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weedyacres

How to clean up this vintage light

weedyacres
9 years ago

I bought this light on ebay a year ago, and am finally getting to the project of its restoration in our whole-house remodel of a 1920 worker's cottage. This light will go in the dining room.



It's got some general grunge, some rust (on the chain and the thing below it, whatever that's called), and some ceiling paint. The seller had advertised it as cast aluminum, but it could well just be pot metal.

I've googled around and haven't found the usual plethora of tips for cleaning it up. And what I've found is sometimes contradictory. There are suggestions for vinegar, alcohol, naval jelly, and metal polish, but some that say "soap and water only" or it'll have a reaction with the metal.

I'd like to keep the (non-ceiling) paint detail, as it looks pretty cool close up. Any tips from your experience?

Comments (37)

  • stolenidentity
    9 years ago

    I would start with soap (dawn) and water, a toothbrush (hard), steel wool pad (soft), and some elbow grease. It's beautiful, and I would not want to remove too much of the rust and oldness and aged metal coloring. Show us the result....please !

  • weedyacres
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    OK, I did a lot of soaking in Dawn and water, and scrubbing with a toothbrush. Here's the after, certainly a lot less grungy.


    I will do another bit of spot-scrubbing, to a few places that are still soiled. My issue now is how to get the white paint off where it's splattered. The fixture itself is painted aluminum, so I worry that anything that takes off the white will also take off the green and red.

    Can the fixture paint be properly touched up? Or is that a recipe for disaster?

    Any other tips?

  • party_music50
    9 years ago

    oh, I love it! it's cleaned up pretty nicely so far.

    Maybe I'd need to actually have it in my hands to make the decision, but I'd find the most inconspicuous spot of white paint splatter and try to scrape it off carefully with a small knife. Depending on how that went, I might try one of those soft sanding blocks you can buy. I didn't know about those for the last job I did and it would have helped me tremendously. :p If you'd need something smaller I'd try one of those soft nail buffers to see if I could abrade it off.

    Is the pink & green painted on? If it could use touch-up, I don't think I'd hesitate to use acrylic craft paints and create the best color-match, but I'm often asked to do that kind of thing. Looking at your detail photos above, I'd try thinning it and applying as if a watercolor first. I'd suspect the original was meant to 'suggest' the color, as in a wash. JMO from what I think I see in your photos, of course! :)

    Adding: If all attempts at touch-up fail and you want to start over, I'd try to spray it with Rustoleum Hammered finish and then optionally hand-color as I liked.

    I think it will look great no matter what you do with it!

    This post was edited by party_music50 on Fri, Oct 3, 14 at 11:35

  • lavender_lass
    9 years ago

    Where's the white paint? Is it just that little bit around the top of the fixture?

    Unless it's really awful, I'd leave it alone and put it up on the ceiling. Most people probably won't notice and others will just assume previous owners were a bit sloppy.

    It's called....patina :)

  • sunnyca_gw
    9 years ago

    I'd try getting it off with my fingernail, hard on my nails but it works some of the time I suppose depending on how good the paint was. I have a dull small paring knife I use to get hard water stains off around my kitchen faucet & I use it very gently & don't scratch the metal-chrome shine. Everyone always asks how I do it & don't have any stains on the chrome finish. It's real chrome finish not plastic stuff. So I would try that next on the edge might take it off easily.

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    9 years ago

    You do realize that it was completely clear coated with a colored lacquer to have a gold hue? And the flowers and leaves were polychrome; so why not restore the original look instead of settling for something that looks entirely sad and patchy?
    I would get the remaining gunk off but match the coral and green colors, and any others, then polish the high-relief parts shiny, leave the fields matte, then spray a golden-tinted clear, pick out the details in the colors, and it will look as it did when the first owner fell in love with it and said "yes! that one! It's Perfect!".
    These tinted aluminum lights are really cool; I have also seen stamped steel ceiling fixtures that were painted cream/white and polychromed very casually with an airbrush, because they had just invented airbrushes and it sped up production even as it made the edges of the coloring indistinct. (yours was obviously of such quality that it was hand-painted with a brush.)
    Casey

  • weedyacres
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Actually, sombreuil, I've got no idea what the original looked like. I've been scouring ebay for photos of restored ones, googling my fingers off looking for instructions how to restore them, and have turned up nothing. No youtube videos, nothing in the GW archives (multiple forums), nada.

    So I'm thrilled to have you show up to my post with info on what the original likely looked like. I'd love to make it look like that as much as possible. What is discernible of the original definitely intrigues and attracts me.

