Flitz Multi-Purpose Polish and Cleaner Paste for Metal, Plastic, Fiberglass, Aluminum, Jewelry, Sterling Silver: Great for Headlight Restoration + Rust Remover, Made in the USA https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000MUSOW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_J1gcGbP4MTW63
Buy a tube of Flitz polish. Then you can more or less use any soft applicator and give it a rub (cotton balls, a rag).
Different folks have YouTube videos. But once the knife is apart, I’d suggest polishing all the metal contact surfaces. Waders, blade end, scales (for metal scales - NOT these G10 scales), the inside ovals of the liners where the Axis Bar slides, etc…
You don’t really have to do this - after you use the knife enough, the metal-on-metal self-polishes, but sometimes the wait ain’t worth it. For sure, don’t go crazy with the polishing - you don’t need tons of pressure or friction. You can also use rouge sticks if you’re familiar with rouge wet sanding. You’re looking for a very high grit (1000-2000 grit) and it should be done with a water or oil - you don’t want to dry sand the metal internals. I suppose you could even use a leather strap polisher if you had a machine , but I don’t, so it would have to be by hand…and I ain’t gonna try that…
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MUSOW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_H63DQH7BWB2JQRDF868V
I mean stuff like this. Did you use any on your gale? I’ve been told that polish makes it look 10x better
Flitz Multi-Purpose Polish and Cleaner Paste for Metal, Plastic, Fiberglass, Aluminum, Jewelry, Sterling Silver: Great for Headlight Restoration + Rust Remover, Made in the USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MUSOW4/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_4AME2ATC4HVZWVR69QW0
I was going to ask about cleaning it up. As soon as I saw it I thought it looked like a job for Flitz. It's a paste that will absorb the oxidized dullness and crud on there. I've used it to restore straight razors that were from almost exactly the same time period as well as a couple other things I'm not sure the age of.
It will take some time & elbow grease to clean it up, even with the right compound, because you don't want something harsh that could damage the underlying metal.
I mentioned the razors specifically because the end results were so brilliant (I had to sand etc as well but achieved a mirror finish and I honed the blade such that pointing it up and dropping a hair would cause the hair to be cut under its own weight). This treasure would be more like an old cigarette case I worked on - there will be a lot of dark crud that comes off (the Flitz+oxidation will be black on your cleaning cloth). The raised portions will tend to polish first but you can get into the depths pretty well too, especially if you switch to something like a Q-tip to "trace" the grooves once the cloth approach has thinned out the oxidation and started to polish the raised portions.
It could be pretty amazing once it's shined up to its original glory. Just keep a light coat of machine oil on it (I use about 1-2 drops for both sides of a straight razor, for reference) and it'll be ready to display. Maybe on a contrasting piece of wood you could hang on your wall? It will likely get dull over time regardless but taking 150 years, lots of it outside, will make a huge difference.
Awesome find! Color me jelly!
You can clean it with an all purpose cleaner and a towel.
If you’re asking how to make it look better, it needs to be prepped and painted.
An in between step to get it looking a little better without painting it would be to use a polishing compound to remove some of the oxidation. Try Flitz :
Flitz Multi-Purpose Polish and Cleaner Paste for Metal, Plastic, Fiberglass, Aluminum, Jewelry, Sterling Silver: Great for Headlight Restoration + Rust Remover, Made in the USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MUSOW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_GWJ7Fb0YDXAS5
I would try this:
Flitz Multi-Purpose Polish and Cleaner Paste for Metal, Plastic, Fiberglass, Aluminum, Jewelry, Sterling Silver: Great for Headlight Restoration + Rust Remover, Made in the USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MUSOW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_xI.6FbDFHSZRJ
Of course, glad to pass on information I’ve learned from others to help others. Rub the flitz paste on, they have it on Amazon for under $10 let it dry, or get a foggy color then wipe off with a cotton rag. Link is posted below
Flitz Multi-Purpose Polish and Cleaner Paste for Metal, Plastic, Fiberglass, Aluminum, Jewelry, Sterling Silver: Great for Headlight Restoration + Rust Remover, Made in the USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MUSOW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_b80FFbKMNB3QV
I don't think polish would take care of the deeper scratches but would work for the lighter ones.
