While in Chamblee exploring Antique Row last weekend, James, my Dad, and I came across a gorgeous antique soda acid fire extinguisher. James was immediately drawn to it and said he had to have it. I was a bit skeptical, wondering what we could do with it, but he quickly reassured me that he wanted to restore it and place it by our fireplace (clever, right?) So, we scooped it up and headed home to learn about restoring copper!
After reading up on different techniques, we decided to grab some brushes to attach to our sander from Home Depot. James then set to work trying to buff out the oxidization. He soon realized that the technique wasn't working, and had to resort to manually buffing it with Brasso. While the technique did work, it was extremely time consuming! To the right, you can see how the fire extinguisher looked at the halfway point.
While it was a really frustrating and laborious process, the hard work paid off when we saw the finished product! Look (to the lower right) how gorgeous and shiny it came out! You can actually see your reflection in the copper. I can't get enough of this beauty now! James even cleaned up the original hose, which turned out to be brass- and steel-tipped. I'm so glad James spotted this gem!
A side note- if you happen to come across a similar fire extinguisher, be sure to neutralize the "soda acid" (sodium bicarbonate and sulfuric acid) before beginning work on it. These chemicals can be hazardous, and can be removed by creating a mix of water and baking soda to pour inside of the extinguisher.
xoxo J