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    Q.a.curling & Lacquering

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    neko222
    To protect brass lathe parts from tarnishing and obtain a Holtzapffel-like finish: 1) Clean the brass to bare metal, smooth it with fine abrasives, and "curl" selected surfaces using charcoal and water to create a frosted pattern. 2) Wash thoroughly, dry completely, and lacquer with shellac and methylated spirits while the metal is warm to prevent clouding. 3) The "curling" technique involves smoothing with oil and stone powder before using a slate pencil to make loops, hiding small blemishes in the finished lacquer.

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    Q.a.curling & Lacquering

    Uploaded by

    neko222
    141 views1 page
    To protect brass lathe parts from tarnishing and obtain a Holtzapffel-like finish: 1) Clean the brass to bare metal, smooth it with fine abrasives, and "curl" selected surfaces using charcoal and water to create a frosted pattern. 2) Wash thoroughly, dry completely, and lacquer with shellac and methylated spirits while the metal is warm to prevent clouding. 3) The "curling" technique involves smoothing with oil and stone powder before using a slate pencil to make loops, hiding small blemishes in the finished lacquer.

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    To protect brass lathe parts from tarnishing and obtain a Holtzapffel-like finish: 1) Clean the brass to bare metal, smooth it with fine abrasives, and "curl" selected surfaces using charcoal and water to create a frosted pattern. 2) Wash thoroughly, dry completely, and lacquer with shellac and methylated spirits while the metal is warm to prevent clouding. 3) The "curling" technique involves smoothing with oil and stone powder before using a slate pencil to make loops, hiding small blemishes in the finished lacquer.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    141 views1 page

    Q.a.curling & Lacquering

    Uploaded by

    neko222
    To protect brass lathe parts from tarnishing and obtain a Holtzapffel-like finish: 1) Clean the brass to bare metal, smooth it with fine abrasives, and "curl" selected surfaces using charcoal and water to create a frosted pattern. 2) Wash thoroughly, dry completely, and lacquer with shellac and methylated spirits while the metal is warm to prevent clouding. 3) The "curling" technique involves smoothing with oil and stone powder before using a slate pencil to make loops, hiding small blemishes in the finished lacquer.

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    Q: How are brass lathe parts protected so they don't tarnish

    and how is the Holtzapffel-like finish obtained?

    A: It is always preferable to retain original finish but any brass or bronze parts that
    have lost most or all original finish can be cleaned down to bare metal, made smooth
    with fine abrasives, then 'curled' on selected surfaces*. Then they should be well-
    washed in detergent, rinsed thoroughly in hot water, dried with a soft lint-free cloth,
    then dried completely on a warm dust-free surface (the top of the central heating
    boiler is a good place so long as it is dust-free); then rest the pieces on a cooler
    surface until they are just warm to the touch, say, a bit higher than blood heat. Then
    lacquer them with the finest brush obtainable so that the lacquer spreads evenly over
    the surface without leaving brush streaks. The original lacquer was made from flake
    shellac mixed with industrial methylated spirit (don't use the purple stuff, it has water
    in it and makes the lacquer cloudy). If you can't get these ingredients you could use
    French polish which is almost as good but it does usually have a little oil in it which
    can leave pin-holes in the finish.

    Here is an old Holtzapffel faceplate that was battered and tarnished; it is just shown
    here as an example but not much care was taken over it as it is not an important piece.

    * 'curling' is a form of scraping that gives a frosted and whirly surface to flat expanses
    of brass which are likely to receive knocks. This finish tends to hide small blemishes
    which, on a plain piece of lacquered
    brass, would otherwise be very
    obvious. The process is well-
    described in Holtzapffel Volume III
    (page 1039 in first edition or page 25
    in the enlarged edition). In case you
    do not have access to Volume III the
    process is started by smoothing the
    surface by rubbing all over with a
    wood block charged with a paste
    made from oil and powdered Water-
    of-Ayr stone. Then the parts of the
    surface to be curled are clouded by
    rubbing all over with charcoal (or
    other mildly abrasive substance) and
    water, then a slate (or snakestone)
    pencil is used to make a curly,
    looped pattern over the surface.

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