Found a kettle/cauldron/i dont know

S

Scott McCarrick

Member
Seems to be 4 gallons or so. Gate marked with assist tab, pour spout and bail. All in good shape. Enameled. the enamel is coming off.
Can i get some advice on whats next? Im not sure where to start

 
I have a 3-legged kettle in similar condition. A week in the e-tank didn't do anything to strip the enamel. Neither did a wire wheel attached to an angle grinder. If anyone has a non-destructive way to get the enamel off I'd also be interested in knowing.
 
It is just not practical, or even possible, to try and restore some things. This looks like it belongs on a farm that has a variety of livestock and can be appreciated as is.

Hilditch
 
Ty L. said:
I have a 3-legged kettle in similar condition. A week in the e-tank didn't do anything to strip the enamel. Neither did a wire wheel attached to an angle grinder. If anyone has a non-destructive way to get the enamel off I'd also be interested in knowing.
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I just watched an episode of "This Old House". They were working on an old cast iron claw foot tub. The enamel was cracked and the shop the took it to sandblasted the areas where there was rusted cast iron showing, and then applied a hydrochloric acid, and flour mixture to etch the enamel surface. After rinsing, they then used a type of Bondo to fill in the deep scratches. They sanded smooth, and sprayed on a type of enamel paint. Wet sanded it to a high gloss, and it looked good as new.

I wouldn't do that for something I was going to cook in, but if you want a nice looking display piece, it could probably be done at home with stuff from the hardware store.
 
Sometimes you just have to cut your investment loss and move on. I see pieces like this all the time which have no distinct history regarding their age or identification. If you bought it there must have been some sort of reasoning behind it. If it was for resale than you should have had some sort of plan before you pulled the trigger. It would certainly not fit the "collector" category in my book but maybe different for you. If you want to turn it for a dollar or so just clean it as best you can without a lot of expense and be happy about it. If you're good at art then paint a scenic picture of sorts and add a few more dollars. The modern antique stores sell stuff like that for ridiculous prices.
 
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