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Refinishing antique phone booth

Q. I am stripping 3 coats of paint off an antique phone booth. I have the paint off, but the metal on the door is scratched. What can I do to refinish the metal? I'd rather not paint it, if possible.

Ann Gibson
- Snyder, TXexas
February 12, 2012

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February 13, 2012

Hi, Ann. Please give us a hint what the metal is at least :-)

Steel, brass, bronze, cast iron? The metal could probably be plated, but that's probably not something you can do yourself. Are you thinking of some sort of clear coat on the metal after you remove the scratches?

Please be aware that scratch removal isn't easy; it involves removing enough metal to get to the bottom of the deepest scratch, either over the entire surface of the item, or at least enough of the surface that you can taper down to the bottom of the scratch without visible "hills" and "valleys". And removing that metal almost always involves using coarse enough abrasives that you then have to remove the scratches the abrasives made with slightly less coarse abrasives, stepwise through several steps. Big job. Things are often painted out of practicality. Good luck.

Regards,

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