Another pair of binoculars
I purchased another pair of Fernglass 08 binoculars off eBay the other day and they arrived this morning. I stumbled across them by chance just after they had been put on with a 'buy it now' of £40. maybe it was the black paint which put other potential purchasers off, I really don't know. But after a few hours work they looked a damned sight better than they did on eBay!
Before and after
Nice binoculars and look much better with the black crap stripped off!...
you done a nice job Harry.
How did you get the case to look so good? I really should look at getting a pair of these.
My methods are not for the faint-hearted, and many people undertaking restoration would be horrified by some of the things I do. But I have been carrying out sympathetic restoration for years. Both binoculars and case were subjected to a coating of the gel-type Nitromores paint remover. When using this stuff it is imperative that you only keep it on for a matter of moments if you do not want to destroy the original paint. My theory is that the original paint will be harder than the top coat of paint which has been applied. and so if you work quick enough it should remain undamaged. Up to now I have always been rewarded with success.by Spitace41
As for the case, the only reason I used Nitromores was because that too had been given a coat of paint at some time. After applying the paint remover, I quickly removed it with fine wire wool. Everything was then wiped down with a cloth soaked in white spirits to neutralise the paint stripper. the case was then given a few coats of Renapur leather balsam. It is a similar thing to Pecard leather dressing.
Cheers,
Steve.
Your method obviously yields impressive results, Steve...The difference is astounding, well done and thanks for sharing the before/after photos!...
cheers, Glenn
Very impressive recovery job! ( I just hope that the black paint wasn't period ... LOL )
" I'm putting off procrastination until next week "
I'm certain they'll resell at a much better price now, even if those were original paint remnants...
cheers, Glenn
Certainly not for the faint of heart, Steve! LOL. But "who dares wins" and all that. Now I just have to muster the courage to do similar to my pickelhaube that some fool has coated in silver paint
Just make sure you have a rag soaked in white spirit to hand, and at the first sign of trouble wipe away the Nitromores. If anything goes wrong don't blame me! Some people advocate using Acetone, but it will dry out leather. Another method I have used is very fine wire wool and liquid furniture polish. NEVER use that crap that comes in aerosols!Certainly not for the faint of heart, Steve! LOL. But "who dares wins" and all that. Now I just have to muster the courage to do similar to my pickelhaube that some fool has coated in silver paint
As for the black paint on the binoculars, I don't think it was period applied. At a guess I would say that someone had attempted to make them more 'civilian-looking.' There is a small dent in one of the aluminium barrels, and in my opinion it would have taken a substantial blow to inflict this. It certainly wouldn't have happened through dropping them, but the dent was enough to remove the field grey paint. The black paint was over this damage. As for the case, I think it had at some time (in the war) been dyed black. But what I removed was black gloss paint. There is a substantial amount of black dye still on the leather. As with anything when restoring, a decision has to be made about what should be done and what should be left alone.
Cheers,
Steve.
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