Letter 1980

Info on pewter finishing and polishing

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we are craft peoples making hand shape pewter ware, and somes casting.

we are looking to receive infomations : technique, equipement, for mecanical finishing and polishing.

merci beaucoup.

bernard chaudron
at. b. chaudron inc. - val-david,qc. canada j0t 2n0

Not sure what final result you are looking for but I've done perhaps 100 pieces including plates, mugs, pitcher, etc. in the past decade. These were old, distressed pieces which were picked up at flea markets and antique shops around the world. In most cases I've hand sanded them working up to at least a 400 grade paper followed by machine buffing using at least two grades of rouge. The result is a blemish-free surface which is mistaken for all as polished silver. Indeed in Victorian England pewter was known as "poor mans' silver". I certainly would not do this on a valuable old piece since the value would disappear with the patina. It also takes a heck of a lot of hours so the reward of turning what was viewed as a piece of junk into a beautiful shining object must be sufficient for you.

Tom

Tom Barton

Will anybody tell me in brief what is the procedure for finishing and polishing crystal? What materials and equipment are used?

Dr. Shailesh Swami
Pune, Maharashtra, India

Hi there,

I am Spin casting large quantities of figurines etc. in both pewter and zinc. I am looking for a method(without plating) to give these products an antique silver finish where the silver will have a high shine showing through the black. How is this achieved? I have a mini vibrator as well as a tumbler. Which is the best medium to use for polishing these figures after I have blackened them. And should I use some sort of polishing compound.

Thank you,

Andrew cartwright
Unforgettable Africa - Durban, South Africa

I read somewhere, but have not tested for myself, that Caustic Acid will blacken the pewter and age it. I would also like to ask anyone's advice on lacquering pewter to shiny finish or translucent finish.

Thank you.

Rony Ben-Nachum
Freelance sculptor - Mizpe Hila, Israel

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