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Tanker Desk and Vintage Office Furniture - Polished Exposed Steel?

I am in the process of refinishing an old Steelcase Tanker Desk. Ultimately I'd like to have a brushed or exposed metal look to the desk. When I sandblasted some of the parts down, the metal had a light aluminum look. I would like to achieve a color similar to this: Which I would describe as a darker 'graphite' looking finish. I've done a lot of looking at different kinds of tanker desks, and some definitely have a darker finish to them, versus what I saw when I stripped part of my desk down.

My question is how do I achieve this darker look? Is it polished, where the lighter desks are only clear coated? Or is there another process involved?

Thanks
-Jeremy

Jeremy Scott
hobbyist - Grand Rapids, Michigan
April 10, 2008

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May 2, 2008

Hi, Jeremy. Are you sure it's not just painted and clearcoated?

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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April 9, 2009

Hey,

I recently started to strip a tanker desk similar to yours but stopped when my father in law mentioned it might be coated with lead paint. A lead test kit [lead test kits on eBay or Amazon [affil links] came up negative but just to be on the safe side I thought I would post the question. Has anyone come across one that had lead paint or know if its likely?

Thanks,

BWM

Brian Matthews
- simpsonville, South Carolina