I’ve written about stripping brass plate before and it never ceases to amaze me what a difference you can make with a little steel wool and some elbow grease. Mike and I found this old lamp in a junk store for $8—the plating was worn and scratched revealing hints of a silver lining. We loved the shape and scale of it so out came the Blue Magic ($7.99, Canadian Tire automotive section) and the super-fine steel wool. It took about 90 minutes for Mike to give the lamp a new lease on life; the body stripped quickly, the neck took quite a bit longer, but the effort was well worth it. This is one reveal worth clicking through for . . .
Pretty good, huh? If I hadn’t paid for the lamp myself, I’d never believe it cost just $8. The shape and shine suggest mercury glass. I don’t know enough about metals to say what it’s made of exactly but the surface is just like a mirror. The metal polish leaves a protective finish so there’s nothing else to do except plug it in and marvel at your handiwork. Next week, I’ll post about a few of our favorite local junk shops, including some stellar recent finds.
January 2nd, 2009 at 11:20 am
Wow that looks fantastic! Great tip, I didn’t realise it was so easy to strip the brass off.
January 2nd, 2009 at 6:20 pm
I seem to recall you once mentioned stripping a coffee table with this stuff. The lamp is spectacular, I love it!
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:29 pm
wow!!!!!!! so cool. thanks for sharing.
January 7th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
thanks for the info, Chris. i really need to tackle the bases of my two old floor lamps!
January 8th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
That is spectacular! I look forward to your posts on vintage and thrift shops and finds.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:11 am
Any idea what the name of the chemical is? As a Canadian living in Chile, I miss out on Canadian Tire, it’s monopoly money and it’s blue magic brass stripper.