Posted 4 years ago
Lizagnadish
(1 item)
Purchased from a local lighting shop. The entire fixture was coated with a solid layer of soot and grime and the brass was severely tarnished. There are cracks in the central brass cylinder as well as one of the brass cups, but other than that, everything, including the Fresnel lenses, is intact. Gave it some love and hung it in our 1953 dining room.
For anyone curious, I've found quite a bit of success polishing solid brass using 800, 1000, 2000, and 5000-grit wet/dry sandpaper in soapy water. I start with the 800 to initially remove all tarnish, then work my way up through the higher grits to remove the tiny scratches left behind from the 800 grit. Works like a charm.
Oh WOWWOWWOWWOWWOW Lizagnadish???!!!
THAT'S what my recent curb-find old light might to could really look like . . . ???
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/281541-curb-rescued-mcm-ceiling-light-fixture
OH YEAH, I've certainly got a fresh new little 'project' on my hands here... <lol>
THANKS SO VERY KINDLY for sharing your pics!!! <applause>
AnythingObscure, yes!!! I'm so glad you found my photos! I posted them with the hopes that you would.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a very good shot of what it looked like before I cleaned it up, but it was similar to yours. And that means yours could look this bright and shiny too!
I'm really happy you posted your photos in the first place, by the way. I had been Googling all these different phrases ("3 light brass antique", "dome pendant 1950s brass", etc) and struggling to find anything that resembled what I had brought home. Then, serendipitously, your post appeared in one of my searches!
I'm so glad we were able to connect over something like this. Please feel free to reach out if you run into any issues or questions as you're working on yours. I'm happy to help!
Oh, before I forget: disassembly is pretty straightforward. Start with the circular brass "ring" above the shield. Remove the tiny screw at the ring's base and turn the ring itself counterclockwise. There's a big long metal stem that runs through the middle of the whole fixture that everything sits on. Easy enough to lift the individual pieces up and off the stem for cleaning.
The 3 brass cups are anchored to their respective sockets with a small screw. Use a long screwdriver to get the first one--once you have that one off, the others are easier to access. Getting them back on once they're cleaned up, however, can be a little tough. Not impossible, but definitely tricky to line them up and weasel those tiny screws back in there.
Best of luck to you! Cheers!