/r/restoration
/r/Restoration is a community for anyone seeking restoration help, wanting to show off their restoration projects, or anything inbetween. The restoration can be anything from an antique to an engine.
The followings rules and etiquette should be followed when posting in this subreddit:
If it is NSFW, label it as such!
Don't spam the subreddit with anything unrelated.
Trolling or insulting other users will not be tolerated.
Otherwise, welcome and have fun!
/r/Restoration is a community for anyone seeking resotration help, wanting to show off their restoration projects, or anything inbetween. The restoration can be anything from an antique to an engine.
The followings rules and etiquette should be followed when posting in this subreddit:
If it is NSFW, label it as such!
Don't spam the subreddit with anything unrelated.
Trolling or insulting other users will not be tolerated.
Otherwise, welcome and have fun!
/r/restoration
30,566 Subscribers
How to restore
Hello guys, please help me to remove this blacks in my radio
08:35 UTC
What is the best method to use to try and get it back to a useable state?
You can see the small door that says sportsman I used a wire brush and vinegar over night but I’m wanting to be able to use it on our camping trips can anyone point me in the right direction?
15:25 UTC
My very good friend is restoring a sailboat!
14:48 UTC
How to strip paint from a BBQ grill?
This isn't exactly a restoration in the traditional sense, but figured folks on here would have to deal with this type of challenge and could share advice.
We bought a used BBQ and the seller did a stupid thing and spray painted the cast iron grill black and now it smokes like crazy when the BBQ is hot. Burning toxic paint isn't ideal to put food on imo!
Trying to figure out a way how to strip all the paint off and get down to bare metal. The grate is slotted so can't really grind it clean, would need some sort of chemical process. Any advice?
I have a bottle of muriatic acid (31.45%) I figured I could use but wasn't sure if that would damage the metal?
--- UPDATE:
After some research seems like the paint stripper that actually works contain methylene chloride (DCM) but the stuff is super toxic and has been banned by the EPA in 2019
A bunch of non toxic products out there such as EZ Strip that are water based but sounds like they don't really do much. Found another product called D Super Remover and SDS shows 45-70% methyl acetate, along with 5-40% 1,3-Dioxolane, and 5-40% Dimethyl sulfoxide. All 3 are solvents. Methyl Acetate is an organic solvent similar to acetone, just higher flash point (acetone is SUPER flammable).
I wonder if simply using Acetone would also work? But it evaporates so quickly I wonder if it would stick to vertical surfaces well. Most of these products (including the D Super Remover) are gel, which means they stick to the surface and reduce evaporation.
01:33 UTC
I lost my ring over the weekend and found it at the bottom of the fire pit. Any way to clean this up a bit?
It’s steel with have of it gold plated, and I don’t need to make it look perfect. Just clean it up a bit. Any at home ideas? Side note, is it prone to rusting now?
17:38 UTC
How do I clean this?
Not sure what metal this is but it has tarnished. This is a golf divot repair tool and I would like to try and clean it up.
15:26 UTC
Book Restoration
05:42 UTC
What type of handle / hardware on this old door?
I'm restoring our original 1941 front door, stripping the paint etc. Wondering if anyone has any knowledge to tell what type of handle/hardware would have been on this door based on the cut out? Currently the door has just been fitted with a large security plate and a modern handle, curious to see if there's something more original we could fit to it.
The rest of the doors in the house have an ornate brass plate + glass doorknobs.
01:35 UTC
1960s desktop barometer, the text on the inside is actively peeling off. How can this be fixed? The original text has fallen to the bottom.
14:20 UTC
Help Restoring Carousel Music Box
I recently picked up a very nice music box from the thrift store and I want to clean and restore it as much as I can. I think it's mostly just grimy/dirty, the music doesn't always play when you wind it up and seems to get stuck at certain moments and will only play when being jostled around a bit, but I don't think there are any broken parts. It also seems pretty complete so I don't think I have to worry about missing pieces. I have the box but even when I look it up online, nothing appears (Walmart Holiday Time brand, #93218) so I don't really know the materials.
How can I wash it and how can I take the glue off the bottom so I can get a better look at the mechanism? :) Would it be possible to clean the screws/more metallic parts and the mirror? (There's grime inside the mirror) ((I'm fine not restoring the colors, I just want it cleaned)). Also, a concern a roommate brought up to me was that it may be made with dangerous materials since it's old, is that possible? Thank y'all in advance.
07:12 UTC
How to remove soot from oil painting?
I'm an artist and our family house caught on fire three months ago. I have a painting that I finished not long before the accident. It also has gloss varnish on it. It has little artistic value so I don't want to reach out for restoration services or buy expensive stuff for that purpose. But this painting is very important to me. Is there any way to remove soot or maybe varnish to restore the color? Any advice on what to do with rips is also very much appreciated.
15:25 UTC
Antique Tapestry Room Divider
I’ve purchased an antique tapestry divider off Facebook marketplace (which is absolutely gorgeous). However, the previous owner was a smoker and it absolutely reeks of nicotine. If I was a smoker, the smell wouldn’t bother me, but I don’t smoke.
Any suggestions on how to gently clean the material to help get rid of the smell?
I’ve thought of maybe laying it down flat and covering it with bicarb soda to somewhat absorb the smell, before using a gentle brush to remove it from the fabric?
I do own an upholstery cleaner, but am hesitant to use it on a piece this old. I’m worried about using anything harsh, as I’d like to preserve the piece as much as possible. I plan on keeping it for the long-haul and want it to out-last me as well.
As far as I know, the piece is from about mid to late 1800s. It’s filled with horse-hair and has gilded leather around the edges (also, any tips for preserving the gilded leather would be much appreciated. Not sure how to clean/condition it without removing the gilded part).
I’ve attached a pic of the piece for reference.
Thank you!!!
04:26 UTC
No. 87 Morgan bench vise restoration
16:17 UTC
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