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Author Topic: Polishing an old Straight Key?  (Read 507 times)

AJ6KC

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Polishing an old Straight Key?
« on: August 15, 2021, 06:02:23 PM »

I got my hands on two or three older straight keys (nothing rare, just old,) One is a little rusty and the others have what’s called a “Pantina?” I really want to take them apart and polish them up and make them shine. I don’t plan on reselling them, I just want them to look new. But, before I do this I want know is that a bad idea? I know in coin collecting, if you come across a rare old coin and clean it up you will have significantly reduced its value. Does this hold true with older straight keys?
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ZL1BBW

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Re: Polishing an old Straight Key?
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2021, 08:49:51 PM »

For me, I really like the 'aged' colour of my old RAF Type D, sort of matches the aged look of its owner.

The only thing we used to polish was the cover of the Marconi keys, if they were still around.

Have seen a video of someone using a dremel and small pad to polish up a key.

Cheers  Gavin
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ex MN Radio Officer, Portishead Radio GKA, BT Radio Amateur Morse Tester.  Licensed as G3YCP ZL1DAB, now taken over my father (sk) call as ZL1BBW.

AJ6KC

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Re: Polishing an old Straight Key?
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2021, 09:57:53 PM »

Thanks for your reply. I think I’ll just go ahead and polish them. One is on an aluminum (aluminium for you red coats) base.
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DL9BDM

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Re: Polishing an old Straight Key?
« Reply #3 on: August 16, 2021, 01:19:17 AM »

To preserve the authenticity, I would clean the keys and repair any damage that affects the functionality. But I would leave the patina of age. Just my opinion. It always depends on your personal preferences.

Maybe you could post some pictures of it.
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K3STX

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Re: Polishing an old Straight Key?
« Reply #4 on: August 29, 2021, 05:58:45 PM »

It is your key, do as you like. Yes, patina is good on keys like coins, but if you are not gonna sell it for big $$$ do as you please.

I keep my old ones looking "old" (but I do remove rust), but that is just what I prefer.

Paul
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N7SOC

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Re: Polishing an old Straight Key?
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2021, 06:52:00 PM »

 i have several of the old Signal Electric keys... and polished them up... they shine like gold in their model car plastic boxes.
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G8FXC

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Re: Polishing an old Straight Key?
« Reply #6 on: November 19, 2021, 12:12:00 AM »

I got my hands on two or three older straight keys (nothing rare, just old,) One is a little rusty and the others have what’s called a “Pantina?” I really want to take them apart and polish them up and make them shine. I don’t plan on reselling them, I just want them to look new. But, before I do this I want know is that a bad idea? I know in coin collecting, if you come across a rare old coin and clean it up you will have significantly reduced its value. Does this hold true with older straight keys?

I suspect that the value of old Morse keys is quite limited anyway - the population of collectors is a lot smaller than the population of coin collectors. If you do decide to do it, then jewelers rouge is probably the best bet - will not leave visible scratches...

Martin (G8FXC)
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KD8IWZ

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Re: Polishing an old Straight Key?
« Reply #7 on: November 19, 2021, 04:13:00 AM »

google "cleaning silver with aluminum foil, baking soda, and hot water" , I've used this method to clean several silver pieces, it's always worked wonderfully for me with no damage to the item being cleaned.
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G8FXC

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Re: Polishing an old Straight Key?
« Reply #8 on: November 19, 2021, 05:10:23 AM »

google "cleaning silver with aluminum foil, baking soda, and hot water" , I've used this method to clean several silver pieces, it's always worked wonderfully for me with no damage to the item being cleaned.

Works very well for silver, but it's not going to have any effect on brass. When you use baking soda and aluminium to clean silver, you are setting up a chemical reaction. The tarnish on the silver is oxide and putting it in contact with aluminium in an alkaline solution converts the oxide back to silver metal at the expense of dissolving some the aluminium.

Martin (G8FXC)
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K6BSU

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Re: Polishing an old Straight Key?
« Reply #9 on: November 30, 2021, 04:01:47 PM »

It is your key, do as you like. Yes, patina is good on keys like coins, but if you are not gonna sell it for big $$$ do as you please.



"Patina" means "years of dirt and crud".  Do you avoid the car wash in order to preserve your "Toyota Patina"?  If it is brass or chrome, I want it to look that way.
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