So this thing was only $10, so I figured I'd give it a chance cleaning it up. However, at the time, I didn't know about the pinkish heat damage that I needed to avoid.
It came like this:
After some Lye and some 50:50 vinegar baths, I got it to look like this:
So in that very first picture (before cleaning it up), there is some debris... almost looks like bird poop that was sitting in it. After cleaning it up, it left a strange discoloration... here's a closeup:
Anything suspicious about this? Like lead or anything? When looking at the original photo, it just looks like a dirty spot and nothing particularly suspicious.
Is there any hope in this piece as anything other than decorative? I'm guessing too much damage done to the iron with the heat damage as there is still quite a bit of the red/pinkness.
Thanks for taking a look!
It came like this:
After some Lye and some 50:50 vinegar baths, I got it to look like this:
So in that very first picture (before cleaning it up), there is some debris... almost looks like bird poop that was sitting in it. After cleaning it up, it left a strange discoloration... here's a closeup:
Anything suspicious about this? Like lead or anything? When looking at the original photo, it just looks like a dirty spot and nothing particularly suspicious.
Is there any hope in this piece as anything other than decorative? I'm guessing too much damage done to the iron with the heat damage as there is still quite a bit of the red/pinkness.
Thanks for taking a look!