I finally decided to take the plunge into restoring a vintage brush. I will update this thread as I make progress. Here is the brush untouched.
I removed the knot by drilling it out. I then sanded the handle with steel wool to remove some of the minor scratches. I also used 800 grit sandpaper around the opening to smooth things out.
After the light sanding I started to polish the handle. I am finished with the handle and I am waiting for the TGN Finest to arrive. Here is the finished handle.
After cleaning the inside if the handle I was left with a "shell" like handle. I think it could benefit from some added weight. I am planning on gluing some fishing weights to the bottom of the handle and then adding a little cork on top to even things out. I am also thinking about using split shot fishing weights around the inner diameter of the black portion of the handle. Similar to a needle bearing. This is my first restoration attempt. If anyone else has experience in adding weight or a different idea, please chime in.
Sweet. That is going to be one fine brush. I am looking forward to the final results. Just a beautiful job so far.
Thanks for the comments gents. I am pleased with how the handle turned out. As for the shine, I used a low speed polisher and 2 different compounds. One compound to remove the light scratches from the steel wool and the other compound to bring out the shine.
Nope. I didn't reapply anything. The black is the color of the plastic or Bakelite (whatever its made of). I just polished and polished and polished etc....
Okay got it. Polishing compound and buffer wheel...low speed. Is it similar to what they use to polish straights?
Plastics polish very well with a mild to milder abrasive. I've used Brasso on my watch crystals in the past with excellent results.
Beautiful! I love how it polished up. So far as adding weight and filling up the hollow handle, on the last two handles I restored recently, I filled them up with epoxy putty. It comes in a little log, with the activator in a layer on the outside, and you knead it together before using. I measured and marked the depth I wanted for my knot, then filled it up with putty almost to that level, leaving room for the silicone that I would use to glue the knot. The result is a handle that is truly solid and weighs what it would if made of solid resin. The putty does costs more than some alternatives, but I got a couple of tubes on sale at Harbor Freight and it wasn't bad. In the past, I have glued in washers to weight the bottom, but I like this method better.
I'm not sure what they use on straights. I used a maroon one and a white compound. Package said maroon was to clean plastics and white to polish. Purchased at hardware store.
