How do people restore fixed steel legs? They're invariably rusty on the tatty stoves I buy and although that can be removed what finish, if any, should be applied? Painting looks wrong but leave them unfinished and they just go rusty again so what to do? How would they have been finished when new? Cheers, John
I have long wondered the same thing. It seems as though many of the legs were either raw steel, or plated with something (tinned or zinc perhaps) from the factory. If one has access to a solder pot, I considered doing a hot-dipped tin finish to legs. This is a potentially hazardous operation, and it would require that the formerly rusty legs were scrupulously clean, bare metal, and a proper acid flux applied. Then, molten tinning alloy (preferably lead free) could be poured over until the entire leg is well coated. The trick would be to get a thin, unbroken layer without drips or globs that would cause a poor fit into the base of the stove. Of course, areas of tinning that get direct heat would burn off eventually. I have never tried the re-tinning method, but perhaps someone has? Perhaps not the sort of thing one that is not experienced with molten metals in quantity would wish to undertake. Cheers, Doug Eisemann
Good question, I'm glad you brought it up. I have a Radius 17 with attached steel holders for the legs. After removing rust I am still sitting and thinking whether it should be clear lacquered or get a coat of a glossy reflective paint. I am curious what others do. Bob
Wire brush or wheel followed by either Johnsons paste wax or clear lacquer. I prefer wax because it is somewhat easier to re-apply. Alternatively, there are some corrosion inhibitors made for firearms that can be applied very successfuly.
You can get an electroless nickel kit from Caswell with which you can easily plate nickel onto any metal. When you see "chrome" it's really nickel that you see which is plated, usually over copper, then receives chrome on top, which is virtually clear, but changes the color and sheen and is, of course, very hard. As you'd expect from something called electroless, it's just a chemical dip with no need for external electricity.
Hey guys, Has anyone here used one of these plating kits? They are pretty pricey from what I've seen. How much plating will the kits do? I'm not looking for the manufacturers claims, but actual results. I've been looking at doing this for some time now, but the cost has kept me away. Mike
Plating the legs from a collapsible stove would be easy enough but how to plate legs when they’re soldered to a brass tank without also plating the tank? ‘Tinning’ may be a solution but again difficult when attached to a tank. Note: some of the best preserved legs I’ve seen were on a stove that had been used to melt lead and it had splashed down the legs... and onto the tank Wax would prevent rusting but then you light the stove... Rust treatments tend to turn the legs black which polishes off easily enough but then you’re back where you started Thinking about it I'm sure I've got some heat-proof aluminium paint in the 'cave so I'll see what that's like. Cheers, John
The coverage one gets from the electroless nickel kit depends entirely on how thick you want the plating to be, which is determined by how long the part is left in the solution. I think that, to plate legs but not the tank to which they are soldered, you could brush molten wax onto the tank, avoiding the legs, submerge the whole thing in the plating solution, and then melt and scrub the wax off. To save money, you can buy one of the smaller electroless nickel kits and make a small trough out of an appropriately-sized polyethylene or PET bottle (shampoo or water bottle) cut in half lengthwise, and plate only one leg at a time rather than having to cover the whole stove and three legs in a one-gallon nickel kit. Don't expect the plating to hide anything, scratches and pits will be unchanged, just shinier.
John My method : clean the bit between the top and bottom of the tank, wire brush, metal scourer.The main part of the leg, and the bottom part : remove burner head, get three jam jars, a dessert spoon of Citric Acid for each jar, fill with water, invert legs into jars. Leave overnight.Scrub off with small wire brush. If the top of the leg is heavily encrusted with rust, I heat it up until it is nearly red hot, with a blowtorch. I am holding the leg just above the top of the tank, if I feel the heat coming down, then quench. Quench anyway. Repeat if necessary. If the legs are just generally dirty, just use some of the wifes washing powder, use a stainless steel scourer and just scrub. Its all trial and error, fettling. You have to find what suits you. Cheers Ian
Yes, wax will burn off if you light the stove; I was thinking about Shelf Queens rather than users. I think a bit of work with steel wool and a very thin coat of oil would be easiest to maintain. Nothing you would not do for a carbon steel knifeblade. I am also concerned about electroless nickel when it gets hot; will it vaporize? Is it bonded with sufficient strength to withstand the heat? Nickel is not healthy for living things.
I don't know about vaporizing nickel but it was nickel and chromium that were on those pot supports before they were naked, pitted and rusty. I don't mean to make light of it, your health is very important, but the benzene is likely to kill you long before the nickel. I found a few lightweight and not very helpful references to nickel toxicity, but if anybody can provide real information about that, I'd be most interested.
Hi, the original coating on the legs of classic brass stoves was tin, which was applied to the legs by dipping in molten tin, before attaching to the brass tank. I have seen nickel and chromium plating on a few models but this was rare. Best Regards, Kerophile.
