DIYbanter - View Single Post - Opinions sought-old lathe restoration

Ignoramus9407

On 2014-08-11, wrote:
I have this old metal lathe. It's B.F Barnes and is at least 100
years old. It has that patina that a lot of old iron gets. Some folks
think this patina should not be disturbed. Other folks think the tool
should be made to look as close as possible to the original factory
finish. For this lathe I am of the mind that the patina should be
removed. I want customers to see what was possible 100 years ago. I
want the machine to appear new, or nearly new, the way it would have
looked in a factory where the machine was wiped down and cleaned every
night. So, opinions?
Thanks,
Eric

Go for it and make it look the way you like personally, it is just an
old little lathe. It is not a ancient Egyptian mummy.

If you ever want to revert back to that "patina", you can always leave it
outside for 3 weeks and slop some dirty oil on it (I can supply that)
and then add some dust on top of that oil for authenticity.

i