Ball & Chain - Refurbishing?

Hello fellow collectors:

I am seeking your opinions on how to improve the uniform "look" of my Ball & Chain.

Ball & Chain:  ( See ATTACHED photos)

On this ball & chain - I "wire-brushed off" the flaky brown surface rust, and also utilized a spray-on "rust-dissolver"...

So, what's left - is an almost "bare metal" restraint...which on one hand, I LIKE the "look" - because it looks like something from the dungeon of a medieval castle....but on the other hand...it visually looks cruddy & ugly - which would not be suitable to be in a glass display case - at the Police Historical Museum - where half of my collection resides.

What I am looking for:  I want the Ball & Chain to have a uniform antiqued "brown patina"...somewhat visually-appealing;  and NOT the ugly bare grayish metal that it now has.

I have read that coating it with an OIL of some kind (I have read to use BOL - boiled linseed oil??) ...to give it a nice even coating.??

I have sprayed it with WD-40 Silicone Spray.....which gave it the desired overall consistent "antique brown patina" color throughout.....BUT, that only lasted a week, before it dried away.

Any suggestions for making this item more permanently visually-appealing - either as a D.I.Y.  project, or taking it to some sort of company that deals with metal refurbishing?

...and naturally, I would never, ever consider spray-PAINTING it as an option!

Feel free to respond either here, or to e-mail me.

Thank you!

Joe Fox
joefox1031@gmail.com

Joe

I’ve had good luck using PB Blaster on old irons because it removes rust but leaves the patina intact but this may not be what’s called for in this case. Dixie Gun Works sells a gun “browning” agent that is used to restore the looks of antique gun barrels and this may be of some help.

Spencer

At one of the Indy shows, Bob Dix gave a presentation on the very subject that you are asking about.
Unfortunately, it was above my level of comprehension, so I can't help you with what exactly was in his lecture.
I am sure that if you contact him, he would be delighted to help you.
As probably the single best expert in metal restoration, I would consider his help at the Top Notch level and any further help should prove to be unnecessary.

Get it all rusty again, and then use brown shoe polish. Bare metal will look terrible if it is not re-rusted.
Paul

Thank you, Spencer & Mark.

Spencer - Might you be referring to their "Permalyn Gun Stock Finish"?

Another collector mentioned to try:  "Plum Brown" Barrel Finish (.....which, I assume is basically the same product
as above).

Another collector suggested to continually wet the Ball & Chain...until it lightly re-rusts itself...and then "finish" with an oil-wax boot polish.

....all suggestions that I never would have thought of!

Mark--I certainly will forward my inquiry and photos to Bob Dix, for his opinion too.

Thank you to all,

--Joe Fox

Joe

The product I’m referring to is simply called Dixie Browning Solution and it is used to produce the period looking finish on replica Hawken rifles and similar guns and while I haven’t used it myself I have seen the results and they were impressive.

Spencer

Hi Joe,
the rust remover from this guy worked very well on my rusty collection pieces:https://chema-shop.de/html/entrostungs- ... ittel.html
Items like your ball&chain would need just a short (5-15 min) rust removal bath iot get rid of loose rust & keep the patina. After drying the derusted collection piece I would recommend a coating with microcrystalline wax to keep it from rusting again.

Björn

Thank you, Bjoern.

I've used gun browning solution with good success. Just follow the instructions on the container. Surface preparation is important. I believe you'll be satisfied with the results.  its available at most any gun or some sporting goods stores.

Tom

What did you find that worked best Joe?

Paul:

My  Ball & Chain "restoration project" has been delayed, but what I soon intend to do -  is to first try the advice that Bob Dix kindly  
provided to me.

(See Attached).

I hope that he doesn't mind me posting his letter here...but, I wanted to share it with the handcuff community - for the information.