    So, first of all, I scraped at the paint with a utility knife and then some scotch-brite. I scrubbed a bit more to get the darker grunge out of the crevices. Some of the color has come off with my continued scrubbing and scraping. Here's where it all stands now:



    As far as colors, the whole thing seems to have an olive color (some has rubbed off, exposing the aluminum). There are coral flowers and green leaves and it looks like some pale yellow on the parts I'll call "waves of grain" in between the main leafy patterns. There were also some coral blobs on the fleur-de-lis on either end of the arms going to the lights.

    So do I paint any/all of these colors before spraying with lacquer? Where the heck do I find gold-tinted clear lacquer?

    Also, this is missing the finial. I've been browsing around antiquelampsupply.com for parts, and linked below is their page of finials, knobs and caps. The hole I've got is 1/4", though I suppose I could drill it slightly larger to take one with a 3/8" tap. Opinions on which is closest to what this light originally had? Also, can I paint something that's cast brass to match the rest of this light?

    I have bought a set of acrylic paints, so I'm game for mixing up color, though I have to admit no knowledge about, for example, what you add to bright green to make it olive green (any basic pointers, party music?).

    Thanks for all your help on this. I need it!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Finial options

  • stolenidentity
    9 years ago

    weedy, I love the way it looks right now! You can add a little brown to bright green to make it olive. But I would leave it just as is. Also, if you ever need to get rid of that old thing, please send it to me!!

  • ginny_reinhart
    9 years ago

    I have a few fixtures that are similar, one photo is attached. I would stop cleaning this!!! It's obvious that the hand painted is being worn off. However, I'm going to suggest something that I tried with the paint splattered on the dome. I actually used zipstrip applied with a q tip and removed within a few minutes. Worked like a charm and didn't do any damage.

  • eaga
    9 years ago

    Here's one on ebay that has a pattern similar to the one on your fixture. It has the glaze that Casey talked about - you can see that it goes over the painted leaves and flowers, and highlights the details. You should be able to find the glaze at an art supply store.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Ceiling light fixture

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    9 years ago

    The greenish clear is IMO lacquer that's "gone green" as old lacquer is wont to do.
    I can't help you other than to suggest that if an old lighting catalog surfaced, perhaps the product descriptions would shed more light. (pun intended)
    Casey

  • weedyacres
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    OK, you guys have helped a lot. I've been able to search for polychrome and that got me in the right direction (as well as looking on ebay under "collectibles" instead of "lighting").

    It seems that the original would have been a "burnished gold," like cercis' ebay link above, with some polychrome accents. Here's a catalog page with a few color pictures that's very helpful.

    ginny, I think I found your exact light. It's Virden brand, from their Winthrop series:

    It looks like accents were overwhelmingly red and green and that's it. So I'm puzzled why it looks like yellow paint on my light.

    So to achieve this factory look, are these the right steps?
    1. spray the whole thing with antique gold paint
    2. paint the colored parts
    3. spray a dark brown/black on the whole thing and wipe off when wet, so it only stays in the cracks
    4. spray the whole thing with clear lacquer.

  • weedyacres
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    One more question: I've narrowed down the finials to these 3, showing their prices and lengths. Any recommendations/advice?

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    9 years ago

    Hi,
    I'm pretty sure the aluminum was polished on the raised areas (not the wavy-textured depressions) and then a tinted clear coat was applied so the metallic shine was still visible, just with a gold tone. Not an opaque metallic paint!
    For a polish use a mag wheel or aluminum cleaner/polish. They sell kits at the auto parts store for polishing aluminum, which will speed it up tenfold. Do not use a cleaner for chrome or clearcoated wheels; ask the counter-man if you can't find it.
    Casey

  • barbcollins
    9 years ago

    I saw Nicole Curtis (Rehab Addict) put some antique hardware in a crock pot with water. After "cooking" them on low for several hours the paint was easily removed.

    Might be worth a try to get any old paint and grunge off.

  • weedyacres
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    OK Casey, I tried shopping for gold-tinted spray lacquer. Lowe's only had clear. Hobby Lobby had nothing. I'll be in a city with a Michael's tomorrow and could see if they've got it.

    Online, I only found one option. Is this (linked below) the right stuff? They say it's mostly used on brass instruments to tone down the bright gold hue.

    Here is a link that might be useful: gold tint lacquer

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    9 years ago

    Here is a link to dye-based toners. They are clear, because it's dye giving the color, instead of a pigment. Perhaps one of the golden oak shades, IDK.
    Casey

    Here is a link that might be useful: Toners

  • marcolo
    9 years ago

    Love these fixtures!

