid this?

I first cleaned the tag with Scrubbing Bubbles and a toothbrush.
I then used 0000 steel wool to remove the oxidation down to the brass on all the raised areas.
The recommendation on the silvering powder is to use a soft damp cloth, but I just damp my finger dip it in the powder and rub.
I then wiped down the tag with Acetone to make it super clean, and sprayed a light coat of Ace Hardware Black Lacquer.
Before the lacquer was totally dry, I carefully scraped the paint off of the tag with the steel wool, and then painted another coat.
I let the lacquer dry a little longer and then sat down at a table with my reading glasses and very small pieces of steel wool and carefully removed the paint from the raised areas, (very tedious).
Even if you are very careful you still end up rubbing some of the lacquer off of the flat areas, so I sprayed a bit of lacquer in a cup and used a small brush to touch up the rubbed spots.
All of this rubbing with the steel wool tends to rub off some of the silver, so I give the tag another rub down with the silvering powder, follower by a rub down with the finishing powder.
After washing and drying the tag, I gave it a coat of Satin Deft, to seal the deal.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. Do you think just applying the silver to the raised areas after applying and scraping off the black lacquer would work as well? Or would it be too difficult to prepare and clean just those areas?

Thanks again. It looks great!
Andreas

[Zwebie]

Do you think just applying the silver to the raised areas after applying and scraping off the black lacquer would work as well? Or would it be too difficult to prepare and clean just those areas?

Six of One, Half Dozen of the other.
I just wanted to make sure that all of the brass that was initially exposed was re-silvered.

[FloridaClay]

Really nice work. Hope you will post some pics when it's all done and reassembled.

Clay

[alang]

Do you think just applying the silver to the raised areas after applying and scraping off the black lacquer would work as well? Or would it be too difficult to prepare and clean just those areas?

Six of One, Half Dozen of the other.
I just wanted to make sure that all of the brass that was initially exposed was re-silvered.

Thanks
Andreas

[Joe Busam]

The Tag was problematic, as it seemed to fare worst due to the fire.
I used antique clock face silvering powder to re-plate the tag, followed by black lacquer,
steel wool, and then a coating of satin Deft to seal it. I think that it came out quite well.

That is fantastic! I have to ask. How shallow was the emboss on the plate? I would like to restore the plate on my Victor V but the emboss looks very shallow. I wonder if it's deeper than I think due to the plating and enamel.

[Zwebie]

Things are moving along nicely.

I finished off the case with Howard's Restore-A-Finish.
The nickel parts brightened up nicely with MAAS Metal Polish.
I dug into my spare parts bin to find a Crank and Escutcheon, which were missing.

[Steve Levi]

Thanks for sharing the MAGIC! Shows what know how and a lot of elbow grease can accomplish.You are a credit to the hobby in the sharing of your knowledge. By the way, that humpback turned out beautifully! They don't come any better. Great Job!!! Steve

[tomb]

Great job.... Looks almost new.. Tom B