Is this the Polish that you use?
is this the item you were talking about? https://www.amazon.com/Flitz-Plastic-Fiberglass-1-76-Ounce-Blister/dp/B000MUSOW4/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1Z6I70THR9H7N&keywords=flitz&qid=1666741797&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjM3IiwicXNhIjoiMy4xMiIsInFzcCI6IjMuMDkifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=flitz%2Caps%2C130&sr=8-1-spons&th=1
Flitz Multi-Purpose Polish and... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MUSOW4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Flitz works. Just did it.
I really can't stand the Shockwave (and similar) braces. Try out an SBA3 or SBA4 (my preferred). I have a hookup for them for real cheap if you don't mind waiting 2-3 weeks for delivery (not from another continent). PM me if you want the info.
The PSA EPT trigger system is pretty good. As a very inexpensive upgrade, you can pull the trigger assembly and polish all the contact edges to a mirror finish. Pick up a tube of Flitz or Mother's and use a wool polishing wheel on a Dremel (or other brand rotary tool) to polish all the surfaces. If you're really brave, you can take some 1500 grit sandpaper and level off all the machine marks from the surfaces; just be absolutely sure you're working everything NOT at an angle. Use your gun oil/lube to lube the sandpaper. After, polish with Flitz/Mothers.
Yes, it will take off any coatings of the contact surfaces, but the difference is day and night. Just remember, slow and steady. Low pressure, medium speeds. Take your time.
Polish those 4 faces mirror smooth
Use this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MUSOW4
With this https://www.walmart.com/ip/388836290
I always use flitz metal polish on the whole clubhead, first with 3000 grit sandpaper and then again with a rag. Cleans it right up, and even stops future wear and fingerprints. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MUSOW4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I've used this with good results:
Flitz Multi-Purpose Polish and Cleaner Paste https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MUSOW4/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_SXZN9TDWWN8JS3M1P9QV?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Give this cleaner/polish a shot. I use it on my silver and black 1200s with great results. I use a microfiber cloth to apply and rub it on with, then another clean one to wipe off and buff.
try this
Try this. https://www.amazon.com/Flitz-Plastic-Fiberglass-1-76-Ounce-Blister/dp/B000MUSOW4
It's basically a paste with phosphoric acid to remove the rust. I've had good luck using it on old knives.
I've used this on the face with good results. Cleans and leaves a nice shine on it. No issues with the screen printed text, but I also go easy in this areas.
I've yet to try personally - but I've heard Flitz is good
Flitz metal polish works great on most metals, and is fairly gentle:
https://www.amazon.com/Flitz-Plastic-Fiberglass-1-76-Ounce-Blister/dp/B000MUSOW4
You just rub it on then wipe it off with a cloth / q tip.
Do not get this in the spark wheel mechanism. The lighter will die.
For the case, the Glorious GMMK comes with a black anodized aluminum case, so all I did was de-anodize it using oven cleaner (there's a bunch of tutorials on youtube), sanded it down a bit, and hand polished the aluminum using Flitz polish. It does take some elbow grease, but it's pretty worth imo.
As for the dampening foam, I used some 1/8 thick neoprene I ordered from Amazon and basically cut it to keyboard size and placed it in between the bottom case and the PCB. It made a huge difference; No more high-end pitching and now it's much more of a deeper, clackyness.
the 1.whaterever ounce one is more than enough.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MUSOW4/ref=twister_B00FRA6IM2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Here's are a few examples of sterling Zippos with tarnish.
The first and second are the same as your zippo. The one in the box has not been carried, but has been out of the plastic. That's enough to start it tarnishing. The second is my EDC, it's untarnished but has pocket wear.
Third through fifth, are all 1941 replicas. 3rd is in new condition, never been unwrapped. Fourth has seen pocket time, but has since sat untouched for years without plastic, which is why it's the worst. The fifth was as bad as the fourth, but it's been rehabbed. That being said, it sat unused afterwards and started to tarnish again. That's what the smudges on the lid are, tarnished fingerprints.
The last picture where the lighter is on it's side shows that the half more exposed to oxygen will tarnish worse than the half seated in the box.
It's important to note that all these lighters can be brought back to like new condition with some polish and elbow grease.
I've used Flitz & Jewelers Rouge to bring them back, both work fantastically.
If you want your lighter to stay untarnished, you need to put it in an oxygen free environment. One way to do that is to vacuum pack it.