phonojim wrote:Jerry, how did you clean the backplate?
Jim
I went over the back plate with very fine sandpaper to remove any oxidation, dirt, & old finish. Then "polished" it up a bit with some very fine steel wool. After that, I swabbed on some "Brass Black" solution with a Q-Tip. It does a great job, but takes several appications to get the color dark. Easy to use though and produces a very nice result. I used it right over the lettering as well, figuring it wasn't in great shape anyway, so I had little to loose if it screwed it up. It had no bad effects on the lettering at all. So, after the blackening was done, I rubbed a white crayon over the lettering and rubbed off the excess with a paper towel. The lettering is still not perfect. I could have filled it in better, but I liked that it still has some original patina that I think looks good.