[Milsurplus] ON Topic: Tannery leather conditioner/cleaner

[Michael Tauson]

On Wed, Dec 23, 2009 at 5:52 AM, Mike Morrow <kk5f at earthlink.net> wrote:
> For the last 25 years I have been using a particular small arms cleaning/lubricating
> product to restore the "fresh" look of dirty, bleached-out, or faded crackle
> finishes.  That product is "CLP-Break Free".

Coolness.  I have items that fit all three groups plus I have other
equipment that has plastic tags that have seen better days.  Since I
have some grey wrinkle pieces (spares units) I can try it on, maybe
this wil extend to A.R.C. postwar civilian equipment as well.

> [In the Democrat-Socialist People's Republic of Hawaii, there may be no stores
> with firearms-related gear. :-)  ]

Ah, I see you've been here.  (You forgot "Peace & Freedom Loving". :-)
)  There actually are gun shops here but the registration process is
one of the stiffest in the country.  On the other hand, they lease
weapons for use at their own ranges (which is probably their real
money maker) for those who can't quite get past the registration
process.  The closest is in Mapunapuna which is just down the hill
from the VA clinic.  How convenient.

> I don't believe I'd use it if I were planning to paint over a crackle finish, but paint-
> overs are a last resort in any event.

The only time I'd definitely do a paint over is if I had to do a
massive repair to the sheet metal probably involving soldering/welding
pieces back together.  I like the "experienced" look rather than
NIB/NOS since used equipment has a story to tell.  (This is why I've
been told I don't appreciate quality - or one reason - which gets into
reopening a whole restore vs leave as is discussion that previously
caused one person to be permanently blocked and another on the edge of
being so.)  In restoring converted pieces, there are often holes that
need to be filled then painted so that it blends with the old finish.
The bare metal SCR-274-N units present a problem in this situation but
I think I can manage a decent hidden repair with some practice.

Speaking of paint over, I should eventually look for a reasonable
approximation of the grey A.R.C. used after the war.  Since there are
shade variations between batches, a precise match to any of them isn't
really needed or even possible so "close enough" is pretty much close
enough.

Mele Kalikimaka & mahalo.

Best regards,

Michael, WH7HG
-- 
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/NTH/index.aspx
http://wh7hg.blogspot.com/
http://kludges-other-blog.blogspot.com
Hiki Nô!