    I'd have a coronary applying anything permanent over the original paint and patina. Think about something a little more conservative, like metallic wax. Apply lightly only to the high spots.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Metallic wax

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    9 years ago

    Lacquer isn't permanent; it is completely reversible with no damage to the metal. And a transparent gold-colored lacquer was the original finish.
    Casey

  • weedyacres
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    OK, finally tracked down all my supplies and did some painting yesterday. Here's the lacquered-up canopy. What think you all?

    Here's the before of the canopy, to save you from scrolling up and down.

  • emmarene9
    9 years ago

    Good job.

  • tuesday_2008
    9 years ago

    It's beautiful!

  • detroit_burb
    9 years ago

    my god, that is beautiful!!

  • weedyacres
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    And the "keep the patina" contingent among you are cringing inside saying "why? why? why?" and biting your tongues. :-) I apologize for any offense of your sensibilities my choice to restore this light might have caused. Casey was pretty persuasive.

    I opted for more antique gold than brassy gold, even though it seems that shiny gold is closer to how they did these originally. I am a bit worried that this came out darker than I intended. I was balancing toning down the colors to be more muted with making the non-painted parts too dark. So I'm a little uncertain about that. But then I have to anticipate how much 4 bulbs will brighten it up and hopefully it will all be good.

  • eaga
    9 years ago

    weedyacres, I like it a lot. You did great with the colors, and I don't think it's too dark - the darker gold tone looks more antique-y to me than it would if it were shiny. Can you show us a picture of the room it's going in?

  • weedyacres
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    FWIW, here's the "bare" colors so you can see how toned town the toner lacquer made them.

    And here's the same piece with 2 coats of tinted lacquer. I like the color of the non-painted sections, but I think the colors are still too bright. If I put another coat of lacquer on it, the colors will tone down but the non-painted sections will be like the canopy photo, above.

    I've paused here, awaiting any input or advice on the whole darkness thing.

    Casey, have you abandoned all hope?

  • party_music50
    9 years ago

    wow, weedyacres, thanks for posting pics of the process. WHAT exactly is the lacquer you're using and where did you find it??? And what did you end up using for the painted portions? I've never toyed with any top-coat that would affect the color so much. I think I need some. This is giving me ideas for a pair of crappy wall sconces that came with my house! :O)

    Your choice of colors makes it look very "christmas-y" to me, but I think it looks great! Good job! :)

  • weedyacres
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    For the paint, I just used a set of acrylics I picked up at Hobby Lobby, and mixed them to match what little original color was left on the pieces. As I've searched around for original coloring, it seems that everything was red and green and not much else. I haven't seen any "original" ones with yellow, but my chandelier definitely had yellow on it.

    For the lacquer, I used the Mohawk product that Casey linked above. I found a distributor and he sprayed a few samples on a paint lid so I could see the approximate coloring I'd get on aluminum. I bought 2 options, and did some more experimenting at home with a #10 can and acrylic paint and lacquer, and used that to pick the Medium Oak. Of course the experimentation wasn't full-fledged, 4-coats (else I would have known in advance it would turn the bare parts pretty dark). But it got me close.

  • party_music50
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the info. Unfortunately there is no distributor near me. Maybe I'll find a similar product locally. :p

  • weedyacres
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I had to drive 100 miles. But it was near the airport I have to fly out of, and I had a trip planned. You can also buy it online, but the shipping is pretty pricey.

  • jellytoast
    9 years ago

    I think that looks fantastic! I hope you'll post a picture when it's completed.

  • marcolo
    9 years ago

    Honestly, I think the colors you started with were a little bright, especially the yellow. And if you look closely, the original green may have been more of a yellowish Spring Green. I would add more lacquer and continue to darken it.

    Overall, though, great job!

  • energy_rater_la
    9 years ago

    wow, what a transformation!
    the lacquer sure did tone the colors down.
    I'd have been freaking out before the lacquer.

    great job!!

  • weedyacres
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    energy-rater: I experimented around with acrylics and lacquer on a #10 can before I dared to touch brush to light fixture. That made me not freak out. :-)

    marcolo: I agree, I should have added more white into the yellow to make it a closer match to the original.

  • eaga
    9 years ago

    Beautiful job! You really brought it back to life. And I like the finial you selected.

  • pauL4645
    9 years ago

    Best solution for that is to bring it to the master of restoration. Like, American Restoration.